A PROJECT REPORT ON

A PERCEPTION STUDY OF PATANJALI AYURVEDA

SUBMITTED BY
SHRADDHA S. KANGUTKAR
ROLL NO. 1615518

M.COM (BUSINESS MANAGEMENT) PART 2 [Semester 3]

MULUND COLLEGE OF COMMERCE

MULUND (W) 400080.

SUBMITTED TO

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

ACADEMIC YEAR
2016-17

PROJECT GUIDE

PROF. PADMAJA ARVIND

1
 DECLARATION

I, Ms. Shraddha S. Kangutkar (Roll No. 1615518), of Mulund College of Commerce of

M.Com (Business Management) (Part 2) [Semester 3], hereby declare, that I have
completed my project titled, A Perception Study of Patanjali Ayurveda for the subject
Research Methodology in the Academic Year 2016-2017. The information submitted
herein is true and original to the best of my knowledge.

Date: _____________ ________________________

Signature of Student

Place: _____________ [Shraddha S. Kangutkar]

2
 MULUND COLLEGE OF COMMERCE,
MULUND (W)-400 080.

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that, Ms. SHRADDHA KANGUTKAR, of M.Com Business Management

Semester 3 (2016-2017) has successfully completed the project on A Perception study of
Patanjali Ayurveda under the guidance of Prof. PADMAJA ARVIND.

______________________________ ______________________________

Signature of the Principal Signature of the Course Coordinator

[Dr. Parvathi Venkatesh] [Prof. S. A. Pawar]

_______________________________ _______________________________

Signature of the Signature of the

Project Guide/Internal Examiner External Examiner

[Prof. Padmaja Arvind]

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The College, the Faculty, the Library, my classmates and the atmosphere in the college were
all the favourable contributory factors for the preparation of the project, right from the point
when the topic was selected till the final copy was prepared. It was an enriching experience
and the contribution from the following individuals has helped me make the project as it
appears today.

Firstly, I would like to thank my Project Guide, Professor Padmaja Arvind, for giving the
proper guidance and for the valuable inputs. I would also like to thank our Course
Coordinator, Professor. S. A. Pawar, for all the advice and encouragement. Lastly, but in no
way the least, I would like to thank our principal, Professor Dr. Parvathi Venkatesh for
providing all the required resources on time.

I thank all the administration staff of MCC M.Com Business Management and all other
people who inspired and guided me in successfully completing my project.

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 INDEX

SR PAG
SIGNATUR
NO TOPIC E
E
. NO.
INTRODUCTION
1. 6

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 8

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 21

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE &

4. 22
RESEARCH QUESTIONS

5. RESEARCH DESIGN 23

6. SAMPLING METHOD 26

7. DATA COLLECTION 27

8. CONCLUSION 30

9. WEBLIOGRAPHY 36

10. ANNEXURE - QUESTIONNAIRE 37

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 INTRODUCTION

The ever changing marketing scenario and heightened competition over the globe has
amplified the role of brand at unparalleled level. Every person is a consumer of different
brands at the same time. The choice and usage of a particular brand by the consumer over the
time is affected by the quality benefits offered by the brand especially when it comes to brand
of eatables and cosmetics. Consumer satisfaction is derived when he compares the actual
performance of the product with the performance he expected out of the usage. Philip Kotler
(2008) observed that satisfaction is a person's feelings of pressure or disappointment resulting
from product's perceived performance (outcome) in relation to his or her expectations. If the
perceived benefits turned out to be almost same as expected, customer is highly satisfied and
that is how the company achieves loyalty of the customer towards the products.

