Patanjali’s CEO debut in Forbes’ richest Indian list

By: Divya Vohra

Patanjali Ayurveda Limited is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods (FMGC) company and one of the fastest growing companies in India. It manufactures minerals and herbal products.

Baba Ramdev with Acharya Balkrishna established the Patanjali Ayurved Limited in 2006 with the objective of establishing science of Ayurveda in accordance and coordination with the latest technology and ancient wisdom.

Balkrishna holds more than 90 percent stake in the company and runs the operations as its managing director, while Baba Ramdev is its brand ambassador. In past interviews the CEO has claimed that he doesn’t draw a real salary. He is the man in charge of executing the company’s day-to-day operations, including expansion into new business such as setting up food parks and educational institutes. He also oversees 5,000 Patanjali clinics, the Patanjali University, and a yoga and ayurveda research institute.

According to a report in Business world, initially, the company had very low sale and visibility in market. But the brand’s fortune changed in 2011 when the company made an effective strategy unlike MNCs and took the route of retail units with its health centers. In the last four-five years the company has seen an exponential increase in sale. And hence Balkrishna’s personal wealth increased drastically.

On September 22, Balkrishna made his debut on Forbes’ 2016 list of the 100 richest people in the country at number 48. He entry into the Forbes list comes a few days after a Chinese magazine, Hurum, featured him in a similar set of ranking. Now, his estimate net worth is $2.5 billion.

Balkrishna Suvedi was born in 1972 in Nepal, later he and his parents migrated to India. His early education was at gurukul in Kalwa, Haryana, under Acharya Shri Baldevji, who was a member of the Arya Samaj, a Hindu religious sect. There he met Ramdev for the first time. The two moved to Haridwar, Uttarakhand, after Balkrishna received a postgraduate degree from Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalya, a university dedicated to the teaching of Sanskrit and ancient philosophy in Varanasi. In Haridwar, they opened Divya Pharmacy and began selling ayurvedic medicines and herbs for common ailments. In 2006, they established the Patanjali Ayurved Limited.

Over the time the company gave some 400 stock keeping units such as noodles, soaps, shampoos, etc to the market under the Patanjali brand, competing with almost every consumer good company in the county. They also invested in food parks to grow herbs and plants and building a large retail network to sell goods. By 2020, the company is expected to generate Rs. 20,000 crore in turnover.

Despite Baba Ramdev’s claim that the aim of company is not making profit, Patanjali had done it. Balkrishna will have to indeed thank the rising pop patriotism for his good fortunes. And this goes against the very basis of a free market economy.