Assignment

of
Rural Marketing
Topic - Patanjali

Submitted To : Submitted By :
Prof. Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Rohit Singh
MBA General Section A
180101010006

HARYANA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

GURU JAMBHESHWAR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE
&
TECHNOLOGY
Nowadays “Patanjali Products” is being a focus of attention in Indian
consumer market. Influence of Baba Ramdev is producing sky rocket
sales. The magical, somewhat hypnotic direct communication of Baba
Ramdev with masses through advertisement, smartly chosen product
categories, penetration pricing strategy, spirituality are the keys of
popularity of ‘Patanjali Product’. Additionally cleverly used
differentiation strategy not with the product but with ‘concept of
Swadeshi’ does wonders in very short span. Natural Indian products
under ‘Patanjali ayurveda’ are served in front of Indian consumers.
Result is “Patanjali Products” a very popular feather is in the consumer
basket now.

Overview
Patanjali Ayurved Limited is an Indian FMCG Company headquartered
at Haridwar, Uttarakhand. The Company was established on 13th
January, 2006 with Acharya Balkrishna as its majority state holder as
well as managing Director with 98.6% stake, the rest being with an NRI
family from UK.

Patanjali Marketing Mix (4Ps) Strategy

Product:
Patanjali Ayurved is an Indian FMCG company which started in 2006.
Patanjali has a diverse product offering in its marketing mix. The
product range of Patanjali had more than 400 types of FMCG goods like
cosmetic products, food items, haircare, skincare, toothcare etc. The
company also has products which focus on baby segment, healthcare and
beauty products for men and women. Patanjali also produces medicines
and as per its sources, all its products are ayurvedic and free of harmful
chemicals. Patanjali food product range includes biscuits, noodles,
cornflakes etc. Patanjali has 300+ medicines for treating many ailments
and body conditions, from common cold to paralysis. Textile, jeans,
kurta, pyjama etc is also something which the company is focused on.
Hence, this gives an insight in the product mix of Patanjali.

Price:
Patanjali Ayurved has entered in an extremely competitive segment in
the Indian FMCG industry. The main players in India in this category
are the likes of HUL, P&G, Marico, ITC etc. Patanjali has ventured into
various segments and hence the pricing strategy in its marketing mix is
defined by the competition in that segment. Patanjali products are priced
as per competition so that it becomes easier for the customers to switch
from their existing brand and adopt their products. Patanjali noodles
competes with Maggi, toothpaste competes with Colgate, chywanprash
competes with Dabur, cornflakes compete with Kelloggs and hence
forth. This clearly shows that Patanjali has replicated the already
successful existing FMCG model and is focused on giving a healthier
and natural variant to its target audience. Thus the prices of Patanjali
products are driven by segment, geography and most importantly
competition pricing
Place:
Patanjali has managed to reach a wide population in a short span of time.
Patanjali has an excellent distribution network as it has tied up with the
likes of Future group, Reliance retail, Hypercity etc. This has enabled
the Patanjali brand to ensure that its products are widely available across
various cities and towns in India. Close to 5000 retailers are actively
promoting Patanjali products along with smaller grocery stores. With the
increase in ecommerce in the Indian segment, Patanjali is also
effectively increasing its presence online. This would enable customers
to simply add the products to their carts and they can buy Patanjali
products via COD, online payment etc which would be delivered to their
doorstep. The brand has also been able to expand geographically outside
India.

Promotion:
Patanjali has considered advertising for its products as a high priority for
driving sales. The promotion and branding in Patanjali marketing mix
utilises all media channels like print, TV, online ads, billboards etc.
Patanjali's brand ambassador is yoga guru Ramdev Baba, who has a
staggering fan following, which enabled the brand to catapult in the big
league within a short span. The advertisements of Patanjali has been
aggressive where they have showcased the importance of using natural
and ayurvedic ways of making products. Their advertisements have also
been under scrutiny as they have alleged that its competitors have been
using harmful products. Patanjali advertisements showcase their entire
product range targeting the audience who want a healthy lifestyle by
using naturally curated products. The massive advertising exercise by
Patanjali has made it one of the fastest growing FMCG companies in
India, with annual revenues in excess of INR 5000 crores. Hence this
gives an overview on the marketing mix of Patanjali Ayurved FMCG
company.

