Journey of a penniless yoga student to a billionaire industrialist
Ben Crair of Bloomberg profiled Baba Ramdev’s intriguing journey to stardom and billionaire club.
Some highlights:
Fastest ever growth for an FMCG business:
From 2012 to 2018 Patanjali grew more than ten times.
From INR 700 crores to 10,000 crores.
Ramdev’s co-founder is India’s 19th richest man, worth INR 40,000 crores.
What is its business?
Ayurvedic hospital & medicines
A yoga school
FMCG
Research lab
How good are its products?
Noodles had 3 times ash content than legal level.
Indian army stopped selling its juice.
Nepal recalled six of its goods.
They were charged with misleading customers with ads.
More here: Link
Will it beat Indian majors like HUL?
Ramdev often says:
The ‘gate’ in Colgate will shut.
Pantene will wet its pants.
The lever of Unilever will break down.
The little Nestlé bird will fly away.
My take:
Such fast growth only happens in Ponzi schemes.
However, Patanjali did hire industry experts to streamline its business.
Still, there are doubts.
Indepth profile: Bloomberg ( First few clicks free)
Go deeper: Book On Ramdev
Book: Godman to tycoon, The untold story of Baba Ramdev
Author: Priyanka Pathak-Narain
What is it about?
Glimpses of his past life, which people do not know.
Sold chawanprash on a bicycle.
Taugh yoga to small groups in 1990.
How he bought his way to his celebrity status
He dissed his mentor and guru.
Who should read this book?
Those who want to learn the alternative route to success.
Understand how religion, politics and money are always winners.
How to trick the system?
Never give up.
Bonus: Priyanka’s interview by The Wire