In Indian scenario, perceptions about a particular brand are important because Indian
customers rely on the perception of their near and dear ones before actually buying or using
the product. The perceptions of the people around us affect our decision to buy or not to buy
the product. Perceptions are highly subjective and thus easily distorted. The qualm of buying
and not buying continues into the mind or the black box of the prospective consumer unless
his decision is not supported by many. Thus in order to survive in the marketing environment
of a country like India, brands need to be positioned in the minds of people. India is already
an attractive destination for brands to set in due to favourable marketing conditions. India has
known to be a hub of Herbal brands as well since the herbal products are deeply associated
with the spirituality sentiments of the people. A WHO (World Health Organization) study
estimates that about 80 percent of world population depends on natural products for their
health care instead of modern medicines primarily because of side effects and high cost of
modern medicine (Sharma, Shanker, Tyagi, Singh, & Rao, 2008) The worldwide herbal
market products are around $6.2 billion and estimated to reach $5 trillion by the year 2050
(WHO & Kumar & Janagam, 2011) This paper carries out a study on what factors affect
buying decision of the buyers for brand PATANJALI.
Patanjali - a brand set up by PATANJALI AYURVEDA LTD is backed by robust preaching
and promotion of World renowned Guru Swami Ramdevji and an international authority on
Ayurveda and Traditional Herbs. The company is set up with an objective to provide superior
quality of products at fair price and to get their customers rid of the chronic diseases by

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providing products which are organic and natural. This concept of Herbal and Pure has
gained momentum in India and across the world since people now a days are more centred
towards keeping themselves near to Nature due to their commercialized routines.
PATANJALI AYURVEDA LTD has more than 100 different products in the catalogue for
Skin, Hair, Heart, Eyes and Kidney diseases. Patanjalis recent tie up with Future Group to
enter into FMCG segment through Big Bazaar Retail stores is another big advantage towards
the availability of Patanjali Products near to their consumers. The Patanjali Products have
rightly been placed at advantage by the very concept of Marketing through Spirituality.
Hence, in this project we will study the perception of Patanjalis customers towards not only
the products it offers but also the marketing strategy it uses.

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 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Company Profile:

Patanjali Ayurved

Prakriti ka ashirwad
Type Private

Industry Consumer goods

Founded 2005

Founder Ramdev
Acharya Balkrishna
Pankaj Srivastava

Headquarters Haridwar, India

Area served India and Nepal

Products Foods, beverages, cleaning agents, personal care products&

Ayurvedic medicine

Revenue 5,000 crore(US$740 million) (2015-16)

Number of employees 200,000 (201112)

Website www.patanjaliayurved.net
patanjaliayurved.org

Patanjali Ayurved Limited is an Indian FMCG company. Manufacturing units and

headquarters are located in the rural/urban area of Haridwar while the registered office is
located at Delhi. The company manufactures mineral and herbal products. It also has
manufacturing units in Nepal under the trademark Nepal Gramudhyog and imports majority

8
of herbs in India from Himalayas of Nepal. According to CLSA and HSBC, Patanjali is the
fastest growing FMCG company in India. It is valued at 3,000 crore (US$450 million) and
some predict revenues of 5,000 crore (US$740 million) for the fiscal 201516. Ramdev
baba has stated in his interview with CNN-News18 that profit from Patanjali Products goes to
charity.

The Patanjaliayurved.net domain is owned by Patanjali Ayurved Limited incorporated in

2006 under Companies Act, 1956 with its registered office at D-26, Pushpanjali Bijwasan
Enclave, New Delhi - 110061. Patanjaliayurved.net is the official online Patanjali store of
Patanjali Ayurved Limited. Full range of best quality, trusted Patanjali products are now just a
click away from customers door step. They are dedicated towards best service, quality
products, real time assistance. We present full product range of food, cosmetics, medicines,
books, CD s, DVD s & Audio cassettes at best price.

Patanjali Ayurved Limited produces quality Herbomineral preparations. To monitor quality,

the Divya Yog Mandir Trust and Patanjali Yog Peeth grow many endangered herbs on its
farmland. The principles of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) are rigorously followed in
the plant and Company prides itself on being environment friendly.