Revenues
Year

Revenues (In crore Rs)

2009-10 163
2010-11 317
2011-12 446
2012-13 850
2013-14 1,200
2014-15 2,006
2015-16 5,000
2016-17 11,526
2017-18 8,135
2018-19 8330

Motives behind business: PAL’s motive motives behind

business are quite good. Such as,
● Promoting Indian products.
● Proving reasonable prices to Indian farmers for their produce.
● Creating demand for ‘Swadeshi’ products in Indian market.
● Fulfilling consumer demands with reasonable prices.
● To generate employment for Indians.
● To circulate Indian money within India to strengthen Indian economy.

The money generated through sales would be used for health care, for
social welfare and for rural economy.
From 2012 thus Indian market started facing stiff competition from
home-grown by Swadeshi competitor. Many tough rivals are existed in
India from 3-4 decades such as Colgate, Dabur, Nestle, Emami,
Britannia, HUL, P&G, Marico industries, Himalaya, Godrej and many.
With own marketing strategies the competition is going on in urban as
well as rural areas of India. PAL is trying to grab customers from abroad
also with “Amazon” but to match up with their motives company should
focus on Indian consumers and especially rural consumers.
So to identify the reason behind popularity of Patanjali products in rural
consumers,

Table 1
Sr. Factors contributed in popularity of Percentage Rank
Patanjali Products (%)
1 Quality of the products 62 2
2 Comparatively less price of products 91 1
3 Swadeshi (Indian) Products 19 5
4 Natural Packaging of products 11 7
5 Curiosity to use new products 42 3
6 Ayurvedic (natural) products 38 4
7 Brand is associated with health and Baba 15 6
Ramdev

Above table 1 show that rural is price sensitive market, 91% rural
consumers are purchasing and consuming Patanjali Products as their
prices are comparatively less than the prices of the existing products in
rural market. PAL’s penetration pricing strategy is working very well in
rural. While 62% of the rural consumers are satisfied with the quality of
Patanjali products. They like to consume because of the quality of
products. Rural people do not like to purchase only cheap products, they
seek for quality and prefer ‘value for money’ products.
42% rural consumers like to buy Patanjali Products out of curiosity to
use new product arrived in market. The pattern of daily product
consumption is now changing in rural. Many products are readily
available anytime and anywhere in rural market from 3-4 decades but
now the rural consumers want to try something new and better
alternatives.
The Patanjali Products are popular in 38% rural consumers as they are
Ayurvedic (natural). ‘Ayurvedic’ positioning of firm has less impact on
rural consumers as awareness and importance of Ayurveda seems
comparatively less in rural consumers. Ayurvedic firms with their well
known brands are available and serving in rural Satara market from
many years. Medicinal firms such as Sandu, Baidyanath, Dabur, Charak,
Arkashala, Ras-shala, Indu, Abhay, Yakasa, Vaidya Sane, Sharangdhar,
Agasti, Sai pharma, Zandu, Himalaya, Omkar, Kalptaru and many. In
beauty and heath care range many Ayurvedic products from Balaji
Tambe, Jiyo fresh, Nisha herbal, Asaram bapu products, Vimohan
herbal, Datta’s, Tanvi herbal, VLCC, Himalaya, Lotus, Emami, Ayur,
Aroma, Annex, Sitaram, Nagarjun, Kerala herbals and so many are
available in rural market. Many of them have best quality but are not
affordable for rural consumers. Many of them are affordable quality
products but firms are lagging in promotion.
PAL’s ‘Swadeshi’ strategy touches only 19% of the rural consumers.
According to them fulfilling daily requirements of family is prioritized
than this. While purchasing products the Patriotism factor doesn’t work
in case of rural consumers.
Image of Baba Ramdev has less influence on rural consumers as only
15% of them are buying Patanjali Products because brand is associated
with Baba Ramdev. In rural consumers there is very less awareness of
Yoga and very less concern about preventions and care for health. So
Baba boom is not seen in rural areas.
Very less rural consumers i.e.11% are purchasing Patanjali products as
they are packed in natural and simple packaging. As rural consumers are
only concerned with quality contain.
With unstructured face-to-face interview data is collected from samples
to find out which Patanjali Products are available and popularly accepted
in rural market.
FUTURE PROSPECTUS OF PATANJALI
Rural Push:
Rural market accounts for over 70% of India‟s 1.21 billion population
but contributes only 9% in the FMCG Industry. Thus increasing
distribution and support infrastructure in rural areas is a key
area where the it needs to focus.

