Indian healthcare brand Himalaya hopes to repeat its success around this region

CASHING in on the growing global demand for herbal remedies, one of India's leading healthcare brands Himalaya Herbal Healthcare has teamed up with Watson's to bring its Ayurvedic products to consumers here.

With last week's launch of its first "store-in-store" at Watson's OUB Centre outlet, Himalaya became the first Indian brand in Singapore to have a "mainstream" presence in the herbal healthcare space. Watson's was chosen as it was among one of the "most visited" personal care stores here and provided an "ideal platform" to reach out to consumers, said Mr Ravi Prasad, Himalaya's president and chief executive.

He said the launch was part of the "consolidation" of the brand's presence in the region. The company also plans to open an exclusive retail outlet in Kuala Lumpur's City Centre Park this year making it the first Indian consumer brand to have a standalone store there. Going mainstream could propel Himalaya into the same league as Body Shop and other high profile personal care and wellness products, a fact the company is well aware of.

"I would never have entered Singapore if it had not been through the right outlets," said Mr Prasad. "I wouldn't have introduced my brand out of an ethnic outlet catering for Indians because immediately it is seen as just a brand catering to ethnic Indians."

So confident is Mr Prasad of his products' success in the region that he is predicting 50 per cent revenue growth annually. His confidence is backed by the stellar track record set by his company in India and its overseas markets.

A study by AC Nielsen ranked Himalaya among the top 4 brands in the skin and hair care segments in the United Arab Emirates, a market it entered just a few years ago.

At home the privately held US$100 million ($157.8 million) company, saw a doubling of turnover between 2002 and 2003. And in Switzerland, Himalaya's Liv.52 tablets - a household name in India - is the only herbal product registered as a "pharmaceutical specialty" product allowing it to be prescribed by allopathic doctors.

In the next two years Himalaya plans to be on the shelves of mainstream stores across the South East Asia and Far East. Leveraging on India's traditional medicine derived from the country's 5,000-year scriptures known as the Vedas, testing remains the bedrock of Himalaya's marketing strategy and all its products are a result of years of research and development.

"The success of our company is really the investment we have made in R&D. It differentiates us from everybody in the herbal universe," said Mr Prasad. Himalaya is going all out to ensure that consumers know all its products are safe. It has applied for permission to the Health Sciences Authority to put stickers on its products stating their products are safe.