Himalaya forays into nutraceuticals

Himalaya Drug Company, the Bangalore-based Rs 1,200 crore manufacturer of ayurvedic drugs and cosmetics, has forayed into nutraceuticals market with the launch of a prescription-based health supplement for kids.

“Based on our research with about 1,000 doctors across the country we have found that an increasing number of kids in urban Indian homes are lack micro nutrients. We have developed this nutrition supplement, HiOwna-Jr, after conducting research for seven years,” Philipe Haydon, chief executive officer - pharmaceuticals, Himalaya Drug Company said.

He said the company would be carving out a separate entity out of its pharmaceuticals division for the nutraceuticals business in the next few months. It would also launch about nine nutraceutical products over a period of next five years.

 

“According to recent Frost and Sullivan research, the nutraceuticals market in India is likely to double to about $2.8 billion from the present level of $1.4 billion. We would be looking at a revenue of about Rs 250-300 crore in the next five years from this business segment,” Haydon told reporters.

The company plans to launch nutritional supplement for adults and pregnant and lactating mothers in the next 8 months. Over a period of next five years, it would launch products for other segments like Diabetes, Weight management, oncology amo-ng others, he said.

Haydon said the company would market the product only through the ethical route (prescription-based). It has about 2,500 medical representatives on its rolls and it aims to tap about 400,000 doctors across the country. The product will not be sold over the counter (OTC) in medical shops and super bazaars, he added.

HiOwna-Jr contains herbs widely known in Ayurveda for promoting child health. It is fortified with 13 essential vitamins and nine minerals. It also has Ragi (finger millet) that improves nutritive status, Maricha (black pepper), a bio availability enhancer, Mandukaparni (centella), a cerebral activator and Amalaki (Gooseberry), an immunity enhancer and richest source of Vitamin C among others.