Patanjali Ayurved Ltd the brainchild of Ramdev has mobilised debates in the country as also mobilised the arsenal of hefty MNCs she challenges fiercely. Amid this exciting market-war perfectly within the rules of our state our news channels’ debates are crassly based on whether Ramdev is a fraud or not. The article attempts to nearutralize this oafish and unproductive stance.
As the writer sees it, the general western perception is that any idea, principle or company of Indic origin is a fraud or upto no social good. Unfortunately, and arguably Indias elite form similar perceptions owing to domination of the written word over print and electronic media and acceptance of western ideology of simply being better. Its these baseless perceptions the article attempts to vaporise.
Every person is entitled to his opinions but not to his own facts. Fact remains that Ramdev has created an Indian brand giving tough competition to domineering MNC’s. Thousands of jobs have been created right from grassroot level of farmers to R&D of various products to branding, advertisements etc. Not a single skill is imported while productiion meets hygiene and safety Standards of various nations,which is a commendable feat. Hundreds of crores which are repatriated by MNCs as royalties every year are being pumped right back into the indian economy.The fierce,moralistic and humane approach of this brand is a threat not just to MNCs in india but to any FMGC manufacturer across the globe. While news channels(often running agendas) raise the fraud alert, expansion plans indicate a non-public indian brand is about to dominate on the world stage sooner than we imagine.
Speaking of facts here are some specific little-known facts rarely known to the Indian consumer :
- DIPSAR study in 2011 showed that Dabur,colgate,himalya and sensorye toothpaste had carcinogenic Nicotine to the order of 10 cigarettes..simply to get the user addicted.
- ingredients of colgate total are clove oil, camphor, black pepper and spearmint, exactly the same confirmed to be used in india for centuries. colgate patent says addition of Red Oxide(Rust) makes it a ‘red herbal dintrifice’.
- coke entered india in 1956 with modest investment of Rs 6 lakh but forced to leave in 1976 with disagreement over Indira Gandhi govts Foreign Exchange Act. By a modest estimate,rs 25 cr was taken back as profit in 20 years.
- 50 indian soft drink brands developed between 1976-1993 led by Parle. All these saw progressive disappearance as Coke re-entered the market in ’93.
- in 2009 Parle’s cold drink brands-limca,thumbs up,sprite,mazza were sold to coke. success story of coke continues.
- Report by TERI states that only 6 of the fifty Coke plants in India meet the govt standards of wastewater disposal. CSE study on 2003 and 2006 found pesticides beyond permissible limits.
- In may 2015 Central Food Lab,Kolkata found 17.2 grams of lead instead of the allowed 0.2 gm in Nestle Maggi. In 2017 Maggi regains top spot with 60% market share.
These scams and immoral techniques that have come to light through govt machinery(not the best out there) implies that every day consumers are being targeted by such ‘strategies’ which have resulted from ‘boardroom discussions’ of such companies.The reason we forgive these companies and continue to keep them at the pinnacle of market share is the success of their’aggressive marketing’. Utilizing all forms of media,perssonalilties and emotional appeals(as recently seen after the Maggi debacle). There is a team os specialists solely tasked with swaying the ‘Wisdom of the Crowd’, on which we based so many of our daily decisions.
Finally, the writer does not imply to buy Patanjali,but humbly requests to not fall prey to strategies’ and the highly prone to influence-‘Wisdom if the Crowd’. Consumers must think before they by a particular product and have none but themselves to justify it to. Could you do it?
Not a single MNC in Top 10 CSR Spenders of 2013