A high stress on quality, several quality circles and special quality circles and special project
teams working on Total Quality Management (TQM) projects make quality a way of life in
Patanjali Ayurved Limited. This enables Patanjali Ayurved Limited to produce herbomineral
preparations with uniform levels of batch-to-batch consistency. This ensures that the
customer gets the same high quality product regardless of where it is purchased.

The special equipment required for manufacturing of sterile products (bhasma, ghanstva,
eyedrop, capsule, etc.) includes component washing machines, steam sterilizers, membrane
filter machines, manufacturing vessels, blenders, liquid filling machines, powder filling
machines, sealing and labelling machines, vacuum testing chambers, inspection machines,
lyophilisers, pressure vessels, etc. are provided depending on the type and volume of activity.

Unit sterilizers are double ended with suitable interlocking arrangements between the doors.
The effectiveness of the sterilization process is established initially by biological inactivation
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studies using microbial spore indicators and then at least oncea year by carrying out thermal
mapping of the chamber.

Filling machines are challenged initially and then at periodic intervals by stimulation trials
including sterile media fill.

On procurement, engineers with the support of production and quality assurance personnel
have done installation qualification of each of the equipment. Equipment for critical
processes like aseptic filling and sterilizers are suitably validated according to a written
programme before putting them to use.

Standard operating procedures are available for each equipment for its calibration and
operation and cleaning.

Yoga guru-turned-tycoon Baba Ramdev has just set the bar higher for his consumer products
businessRs.1 trillion ($14.9 billion) in net sales, a target he thinks can be reached in 10
years, if not five.

The bearded 50-year-old yoga guru has no doubt at all that Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, which he
set up in 2006, will get there; its just a matter of time.

Itll happen naturally. I dont dream, I only work, Ramdev said in a rare interview on 24
May in Haridwar, the north Indian Hindu holy town on the banks of the Ganges, which
houses the headquarters of his business empire.

The target is a 20-fold increase from the Rs.5,000 crore in net sales that Patanjali posted in
the business year that ended on 31 March. Next stop: Rs.10,000 crore in net sales in the year
to next March.

The breadth of Ramdevs ambition can be gauged from the fact that Hindustan Unilever Ltd
(HUL), the local unit of Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever Plc., which has been
around in India since 1888, hasnt even touched one-third of Ramdevs target. In the year to
31 March, HUL posted net sales of Rs.32,482.72 crore.

The target also represents a third of the size of Indias entire packaged consumer products
market at present, estimated at about Rs.3.2 trillion a year and projected to grow 12-15%
annually over the next five years, reaching Rs.6.1 trillion in 2019, according to a September

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2015 report by industry lobby Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(Ficci) and advisory firm KPMG.

Of course, Patanjali is used to a red-hot pace of growth. The company, which sells everything
from shampoo and toothpaste to biscuits and noodles, and rice and wheat to honey and ghee,
more than doubled its sales in the year ended 31 March, from Rs.2,006 crore in the previous
year. (To put that in perspective, HULs sales rose 4% in the same period.) Sales have
multiplied 11-fold from Rs.446 crore in 2011-12.

Business is a byproduct:

People trust us, and thats what is making Patanjali big, Ramdev said in the 24 May
interview with Mint at Shant Kutir (peace cottage), his abode, dressed in saffron robes and
sitting cross-legged on an over-sized chair. We are not into small things. Whatever we do,
we multiplybe it yoga, be it ayurveda and now business.

Today, more than one billion people know me in this country, and the whole world knows
me. Our promise is well never ruin the trust people have in us, come what may, he said.

Shant Kutir is a gated property spread over a couple of acres, and the cottage was built in
2009-10, modelled partly on Mahatma Gandhis Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

The compound has no air of the frugality that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Indias
independence hero, famously practiced. It is guarded 24x7 by the Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF), has a man-made water well and an artificial waterfall and watch towers.
Neatly manicured lawns surround the main cottage. The cottage itself is air-conditioned, with
Persian-design carpets and cushioned sofas in the room where Ramdev receives visitors.

