The Curious case of Patanjali

Patanjali Ayurved is a fast growing FMCG company in India, which focuses on food, healthcare and medicinal products. It was founded in Delhi by Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna in 2006 with the aim of promoting ayurvedic products amongst consumers. According to Patanjali, all the products manufactured by Patanjali are made based on Ayurveda and have only natural components. Further, its profit goes for charity purposes. Patanjali saw exponential growth and declared its annual turnover of the year 2016–17 to be estimated ₹10,216 crore (US$1.4 billion), becoming one of the largest consumer goods company in India. Patanjali Ayurved has diversified rapidly and has also initiated its expansion by dealership partnerships and distributor channels across India and abroad. However, the company has been progressively weighed down by controversy and is losing trustworthiness and profits in recent years. Why did this steep decline in growth occur while other FMC...