Assignment Social Marketing Intervention
Healthy Eating
Healthy Eating is an important buzz in the Indian social system leading to increasing commitment of society to adopting healthy eating habits in individual lifestyle. The people in Indian society have raised concerns towards receiving proper nutrition, healthy products and encouraging yoga and exercise in the daily schedule. The fast moving consumer goods have taken advantage of this opportunity to stack its shelf with healthy, organic and natural products to cater to customer’s demands and needs. The increase in trend for healthy eating is nor restricted to a single nation but has a global effect. According to Euromonitor International (2016), the worldwide sales for healthy products especially food are anticipated to reach a mark of $1 trillion in 2017.
Figure 1 Worldwide Health and Wellness Sales Trend (Euromonitor International, 2016)
The ongoing trend of healthy eating in global population has increased the demands for Ayurvedic and herbal products in nations like India to mainly to promote overall health and develop immunity from diseases. The growing pollution in India has shown increased interest in Ayurvedic and herbal products due to concerns over obesity, heath interests and food safety.
Patanjali Ayurved Limited is an Indian based fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company founded in 2006 by Baba Ramdev. The company manufacturing facility is in Haridwar, Uttrakhand and registered office is in Delhi. The company deals in organic products, healthy living products, food products and medicines though its 47000 retail counters and more than 3500 distributors across Indian states (Patanjali Ayurved, 2016). The mission statement of the Patanjali is to develop Ayurveda for quality life across India to set an example for the world. The vision of the Patanjali is to create a healthier social system and country through its natural and quality products and development of Yog and Ayurved. Patanjali is one the fastest growing FMCG in India, in the year 2014-15, the sales were Rs 2006.75 crores with increasing sales year by year (Patanjali Ayurved, 2016).
Figure 2 Patanjali Product Sales from 2009 to 2015
The company is also making the continuous effort to strengthen its presence in global markets such as the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Oman, Germany, Sweden and Australia. In recent years, Patanjali products have gained much popularity and acceptance in Indian market due to increased awareness of health benefits and considerable change in the food habits and food behaviour of individuals (Raizada, 2016). The company continues to succeed since its inception due to its affordable product prices, stronger distribution channel and acceptance of its products by the broader community. However, Patanjali products in the market are facing competition from other companies like Himalaya Drug Company, Dabur, Vicco Laboratories, Emami group, Hindustan Unilever, etc. For instance, Emami group is having a product portfolio of herbal products brands like Zandu, Himani and Kesari Jeevan with a strong distribution channel and invests heavily in marketing activities.
A healthy eating is an essential aspect of the self care plan. The foundation of the healthy lifestyle is adopting healthy eating practices. Eating healthy is essential to promote the overall health of an individual in performing daily activities, protect the cell from damage, support the body process, assist in weight management, prevention of chronic diseases and promote well-being. In addition, the practice of eating healthy is towards maintaining an adequate level of nutrition which is also related to maintain a good physical, mental and emotional health. Following a good healthy diet keeps the individual fit and relaxes the brain and body by maintaining the required level of essential vitamins and minerals. On the other hand Aboud and Singla (2012) states that maintain a healthy eating practice in today life is a challenging task for the consumers. In India, around 53% individuals died in the age group of 30-59 due to chronic illness (Kumar et al., 2013). Thus, this indicates a requirement for the people of India to adopt healthy eating habits. Healthy eating indirectly impacts on the individual mental status and provide support to deal with negative effects of stress. Moreover, the socio- economic development of a nation is determined by the healthier population (Kumar et al., 2013). The improvement in health status of the social system is essential in declining the level of poverty and hunger in a nation (Freeland-Graves and Nitzke, 2013). Thus, a healthy population is also a considerable factor in controlling the poverty level especially in developing nations like India.
Ayurvedic and Herbal Products in Indian market
The Indian market for herbal and Ayurvedic products can be broadly categorized into two segments. One segment comprises of the raw material demands like Amla, Aloe-vera, etc. which is majorly used for the preparation of Ayurvedic products for industrial use and consumption for customers. Another segment is the use of raw material the finished products like health supplements and medicines. According to the EXIM Bank Report, the herbal industry is projected to be Rs. 4205 crores in the Indian market in the current scenario. Also, the export is projected to be Rs. 440 crores for the herbal products and Ayurvedic drugs in Indian market (VGAWE, 2015).