Ramdev, who is driven around in a white Range Rover Evoque, initially found fame as a
yoga evangelist, teaching the benefits of the Indian physical and spiritual discipline through
television channel Aastha since 2000.

Business is a byproduct, he said in the interview. The Patanjali brand, prosperity and
profiteverything is a by-product.

Ramdev downplays his own role in building Patanjali into an emerging consumer products
giant, saying his only role is that of a brand ambassador who works for free in television
commercials representing the brands his company makes.

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12
Even so, its clear that a razor-sharp business brain is deftly charting the future of Patanjali
Ayurved.

The rise of Patanjali may be backed by the faith that Ramdevs millions of disciples repose in
the yoga guru, who, in 2011, briefly became a crusader against government corruption and
had to hurriedly leave the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi dressed in a salwar suit lent by a female
follower to escape a brutal police crackdown.

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But theres also something beyond reliance on blind faith. Patanjali knows where exactly it is
headed and what it should do to get there.

Over the next few years, Patanjali will focus on six areas: natural medicine, natural
cosmetics, natural dairy products and food, natural cattle feed and feed supplements, bio-
fertilizers and bio-pesticides, and natural indigenous seeds, said Ramdev.

In April, Mumbai-based Pittie Group, the nationwide distributor for Patanjali products, sewed
up a distribution arrangement with Apollo Pharmacy. It also has a marketing arrangement
with Kishore Biyanis Future Retail Ltd for selling Patanjali products in 243 cities across
India. Patanjali Ayurved has also teamed up with billionaire Mukesh Ambanis retail chain
Reliance Retail to sell its products.

Over the next year, Patanjali will increase its retail presence through 4,000 distributors, more
than 10,000 company-owned outlets, 100 Patanjali-branded stores and supermarkets, the
company said in a statement recently.

Over the next five years, Patanjali will set up six more factories in other parts of the country,
Ramdev said, declining to divulge investment details.

Patanjali currently has three factories and a bunch of contract manufacturers.

Acharya Balkrishna, Ramdevs close confidant and managing director of Patanjali Ayurved,
said in a press conference on 27 April that the company will spend more than Rs.1,000 crore
to set up new production units and Rs.150 crore on a research and development facility.

Well employ about 500,000 people once all these factories are built, besides the indirect
beneficiaries, says Ramdev.

To build the factories, Ramdev said, Patanjali is buying land everywhere at market price.

Advertising, MNC style:

Patanjalis expansion is backed by a high-powered marketing campaign led by Ramdev

himself. Between January and March, Patanjali Ayurved doubled the number of
advertisements it airs on TV channels, according to data from television viewership
measurement agency Broadcast Audience Research Council India, or BARC.

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Patanjalis weekly ad insertions on television jumped 102% from 11,897 in the first week of
January to 24,050 in the week ended 25 March, according to BARC. Ad insertions by
Patanjali are 20% more than those by the next most-advertised brand on TVCadbury, a
chocolate brand owned by Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd.

According to Anuja Chauhan, creative consultant at advertising agency JWT India and a
writer, Patanjali is riding on Ramdevs huge fan following. The company got two things
rightone, the whole India-ayurveda connection and, second, the MNC style of advertising.

His own channel, Aastha, is a handy marketing tool as well.

On a typical day, Ramdev wakes up at 3.30am and starts his day with gooseberry juice, rich
in vitamin C and considered a great immunity booster in ayurvedathe ancient Indian
system of medicine. By 5am, he reaches his yoga ashram, Patanjali Yogpeeth, a couple of
kilometres from Shant Kutir, to conduct a yoga session that is televised live.

The yoga session lasts a couple of hours. On this particular day, Balkrishna joins him during
the session to talk about the goodness of Patanjali products.

Ramdev and Balkrishna converse about how good Patanjalis cattle feed is and how they can
double the milk output of cows. Listening to them are more than a thousand middle-aged
followers from the farming community who are attending a five-day yoga camp (attendees
pay a fee of Rs.1,000-2,000 per day for such yoga camps), besides millions of television
viewers. A new range of cattle feed will be launched soon, the duo says.

