From swadeshi to a little videshi: Patanjali ties up with Amazon, others

After opposing foreign multinationals for years, Ramdev now seems to be shedding his pureplay anti-international image, to grow Patanjali’s reach and the swadeshi cause.

At a crowded press conference in the capital on Tuesday, Ramdev-led Patanjali entered into tie-ups with American e-commerce major Amazon and other online players such as  Paytm Mall, Bigbasket and Grofers — all of them funded by foreign investors from Japan, China and the US, among others.

Patanjali had recently collaborated with Google and Facebook as well for advertisements tailored for the online audience. The group, struggling to meet its target of becoming the largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company by 2018, wants to shore up its market presence through online alliances. Currently, the online channel in the FMCG space accounts for close to 5 per cent of the total and it has the potential to cross 40 per cent by 2021, according to a projection by BCG Consulting. Co-founders, Ramdev and Balkrishna, who had called for banning top global players such as Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Nestle and Procter & Gamble from the local market, on Tuesday expressed their willingness to work with foreign partners. “We have no issues in taking help from foreigners in science and technology or any foreign platform, if it is for the sake of advancing and promoting swadeshi. We had to import over Rs10.00 billion worth of machineries for research institute and plants,” Ramdev said.
 

Praising Amazon India for its commitment towards promoting local brands, he said, “Amazon is a major multinational. This tie-up between foreign and Indian brands will be unique.” According to Bal Krishna, managing director, Patanjali Ayurved, the partnerships are a testimony to the success of swadeshi.