Emami will launch a range of OTC drugs this fiscal for stress relief, diabetes and blood pressure. The drugs will be preventive in nature.

The company's research arm - Himani Ayurvedic Science Foundation - is already working on the products and plans to launch around eight OTC products initially, and about 20 products in two years.

Emami will also redo packaging of its existing OTC products in order to give them a new and innovative look.

Emami has appointed JWT to design the new packaging for its OTC drugs to make ayurveda more contemporary for today's consumers.

Currently Emami's OTC consumer healthcare products include Lalima (blood and skin purifier), Sardija (cough syrup and vaporub), Good Morning (laxative churna), Nirog Dant Powder Lal (tooth powder), Memo plus (memory tonic), and Femi Plus (Ayurvedic uterine tonic).

Post the success of test launch of these brands in eight states (Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh) Emami plans to go national with its OTC brands.

"We aim at creating a strong brand for the successful launch of our products nationally which requires aggressive marketing, distribution network and investment to help capture consumer markets," Aditya Agarwal, director of Emami, said.

In the coming years, Emami foresees significant potential in the OTC consumer healthcare segment as the ‘wellness' trend is expected to grow among consumers.

According to Emami, the company will focus on OTC segment as a major growth driver and believes that natural and healthy lifestyle will be the motto.

According to industry estimates, the over-the-counter (OTC) drugs market in India is very nascent, but is growing at almost 7.7 percent.

The traditional medicines segment is the leading segment in the Indian OTC market, contributing to about 27 per cent to the total market.

The cough and cold preparations segment contributes nearly 20 percent.

The other main therapeutic segments include analgesics, medicated skin products, vitamins and minerals and anti-indigestion preparations. Indigestion preparations segment is the fastest growing segment followed by the medicated skin products and analgesics segment.

In 2005, the Indian OTC segment was worth Rs 4500 crore. The market could also be estimated at Rs 17,000 crore if cosmeceuticals and neutraceuticals are included.

The CAGR for Indian OTC markets is currently hovering between 12 and 15 per cent.

The OTC market in India in 2007 was around Rs 6,000, and Rs 20,000 crore if cosmeceuticals and neutraceuticals are included. The global OTC market is projected to be $75 billion (roughly Rs 375,000 crore) with a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5 per cent.