According to Ramdev, Patanjali already sells about Rs.150 crore worth of cattle feed a year
and expects to cross the Rs.1,000-crore mark this year.

Patanjalis day-to-day operations are overseen by Ram Bharat, 38, who works from a huge
wood-crafted office at the companys factory in Padartha, an industrial zone in Haridwar that
is spread over 150 acres.

Bharatbhai, as he is called, is Ramdevs younger brother. He refuses to be photographed, and

rarely consents to interviews. According to managers at the factory, he is easily accessible
when it comes to business.

Bharat first came into the limelight in May last year when he was sent to judicial custody on
charges of instigating a clash between a Haridwar truck union and guards at the factory,
which ended in one persons death and injuries to four people.
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On the other hand, multiple people at Patanjali believe the business brain behind Patanjalis
success is none other than Swami Muktanand, a director at Patanjali. However, Muktanands
whereabouts are not known.

The corporate communications professionals at Patanjali and management personnel declined

to give any details, and requests for an interview were declined.

Analysts at top securities houses have taken note that theres a serious player in town; for an
unlisted company, thats quite an achievement.

The companys business model is rewriting the rules of consumer marketing in India. We
think rapid growth will continue, driven by an ever-increasing consumer demand for its
products; the launch of new categories; and a broader retail and distribution network (two
thirds of revenue comes from northern India), Amit Sachdeva, an analyst with HSBC
Securities and Capital Markets (India) Pvt. Ltd, wrote in a report dated 5 February.

The success of Patanjali has raised investor concerns about the impact on established
consumer names, Sachdeva wrote.

Ramdev openly ridicules his multinational competition.

Its just the start. Ab tak Colgate ka toh gate khul gaya, Nestle ka toh panchhi urne wala hai,
Pantene ka toh pant gila hone wala hai; aur do saal me, Unilever ka lever kharab ho
jayega (By now, Colgates gate has opened; Nestles bird has flown (a reference to Nestle
India Ltds logo), Pantenes (a shampoo brand by Procter and Gamble India) pants are going
to get wet, and in two years, Unilevers lever will fail), Ramdev said on 27 April at a press
conference in Delhi.

In a 11 January 2016 report, Credit-Suisse Securities (India) Pvt. Ltd analyst Rohit Kadam
wrote that Patanjalis meteoric rise had hurt Colgate-Palmolive (India).

The sales of Colgates toothpastes slowed from an annual growth pace of about 10% to just
1% in the quarter ended December as Patanjalis Dant Kanti made inroads, he wrote.

HUL, Colgate and Procter and Gamble declined comment for the story.

Nestle India Ltd chairman and managing director Suresh Narayanan said he believed
disruptive competition is always good to have.

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Competition energizes me. I firmly believe every company play on its strengths. Our
strength is nutrition, science, health and wellness. Thats what we are all about. We are good
at these, and well be playing to it. Lets focus on what we need to do and get that right, he
added.

Cigarette maker ITC Ltd, which branched out into foods, home and personal care products in
2001 and reported sales of Rs.9,704.40 crore for the year ended 31 March 2016, is also aware
of the formidable competition posed by Patanjali.

We have taken note of Patanjalis rapid growth and are recalibrating our strategy, V.L.
Rajesh, chief executive (foods business), ITC, said in New Delhi on 19 May.

Outsourcing:

To be sure, there are concerns about some Patanjali products and scepticism about some of its
claims.

In May, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) found gross exaggeration in the
commercials on hair oil, mustard oil and washing power made by the company.

The Patanjali factory in Padartha is guarded by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF),
and most areas are off-limits to the media.

With Ramdevs permission, this reporter was allowed to visit some parts of the factory, this is
what he found:

Patanjali claims to make natural ghee (clarified butter) from cow milk.