Patanjali is a great example of Rural Marketing. It is not a new brand

and it took some time to set its foothold in the market. But now, it is
thrashing away anything on its way. Patanjali is making its name in the
Indian market by calling itself a Swadeshi brand. This built an
immediate connection with the users. There was a personal touch as it
was the first time as people were using products that were made by
foreign brands only. As the marketing was done in a proper manner, it
became easier for them to move ahead.
The quality of the Patanjali Products is quite good. This was the main
reason why it was accepted by the general public. The price is also very
competitive. It also plays a major role in decision making of rural
people. Another masterstroke was to connect with the farmers. Instead
of proclaiming that Patanjali is the best brand out there, they focused on
the exploitation of the farmers by big MNC’s and corporate house.
There cannot be a better example of rural marketing strategy.
Patanjali also understands the importance of pricing and therefore has
lesser priced products that are available in sachets and small packs. Let’s
take an example to explain this. They sell their Kesh Kanti Hair Oil in
urban areas for the price of Rs 130. The quantity is of 120 ml. It is fair
when compared with the competitors in these areas But when it comes to
rural, they are present in small sachets of just Rs 2 for 8 ml. This
conservative pricing is by keeping in mind the spending habits of
people. Due to all this development, more than 15 percent of rural
people are buying these products.

Today, Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali is sweeping away everything in its

path. From local stores to Amazon, Patanjali Products are everywhere.
The product quality is best in breed, the prices competitive and the
distribution chain is probably the first that is rivalling even the Cola
majors.
For the last decade, Baba Ramdev did not focus on proclaiming that his
brand was the best. Instead, he told us about the evils of MNCs, the
virtues of products made in India, the corruption of corporates, the
exploitation of farmers, the cancerous effects of fertilizers and chemicals
and just about everything that surrounded his products. He just showed
us the reasons and left us on our own to explore his products.
This was brilliant !
See, when someone forces you to try out a product you might have a
bias to reject it as ‘overselling’. But here no-one was pushing anything,
only an environment was created where you wanted to see if the
alternative to above evils was usable.
You might have been influenced by the fear of diseases or you might
just have been patriotic enough to shun all evil US firms. Whatever the
reason, you already had a positive environment to try
the “Patanjali” products.
So now the “Patanjali” brand had a willing consumer.
Was this enough? Obviously not, you still had to deliver. And did they
do that! The product quality was brilliant. Yes, they were not the
panacea of everything as (often) claimed – but the toothpaste was as
good as any other in the market, as were the oils, as were the extracts,
and as was everything else. And guess what, Patanjali overdid even its
own stupendous record in the distribution department. Is there any
village, any city in India where you cannot find these products?
The recent news reports of Baba Ramdev’s FMCG empire were meant
to provide shock value, but they underplayed the true learning for
entrepreneurs aiming to displace huge incumbents. Patanjali reported
Indian revenues of around Rs. 8,330 crores for the last financial year —
 and in doing so went past Colgate in India.
Even more interesting is that Colgate is almost 8 decades old in India
while Baba Ramdev’s brand is barely 8 years old.

APPROACH :

Patanjali has a major advantage as it is associated with a famous

personality, Baba Ramdev, who is a yoga guru who has a fan following
of millions who directly popularise this brand through his yoga camps.
Baba Ramdev direct interaction with the consumers have helped
promote the brand internationally.
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s consumer goods company Patanjali was the
third most advertised brand on television in India during the last week of
November, behind Cadbury and Fair & Lovely.
The saffron-clad Baba’s forecast was quite eye-catching too — he thinks
the brand will double revenues to Rs. 16,000 crores in India by next
year, 2022 — which would effectively take them past two other-decades
old companies — Nestle and Procter & Gamble — and leave Patanjali
second only to Unilever in India, all in just about 10 years.
Reference :

●https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314181123_Patanjali_Whether_a_Dark_horse_in_the_rac
e_of_rural_market

● Quora

●https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patanjali_Ayurved

●https://www.mbaskool.com/marketing-mix/products/17131-patanjali.html

●https://ruralmarketing.in/tags/patanjali