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Hamdard Laboratories, India, established in 1906 has introduced its health and beauty care segments among its wide range of products to the Nepali market, almost 116 years after coming into operation. Known for their legacy in AYUSH and Unani philosophy of medicine practices, the company has targeted some of the major cities in the country to introduce their products. Sangay Sherpa of The Himalayan Times caught up with Pankaj Banerjee, global business head of Hamdard, to gain insights on the company's plans for the country going forward. Excerpts:
Can you please tell us about Hamdard, its products, and services targeted for Nepal?
'Hamdard' is a compound word derived from Persian, which combines the words 'hum' used in the sense of 'companion' and 'dard' meaning 'pain'. 'Hamdard' means 'a companion in pain' and 'sympathiser in suffering'.
We have partnered with Life Care Distributors Pvt Ltd, which will cater to local stores while Lotus Pharma Pvt Ltd and its subsidiary company Planet Care will cater to the pharmacists.
Initially, we are focused on bringing our health and beauty products which can be made accessible to Nepali consumers.
Our segment of beauty products will be made available from store counters, e-commerce, etcetera as per the wishes of Nepali consumers based on the benefits of the products which fit into their needs.
The second set of products, which is primarily focused on health, will be made available to customers through pharmacists while some of our products will be recommended by medical practitioners, primarily by those who practice 'ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha, and homoeopathy (AYUSH)' philosophy of medicines.
We are, however, not bringing our other segment of products ranging from spices to juices among others to Nepal at the moment but that will change over time.
The idea is to introduce our products to the Nepali market and slowly bring in our services as well. The industrial world is moving toward the servitisation of the product as well as the productisation of services. Therefore, Hamdard will first bring in the products followed by its services. We are looking to set up our wellness centre in Nepal in one-and-a-half years' time in collaboration with one of our partners.
In three years' time, we are also looking to set up our Hamdard Laboratories Pvt Ltd in Nepal in order to produce some of our products here as some of the herbs used in our products are imported from here. Doing so will help the company in counting the in-land taxation, which is otherwise much more robust for consumer prices because of the import duties and excise imposed.
The benefits of lower taxation are passed onto the consumers, making products more affordable.
Can you give a brief on the current business status of Hamdard in the Indian and global markets?
When you look at AYUSH or Unani philosophy, some of our products are purely consumer-oriented, while others are health-oriented, including our food products as well. Under AY- USH, they are categorised as health-beneficial products.
Hamdard has a legacy of over 116 years with a current turnover of over INR 10 billion from our healthcare segment of products.
If we combine that with our food products, the turnover is over INR 20 billion including our exports.
Currently, we are operating in 12 countries. We operate mostly in the western side of the world namely, the US, Canada, Russia, Serbia, and parts of Africa.
In South Asia, Hamdard is operating in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. The company has sister concerns in Pakistan and Bangladesh as well, which were set up after the partition of India.
Also, Hamdard is a family-run business and 80 per cent of the profit made by selling its products is donated to public charity as part of the company's CSR through the Hamdard National Foundation. We have a medical institute called Hamdard Institute of Medical Science and Research (HIMSR), where most of the clinical trials are done by foreign professionals and which also offers MBBS degrees alongside the Jamia Hamdard University and wellness centres, where people are treated for free and are charged only for the medicines at a subsidised rate. That's the reason Hamdard has not proliferated to the extent of other companies because we were not worried about the consumers' mindset very early into the business.
Other companies started getting into consumer products in the 60s while Hamdard followed in the early 80s.
What is your view on the market competition in Nepal and what strategies will Hamdard use to penetrate the market?
There are certainly other consumer products in the market from other companies but they are primarily focused on the consumer side. Hamdard's approach is to introduce pure herbal products to consumers. The products we have launched in Nepal are produced from pure ayurvedic ingredients without the use of liquid paraffin, mineral oil, or vegetable oil. Our products can be applied and are edible as well.
Every ingredient we use has its own health benefits and action and consumers need not worry about using our products for a long time as it does not cause any problems. We have over 1,000 patented products, including pure herbs and herbal minerals.
The first phase of our plan is to bring our pure products so that we are not infringing on another company's territory. We want other companies to continue playing in their domain while we come up with our own products.
Our products differ from others and are unique to the market.
Also, our products are functionally directed towards problems and are not aspirational. Purity is our current philosophy and all the products that are coming to Nepal are produced from pure ingredients without the use of chemicals. Hamdard has very strong brand equity which very few companies have and that is what attracts the people.
What are the company's plans in terms of CSR here?
Hamdard's philosophy is compassion and giving back to the people. A part of our profit will also be shared for the welfare of Nepal. Hamdard follows the business model approach and trading approach in each country we operate. We can't do CSR activities directly in countries where we trade our products.
But, we will definitely continue the company's philosophy of giving back parts of our profits to charity in countries we are physically present, and Nepal will not be an exception as we grow our business here.
Do you have any key impressions and observations to share from your visit to Nepal?
The culture, beliefs, and values between Nepal and India are very similar. The culture code in Nepal is very internalised, integrated, and almost same. People coming from India to Nepal feel as if they have come to their own country. There is no better understanding between two countries in terms of language, dayto-day dealings, and people's behaviour, among others.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 27, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