At the factory, pasteurized unsalted butter produced by the Karnataka Co-operative Milk
Products Federation Ltd was being mixed with local cow milk to produce ghee.

The aloe vera unit is a processing and packaging unit, which was using pulp supplied by
Dhandev Resorts and Health Care Pvt. Ltd (a Jaisalmer-based company owned by Roop Ram,
an Indian National Congress leader). Patanjali claims that it has its own aloe vera plantations
for making aloe vera juice.

And contrary to Ramdevs claims, Patanjali outsources manufacturing of some products like
other packaged consumer products companies do. For instance, biscuits are made by Delhi-
based Sona Biscuits (that also sells biscuits under Sobisco brand) and juices by a bunch of
17
companies, including GK Dairy and Milk Products Pvt. Ltd (this company also sells products
under the Gopalji brand).

Patanjalis juice products, which Ramdev claims to be natural, contains added sugar, water
and required preservatives. Haridwar-based Aakash Yog Health Products Ltd manufactures
noodles for Patanjali. Aakash used to make noodles for HULs Knorr brand, till recently.

Some of these names are mentioned in the fine print of product packets. Mint confirmed these
with the managers at Patanjalis Padartha factory.

According to Ramdev, Patanjali has more than 200 scientists who research and develop its
products. These scientists are barred from meeting outsiders. We cant divulge the
formulations and what we are developing, said Vineet Gupta, a senior manager, declining a
request by one reporter to meet the scientists.

One analyst, who has visited Patanjali factories multiple times and spoke on condition of
anonymity, says Patanjali products are essentially herbal clones.

The process is simple. Top-selling products across brands are picked up from the market and
then similar products are developed based on herbal formulations under Patanjali brands.
Mostly, they are replicas of successful products of multinational companies, the analyst said.

Sachdeva of HSBC is more charitable.

About 85% of all production is done in-house, and Patanjali is looking to replicate the
success of its first food park in four other cities, including Nagpur in Maharashtra. Patanjali is
also using e-commerce channels to distribute its products across India and is appointing new
distributors to expand its footprint, he wrote in his report.

For a good cause:

Ramdev says the plan is to build six more factories, each as big as the one in Padartha, and
move into new areas like handlooms and organic farming.

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People who work at Patanjali profess to have joined the company to promote a good
causea movement that Ramdev calls swadeshi andolan (literally, indigenous or local
protest, a movement for freedom from the clutches of MNCs).

I did not join here for money. I feel honoured to join Patanjali, to be a part of Swamijis
movement for a good cause, says Ajay Bhandari, general manager (quality control), who
joined Patanjali this year after a 21-year career in different established firms.

Patanjali, which Ramdev says is a zero-debt company, is right now selling everything it is
making.

Managing director Balkrishna said in May that there is a huge gap between domestic demand
and supply.

Patanjali exports products to the UK, US, Canada and Mauritius, which are home to large
Indian populations.

Nivedita R. Nathoo, who is the sole distributor for Patanjali products in Mauritius, said the
products fly off the shelves even in the island republic.

He may be promoting Patanjali products with an evangelistic zeal, but Ramdev claims he
himself doesnt use any of them.

At Shant Kutir, guests are served freshly squeezed mosambi juice.

And the man who is out to build the next consumer products giant out of India says he
doesnt view buyers of Patanjali products as consumers.

We have changed the rules of manufacturing, packaging, marketing. We dont consider them
to be consumers. We take them as part of our families. Consumerism is not our culture, he
said.

Ramdev is perceived to be close to Indias ruling coalition, and has appeared with Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on several public platforms.

But the yoga guru disclaims any interest in politics. I want to stay the way I amsanyas,
rashtradharma... (renunciation and duty to the nation) I want to do everything without any
greed. Directly, Ill never participate at any political position, concludes Ramdev.

