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Making Ayurveda More Relevant for Millennials

In this edition of the Interview, Fair Observer talks to Siddhesh Sharma, a third-generation scion of Baidyanath and president of the company.
By Ankita Mukhopadhyay & Siddhesh Sharma • Jul 29, 2020
Siddhesh Sharma, Baidyanath Group, Ayurveda, ayurvedic medicine, alternative medicine, India, Indian news, ARMR drinks, Ankita Mukhopadhyay, Shunya drinks

© Naturedge Beverages

A fact commonly overlooked about India is that it is home to Ayurveda, an ancient system of medicine. Ayurveda is seen by several Indians as an alternative, healthier medicinal system as it is based completely on natural products.

In 1917, Ram Dayal Joshi Sharma and Ram Narayan Sharma, who are brothers, co-founded the Baidyanath Group to commercially manufacture ayurvedic medicine. Baidyanath immortalized Ayurveda for millions of Indians, eventually pivoting into several successful businesses such as Ayurveda research.

Ayurveda has seen a new lease of life during the coronavirus lockdown, as Indians are increasingly looking for natural products to boost their immune system to combat the virus. In March, Milkbasket, an e-commerce company, said that sales of products like honey and herbal tea had increased by 17% month on month. The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), which is tasked with promoting the development of indigenous medicine like Ayurveda, even released an advisory in January detailing ayurvedic methods to be used against the coronavirus. (While trials have shown the drug dexamethasone can lessen the impact of severe disease in patients, there is currently no known vaccine or treatment against COVID-19, which is caused by the novel coronavirus.)

At a time when Ayurveda is more relevant than ever, Baidyanath is looking to capitalize on the wave by becoming more mainstream and diversifying from its core business.

In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to Siddhesh Sharma, a third-generation scion of Baidyanath and president of the company, about his vision for the firm and his new ventures in a field very different from what Baidyanath usually does: beverages. Sharma’s journey stands out as it is rooted deeply in his personal experience as a professional tennis player.

The transcript has been edited for clarity.

Ankita Mukhopadhyay: Baidyanath has a century-old legacy, yet the brand continues to be associated with older people. How do you plan to make Baidyanath a more accessible brand for millennials?

Siddhesh Sharma: Baidyanath focuses on a particular age group and demographic by design, but that’s not our objective. That said, for us to be relevant and to continue our legacy, we have to start making ourselves more relatable to the youth. We are slowly doing that.

The new ventures are all based on the science and know-how we have at Baidyanath. They are under the ambit of a new venture, but the research and development behind the venture is our Ayurvedic know-how that was built over 100 years.

At Baidyanath, meanwhile, we are trying to change format of certain preparations to reach a larger audience. For example, churan (powdered herbs) are now available in easier formats like tablets or capsules. This has made it easier for people to consume the old remedies in a new format.

Siddhesh Sharma, Baidyanath Group, Ayurveda, ayurvedic medicine, alternative medicine, India, Indian news, ARMR drinks, Ankita Mukhopadhyay, Shunya drinks

Mukhopadhyay: Baidyanath has a set business with market leadership in several products. Why did you choose to diversify into the drinks segment at this point of time?

Sharma: I would like to rewind back a few years. I used to play tennis competitively since a young age. I won the silver medal at the national levels in India when I was 17. I qualified to represent India at the Davis Cup.

I have gotten significant exposure to what sports demands in terms of beverages. However, many of my teammates left India for many reasons. India has weaknesses such as infrastructure, nutrition, health, etc. I also eventually left India to pursue my engineering degree at Nottingham University in England.

Nottingham is also a great sports university. It has an amazing sports center where the pre-Wimbledon tournament is conducted. It was a great fit for me, as I could pursue my education and tennis side-by-side. When I started playing professionally in the UK, I realized that all our fitness coaches and tennis trainers paid more attention to our diet and hydration, as compared to those in India.

Because of this reason, while I trained lesser than what I used to in India, I was playing way better tennis and winning more matches. When I came back to India during the vacations, I realized how difficult it was for me to buy good ready-to-drink beverages in the Indian market. There were no lifestyle drinks that were healthy and every other drink was full of sugar, chemicals, preservatives and other nasty ingredients. I had set a goal back then — I will certainly do something in this space whenever the time’s right.

Fast forward to 2014. My entire passion for tennis led me to make a small investment in a tennis league here in India. By 2014, the whole food industry had also changed in India.

But there was still a gap in terms of the beverages we bought off the shelf. The ready-to-drink beverage category, where functional drinks are growing, we are still in a very nascent stage as compared to the US or anywhere in the West. I thought that this was a good time to venture into this space.

This led me to start working on the beverages. However, a drink based on Ayurveda and herbs was my number one priority. A hundred years of R&D, knowledge and know-how can’t be replaced or bought out. I was very clear from day one that I will lead my beverages with the super herbs or herbs story. But eventually, we will also have fortified vitamins, minerals, electrolytes in the waters and then launch the brand. That’s why the venture is also called Naturedge Beverages Pvt Ltd. because I want to focus on ready-to-drink products [and] I currently see a huge gap in the Indian market. That’s the background of my journey into drinks.

Mukhopadhyay: How do you plan to scale up your beverage company, Naturedge Beverages?

Sharma: Naturedge Beverages are functional drinks in nature. When I say functional, that means less sugar, low calories. The whole idea is that we grow slowly but surely, in Mumbai, Bangalore and the Delhi national capital region — three major hotspots of the country.

Siddhesh Sharma, Baidyanath Group, Ayurveda, ayurvedic medicine, alternative medicine, India, Indian news, ARMR drinks, Ankita Mukhopadhyay, Shunya drinks
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CategoriesBusiness, Central & South Asia, Culture, Entrepreneurship, India News, The Interview, World News Tagsalternative medicine, Ankita Mukhopadhyay, Ayurveda, ayurvedic medicine, Baidyanath Group, India, Indian news, news on India, Siddhesh Sharma, South Asia
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