The Indian consumers are concerned towards the side effects of the allopathic medicines and products that provided an opportunity to companies like Patanjali to encourage the development and marketing of herbal and Ayurvedic products which are positioned as products without any side effects. The herbal and Ayurvedic products are associates with numerous benefits in terms of cost benefits to customers, chemical free products, aid in reducing stress, aid in sleep, antioxidant effect, maintaining blood pressure and cholesterol level, protection against diseases and illness, promote a nutrient based diet. Moreover, these products are preferred by Indian public owing to the minimal side effects of the herbal products. According to Arya et al. (2012), there is a huge demand of raw form of Amla, Henna, Aloe-vera, Hartaki, Ashwagandha, Senna, and Isabgol by the Indian consumers.
The practice of healthy eating in India has increased the demands for the natural food products and Ayurvedic products which is transforming the FMCG sector to replace or lower the distribution of unhealthy or synthetic products in the shelf space (Raizada, 2016). Companies like Hindustan Lever have increased its investments in acquiring and developing herbal product range in response to changing consumer preference and demands of Patanjali products in the market.
Impact of Patanjali products in Healthy Eating
The demand of herbal and Ayurvedic products is currently growing which is also influencing a possible change in the food preference and eating habits of Indian people. The products of Patanjali have impacted the lives of Indian consumer in use of food products, herbal products for personal care and Ayurvedic medicines. The products have catered to the demands and needs of health conscious people and as well as matched the purchasing power of low and middle class segments by providing quality products at affordable prices. The increased awareness of Patanjali products in the Indian market increased the public knowledge about Ayurvedic products encourage people to choose Ayurvedic medicines over allopathic and other drugs (Tripathi and Khandelwal, 2016). Moreover, the consumers are shifting the preferences for cookies and flatbread to healthier options like oats, cereals, etc. The products have influenced the common dietary habits of Indian people (Raizada, 2016). The families are inkling towards the natural food products consumption in daily routine and also shaping the food preference and eating habits of the children. Indian consumers have understood the benefits of developing healthy eating habits to support its health interests, weight loss, improve body immunity for chronic disease and to maintain an overall health safety. The people in the course of developing healthy eating are concentrating on consistency in eating, taking proper nutritional foods, fewer intakes of fat products and eating different foods to maintain proper nutritional balance to support the body function in day to day activities. In the view of Roberto and Kawachi (2014), eating healthy has a positive effect on overall health and psychology.
Due to these factors, the willingness of the Indian consumer to spend on healthy food products, organic foods, health drinks have increased in recent years (Forbes, 2015). Patanjali products have also impacted the packaged food material for the aerated drink as the consumers are developing the preference for healthy drinks and juices like Amla, Aloe-vera, etc. Similarly, the product such as green tea is well accepted among consumers and has become an integral part of the Indian social system.
The availability of Ayurvedic products from Patanjali has increased its consumer consumption in the Indian market to a certain extent. The Indian have started to realise the dangers of synthetic products and food safety, as a result, the consumers are modifying diets such as low salt and sugar intake, fewer calorie foods to maintain health. The consumers in buying products are considering the nutrition information labelling for choosing the food or personal care products (Tripathi and Khandelwal, 2016). These products have led to increase in commitment level of Indian consumers towards healthy eating habits in maintaining a healthier lifestyle. Moreover, Patanjali operating in FMCG retailing environment have impacted similar competing business and other retailers to add herbal and Ayurvedic product categories.
Patanjali to encourage the development of the use of organic and herbal products is making use of social marketing initiatives to promote the concept of healthy eating in mass public. The social marketing campaigns of the company are directed towards educating the public about healthy eating practices to strengthen the Indian social system. Patanjali through its promotional activities is focusing on the consumer concerns of non-communicable diseases, malnutrition, obesity and unhealthy lifestyle (Raizada, 2016). The advertisements of Patanjali do not assert the uniqueness of its brand but state the exploitation of farmers, side-effects of chemical used in other products, benefits of domestic products, effect of fertilizers and points to the reasons for not using other MNC products. The products are positioned as natural and ‘swadeshi’ products with minimal side effects to encourage the usage of its products by potential consumers.