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He picks up his Micromax mobile phone, puts a pile of papers into his saffron bag, boards his
Range Rover and rushes for his next meeting, leaving many questions unanswered and
unasked, at the peaceful Shant Kutir.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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 Primary Research Methodology

Primary Research Methodology was used by supplying a set of Questions to the relevant
audience, i.e., the audience in the know of Patanjali Ayurved and who may or may not be
using it. A Questionnaire of 20 questions was prepared and 50 responses collected.

Secondary Research Methodology:

Secondary Data was gathered from the Internet, various publications and magazines as well
as books to know about the company, its history, practices it undertakes and so on. Secondary
data helped in knowing about Patanjali Ayurved.

Limitations:

There are certain limitations pertaining to the project as the FMCG business is very
competitive. Data with regard to future plans of the various players including Patanjali
Ayurved is not available easily.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE & RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Research Objectives:

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The Research Objectives are as follows:

1) To determine whether people are aware of the products that Patanjali Ayurved offers?
2) To know whether the consumers aware of the Patanjali Ayurved products, actually use
them?
3) To deduce if the customers are satisfied with the Patanjali Ayurved Products?
4) To find out the methods of promotion used by Patanjali for promoting their products?

Research Questions:

The Research Questions are as follows:

1) How many people are aware of the products that Patanjali Ayurved offers?
2) How many people prefer the products offered by Patanjali Ayurved?
3) What are the methods used for promoting their products by Patanjali Ayurved?

Relevance of Research:

To find out acceptability among customers.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Research design is based on ideas or principles within which research is conducted. It forms
the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. It will be basically a
systematic enquiry aimed at providing information to solve managerial problems. It will help

22
in guiding business decisions. For this research sufficient time and care will be given for
forming the questionnaire, deciding the types of data to be gathered and procedure to be used
for this purpose.

It consists of clean statement of the research problem procedures and information processing
and analysis of data collected. It includes hypothesis also.

A research design is the plan of a research study. The design of a study defines the study type
(descriptive, correlational, semi-experimental, experimental, review, meta-analytic) and sub-
type (e.g., descriptive-longitudinal case study), research question, hypotheses, independent
and dependent variables, experimental design, and, if applicable, data collection methods and
a statistical analysis plan. Research design is the framework that has been created to seek
answers to research questions.

I have used Descriptive Research which includes survey and fact-finding enquiries
of different kinds. The main characteristics of this method are that the researchers have
no control over the variables; he can only report what has happened or what is
happening.

Descriptive Research Design:

Descriptive research is used to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon being

studied. It does not answer questions about how/when/why the characteristics occurred.
Rather it addresses the "what" question (what are the characteristics of Minnesota state
population or situation being studied?) The characteristics used to describe the situation or
population are usually some kind of categorical scheme also known as descriptive categories.
For example, the periodic table categorizes the elements. Scientists use knowledge about the
nature of electrons, protons and neutrons to devise this categorical scheme. We now take for
granted the periodic table, yet it took descriptive research to devise it. Descriptive research
generally precedes explanatory research. For example, over time the periodic tables
description of the elements allowed scientists to explain chemical reaction and make sound
prediction when elements were combined.

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Definition and Purpose:
Descriptive research designs help provide answers to the questions of who, what, when,
where, and how associated with a particular research problem; a descriptive study cannot
conclusively ascertain answers to why. Descriptive research is used to obtain information
concerning the current status of the phenomena and to describe "what exists" with respect to
variables or conditions in a situation.

What do these studies tell us?

1) The subject is being observed in a completely natural and unchanged natural

environment. True experiments, whilst giving analyzable data, often adversely influence
the normal behaviour of the subject [a.k.a., the Heisenberg effect whereby
measurements of certain systems cannot be made without affecting the systems]. Hence,
we are studying the customers behaviour towards Patanjali Ayurved products without
changing their surroundings and while they are in their natural habitat.

2) Descriptive research is often used as a pre-cursor to more quantitative research designs

with the general overview giving some valuable pointers as to what variables are worth
testing quantitatively. Therefore, the findings from this study will be further used for
analysis of the consumer behaviour.

