How has Himalaya done financially last year?
Last year was very good. We posted a very strong year, recording 25 per cent growth over the year before last when (the domestic pharma) industry growth was about 8 per cent and this eight per cent was fuelled only by new product introductions.

We launched only four products and recorded a very good growth rate - predominantly because of two reasons. One was the rebranding that we did (in December 2001)and second, the fact that we have been building brands and not just introducing products - which just generates (sales).

The overall sales from the four divisions and exports was Rs 300 crore. Pharma sales was dominant and made Rs 180 crore. Consumer products Rs 60 crore; health foods Rs 20 crore and animal health Rs 10 crore. Exports generated Rs 30 crore.

The re-branding helped the youth buy into the brand, which, I think, was a segment we were losing.

Today, our highest sales are from some of our outlets that are near colleges. Earlier we had only the pharmaceutical products that were going through doctors. Now we have shampoos, skincare range and various others like Chyavanaprash that are targeted at the youth.

Which are the new therapeutic areas that Himalaya is trying to enter? Has research in these reached a decisive stage?
Oncology and immuno suppressants are the segments we are working on very seriously. Hopefully we should have the products out soon. We have been working for some time now on various cell line models to come up with products for immune suppression. Tropical diseases are the other segment we are working on - such as malaria, dengue.

Your new facility at Bidadi was cleared by the Karnataka Government recently. What is this expansion plan about?
We have taken 200 acres of land near Bidadi. The new facility will have a total outlay of Rs 165 crore. It will probably be the only herbal manufacturing and R&D unit that will have approvals from leading regulatory authorities across the globe. The new unit will manufacture all the existing as well as the new products and supplement the existing plant. We expect to begin work from August this year and have the facility ready by 2005.

How has the offshore manufacturing plan shaped up?
We are introducing one in Syria and the Egypt facility has just started manufacturing with our technology. We will be having a joint venture with a manufacturing company in Mexico. These units will start with the Himalaya products that are registered in those countries and then add more as we register new ones.

Which are the new markets in sight? What are your expectations from this push?
South-East Asia. We are creating regional hubs, setting up offices in different parts of the world and putting teams to market our products there. First, we will be starting an office in Singapore towards the end of this year and that will control marketing in the entire SEA region. Malaysia is a big market (along with) Thailand and Indonesia. We have offices in the US, the UAE and plan to start one in Europe in 2005 once the directive comes out.

We are expecting that about 25 pc growth will come every year.

Please elaborate your new retail strategies, especially the shop-in-shop proposal.
Some chains in India are interested in Himalaya starting a 'shop in shop' on their premises. We are seriously pursuing that. We have three stores outside India - in Cayman Islands, Abu Dhabi and Colombo and by early next year we should soon have one each in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. We are present in leading chains such as Carrefour in Dubai and Cargills in Colombo.

As for our exclusive outlets, there are 24 across the country and we will continue to have them on a need basis.

Does it make a difference that there are so many new and big allopathy entrants into the ayurveda/herbal medicine scene today?
First, they all increase the market size. Because of a wider choice, the consumer will plumb only for good products. It will weed out players who are not investing in their products.

Recently, when we introduced our personal care range in Dubai, they were received very well.

Soon, some of the top FMCG companies like P&G also brought in their herbal lines and we were concerned at first, but we continued to grow.

So, it is a little difficult for the consumer to accept a herbal offering from an FMCG or non-herbal player.

It has been our core expertise for 73 years and (the others) cannot telescope into our herbal edge.