HLL Eyes Rs 300 Cr In 5 Yrs From Herbal Products Sales  ( May '13,2003, FE)

Fast-moving consumer goods giant Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) is actively evaluating the global opportunity for herbal products and expects the sale turnover from these products to touch Rs 300 crore in five years.

A step in this direction is repeat purchases in excess of 50 per cent registered for ‘Ayush’ products, as revealed in an extensive survey conducted by Indica Research for HLL.

Commenting on the repeat purchases, HLL head (herbal research) Dr DBA Narayana said, “The Ayush brand has surpassed many of the existing brands of HLL. In fact, we had to undertake the exercise on repeat buying rate twice to confirm it.”

The company is currently working in the segments of personal care for hair and skin, and health care in symptom relief and positive health. While it has a tie-up with the Coimbatore-based Arya Vaidya Pharmacy to endorse the purity of the ayurvedic ingredients, HLL’s parent Unilever conducts research on these products giving it a modern science perspective, Dr Narayana said.

HLL has launched its herbal products under the umbrella brand of Ayush in three categories — Rakshak (preventive/ protective), Poshak (supportive/ promotive) and Nashak (removes the problem).

The company is currently test marketing Ayush cough syrup and roll-on balm in Chennai and Tamil Nadu.

It is also establishing a separate way of selling these products through chemists shops, he said.

The company is pricing its Lever Ayush Cough Nashak Syrup at Rs 35 for a 100 ml bottle, while the headache nashak roll-on would be available for Rs 17 for a 10 ml glass vial, he said.

The cough syrup market in India is estimated to be around 21,000 tonne valued at Rs 609.5 crore.

Corex leads with Rs 80 crore followed by Phensydl at Rs 45 crore and Benadryl at Rs 35.6 crore, sources said.

Meanwhile, the company is planning to launch 20 more Ayush therapy centres in various parts of Tamil Nadu and some other states.

The company had set up the first Lever Ayush Therapy Centre in Chennai, where services were provided under the guidance of experts from Arya Vaidya Pharmacy.