12.01.16
Heading to India for business or pleasure? Better get to know brands such as Patanjali Ayurved and Sri Sri Ayurveda. India's beauty business is expected to grow 14%, topping $13.3 billion this year, according to Euromonitor International. But the big gains aren't coming from the biggest players like Unilever. Instead, home-grown, ayurvedic-based brands that are fronted by gurus such as Baba Ramdev, Ravi Shankar and Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, are growing at a faster pace than long-time market leaders, which include Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive, and GlaxoSmithKline. Even local brands from Dabur India are feeling the heat from guru-led products.
The surge in popularity of ayurveda comes at a time when Indian nationalism is soaring, according to observers. More consumers are practiciing yoga, Hinduism and other forms of spirituality and smaller, local, ayurveda-based brands are reaping the rewards at expense of multinationals. Unilever remains far and away the biggest player in India, but the company's share of India's beauty and personal care business has dropped more than 5% in the past five years.
Local brands are said to be benefitting from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” platform aimed at supporting local brands as well as trust in their products. When push comes to shove, consumers are more comfortable purchasing natural formulas from local players. Will the change of heart spell the end of Unilever's dominance in India? Not any time soon. That's because the Dutch-Anglo giant still controls 30% of the market, compared to about 7% for Colgate, 5% for P&G and 3% for L'Oreal. Meanwhile large local companies such as Godrej and Dabur each controls about 3% of the market, according to Euromonitor International.
The surge in popularity of ayurveda comes at a time when Indian nationalism is soaring, according to observers. More consumers are practiciing yoga, Hinduism and other forms of spirituality and smaller, local, ayurveda-based brands are reaping the rewards at expense of multinationals. Unilever remains far and away the biggest player in India, but the company's share of India's beauty and personal care business has dropped more than 5% in the past five years.
Local brands are said to be benefitting from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” platform aimed at supporting local brands as well as trust in their products. When push comes to shove, consumers are more comfortable purchasing natural formulas from local players. Will the change of heart spell the end of Unilever's dominance in India? Not any time soon. That's because the Dutch-Anglo giant still controls 30% of the market, compared to about 7% for Colgate, 5% for P&G and 3% for L'Oreal. Meanwhile large local companies such as Godrej and Dabur each controls about 3% of the market, according to Euromonitor International.