From teacher to leader: Rise and rise of Ramdev and his 'swadeshi' Patanjali empire

In this age of digital disruption, one would have least expected a yoga guru with no formal education to shake the roots of established FMGC majors using a brick & mortar model, forcing them to rethink on their strategies. It’s intriguing as to how Patanjali managed to achieve so much in such a short time, basically the last 5 years. Among brand sagas, the one, which is firmly etched in the annals of marketing is Nirma which took on Hindustan Lever in the 1980s displacing the multinational to become the largest in the detergents space.

The simple explanation for such phenomenal success would be to be in the “Right Place at the Right Time” with a flawless strategy executed well. However, if it was so simple, we would have had hordes of such stories. With Ramdev, it was a well-planned strategy built brick by brick over nearly two decades with an ability to manoeuvre oneself to be in the right place sprinkled with loads of good fortune of getting the timing right which helped him to get on to an exponential growth path, he too possibly may not have envisaged.

A product’s success is based on a few parameters – ability to connect with the consumers and build a strong pull factor through continued delivery. The connecting factor is enhanced with an endorsement from someone whom you possibly trust. And finally the right pricing. However, it’s also important that one is able to satisfy the growing demand without much disruption and maintain quality.