The prospect of Ayurvedic and herbal products market is expected to be positive. These products have the potential to capture market share as an alternative medicines over pharmaceutical products (Arya et al., 2012). Patanjali to increase its market share and to achieve more market competitiveness in global market needs to involve more in brand recognition, invest in promotional activities and develop market strategies to build customer trust in Patanjali products. The increasing urbanisation, incentives for producers and farmers, increasing heath concerns, modifying consumer behaviour towards adopting the healthy lifestyle, and knowledge about the consequences or side effects of synthetic products are some of the future drivers in the adoption of healthy eating habits (Tripathi and Khandelwal, 2016). However, the factors like taste preference for fast food, lack of knowledge of nutritional foods and dosage instruction, the risk of poison associate with wild herbs, lack of availability of organic products at home, peer pressure and lack of family support could pose a barrier for individuals in adopting healthy eating behaviour.
Eating healthy is developing one of the best practices in Indian consumers to maintain self-care and to maintain overall health. This transformation is due to the increased awareness and knowledge about the benefit associated with natural food products and side effects of symmetric and other harmful pharmaceutical drugs. It can be said that Patanjali products in the Indian market are greatly influencing the eating habits of the people in a healthier way. Herbal and Ayurvedic products availability in the Indian markets has considerably shifted the eating pattern of the consumers into healthier eating. The Patanjali products have majorly affected the health conscious and price sensitive consumers to improve the eating habits. The increased awareness of individual regarding the ill–effects of allopathic medicines, use of chemical products, the concept of Yog and Ayurvedic treatment, herbal predicts benefits and low prices of quality herbal products have to lead to acceptance and consumption of Patanjali products in the India.
References
Aboud, F. E. and Singla, D. R. (2012) Challenges to changing health behaviours in developing countries: a critical overview. Social science & medicine, 75(4), pp. 589-594.
Arya, V., Thakur, R., Kumar, S. and Kumar, S. (2012) Consumer buying behaviour towards Ayurvedic medicines/products in Joginder nagar-A survey.Ayurpharm-International Journal of Ayurveda and Allied Sciences, 1(3), pp. 60-64.
Euromonitor International (2016). Health and Wellness the Trillion Dollar Industry in 2017: Key Research Highlights.[Online] Available at: http://blog.euromonitor.com/2012/11/health-and-wellness-the-trillion-dollar-industry-in-2017-key-research-highlights.html (Accessed: 6 June 2017)
Forbes. (2015) Consumers Want Healthy Foods–And Will Pay More For Them. [Online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nancygagliardi/2015/02/18/consumers-want-healthy-foods-and-will-pay-more-for-them/#5220e0fba8a8 (Accessed: 6 June 2017).
Freeland-Graves, J. H. and Nitzke, S. (2013) Position of the academy of nutrition and dietetics: total diet approach to healthy eating. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 113(2), pp. 307-317.
Kumar, A., Goel, M. K., Jain, R. B., Khanna, P. and Chaudhary, V. (2013) India towards diabetes control: Key issues. Australasian Medical Journal, 6(10).
Patanjali Ayurved. (2016) Overview. [Online] Available at: http://patanjaliayurved.org/company-overview.html (Accessed: 6 June 2017).
Raizada, S. (2016) PATANJALI: Discoverer, Differentiator and Disruptor’.Business Management and Strategy, 7(2), pp. 56-67.
Roberto, C. A., & Kawachi, I. (2014). Use of psychology and behavioral economics to promote healthy eating. American journal of preventive medicine, 47(6), pp. 832-837.
Tripathi, M. and Khandelwal, S. (2016) Rise of Patanjali-Effect of Patanjali Brand on FMCG Competitors in Western Suburbs of Mumbai. TIMSR Journal of Management Research, pp. 37-55.
VGAWE (2015). Industry Scenario. [Online] Available at: http://vibrantayurveda.in/?page_id=2083 (Accessed: 6 June 2017).
