Future of Ayush & alternative medicine industry is lucrative: Suman Varma, Hamdard

Adgully is back with a new edition of its annual feature – TRENDING NOW – where we present the strategies and views of a cross-section of industry leaders as they go about reclaiming lost time and market opportunities and build for a stronger future, armed with the lessons of the pandemic period.

Over the next few weeks, Trending Now will bring insights from industry leaders on how their organisations are gearing up to seize the opportunities in 2022, break through the Covid disruptions and find growth and remain resilient.

In conversation with Adgully, Suman Varma, Chief Marketing Officer, Hamdard Laboratories, speaks about the key marketing trends expected in 2022, as well as the challenges and opportunities in the year ahead.

What are the trends that you expect to dominate in your sector in 2022?

 In the context of COVID-19, the market for alternative medicines, like Ayurveda & Unani has been increasing due to the increasing demand for various products to boost immunity. As per a report published in August 2020, since March, the demand for honey has gone up 45%, chyawanprash by 85%, and turmeric by 40% in ayurvedic stores, and so have the demand for ashwagandha, giloy ,kadha, and kalonji been high. In a country like India, the immunity element was led by traditional medicines while the other part of the fight was led by vaccines and anti-virals that are available.

The market currently is experiencing a surge in demand for AYUSH and alternative medicines in India, owing to the growing awareness about the efficacy of traditional medicine especially in the area of immunity-boosting.

What are the challenges and new opportunities that you see emerging in the year ahead?

Opportunity: The future of the AYUSH and alternative medicine industry is lucrative, as more and more players are entering the market with innovative products, quality packaging, and strategic marketing activities. Earlier, companies in the natural medicine market failed in attracting consumers as a result of a lack of promotional activities and poor presentation of products.

Challenges: However, the new generation of entrepreneurs is working and focusing on these aspects in the growing market competition. The marketing & sales initiatives, the digital promotion, and products are available on com sites are helping in a big way.

How strong the recovery will be in this secto? How strong will this sector’s growth be compared to the last two years as well as the pre-Covid period?

Increasing acceptance of ayurvedic medicine is expected to drive the complementary and alternative medicine market to a major extent. COVID-19 showed the growth of traditional medicines especially Chawanprash, single-ingredient products like Giloy, Ashwagandha, kalonji, Tulsi. For most of the players, this sector has shown growth while 2020 may have been exceptional for a few. Growth will come from holistic wellness, new formats, tapping into white spaces for new product launches.