3) If the limitations are understood, they can be a useful tool in developing a more
focused study. Therefore, the limitations that the responses of all the people aware
of the Patanjali Ayurved products and all of them that are using them cannot be
obtained is a limitation that should be understood and accordingly a sample
universe should be selected and questionnaire prepared.
4) Descriptive studies can yield rich data that lead to important recommendations in
practice. Hence, the descriptive questionnaire gives us a detailed understanding of
peoples perception of and towards Patanjali Ayurved Products.

5) Approach collects a large amount of data for detailed analysis. Inspite of the limited size
of data and limited amount of time, 50 responses were collected and that is a huge amount
of a sample size.
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What these studies don't tell us (Limitations)?

1) The results from a descriptive research cannot be used to discover a definitive answer or
to disprove a hypothesis.

2) Because descriptive designs often utilize observational methods [as opposed to

quantitative methods], the results cannot be replicated.

3) The descriptive function of research is heavily dependent on instrumentation for

measurement and observation. Like in the case of this Research, Questionnaire
format was used.

SAMPLING METHOD

The research sampling method that will be used in this study is random sampling to obtain a
more scientific result that could be used to represent the entirety of the population. Data
collection was conducted through the usage of internet for collecting responses.
25
Respondents:
The respondents in this research will all be coming from one single location Mumbai city.
The selected city has been chosen because of the conditions present in the area proving
conducive to the research and also as it fits the time frame and resources of the research. The
randomly sampled respondents were asked by the researcher for consent and approval to
answer the questionnaire. The opinion of experts was also sought in this research to provide
explanations regarding the respondents perception of Patanjali Ayurved products.

Questionnaire:
The questionnaire requires information about the behaviour of consumers towards Patanjali
Ayurved products. It also has questions related to other Ayurvedic products that are available
in the market and their costs. The questionnaire gives an insight about the most popular
Patanjali Ayurved products and if the prices are comfortable for the target audience.

DATA COLLECTION

There are basically two ways of collecting the data primary &secondary.

There is a large no. of FMCG companies in the market, to find the defining strategies used,
the methodology used is survey method.

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Type of Data Used

For this research study, primary data as well as secondary data was collected.

Success of any statistical investigation depends on the availability of accurate and reliable
data. This depends on the appropriateness of the method for data collection. The perception
of the people is never static; but it changes with time. Hence the data which will be used in
this study is primary in nature although I have used secondary data wherever available and
required. Primary and secondary data are the two methods used for data collection.

Primary Data:

It is essential to collect primary data to make sample survey. A successful and the most
popular technique of data collection is through a questionnaire, thus a questionnaire
was framed and distributed. A set of questions related to the research topic of
Perception Study of Patanjali Products was formulated.

Response for each questions included in the questionnaire has been collected from the
customers. The questionnaire is formed in such a way that the information required for the
study is acquired from each item i.e. questions. The respondents category range from
housewives & working women to working men.

Secondary Data:

This Report is dedicated to Secondary information about company profile and various
decisions taken by the company regarding product line expansion, product line pruning
and various other matters related to product line. I have collected this information with the
help of internet and journals. This report gives you relevant information about various
activities taken by Patanjali Ayurved. Secondary data has been collected from magazines,
newspaper, company literature and websites. Secondary research was done to build an in-
depth understanding of the satisfaction levels of customers.
27
Data Collection Tools:
I have collected all the information with the help of Internet, Journals and Secondary source.

Sample Plan:
Units- People residing in the Mumbai; Size- 50 respondents

Research Instrument:

Research instruments, for the purpose of primary data collection were Questionnaires, for the
purpose of secondary data, Internet was used.

Selection of study area: Mumbai

Sampling unit:

It defines the target population that will sample together for carrying out the analysis. Here it
includes different areas and households.

Tools Used:

Analysis will be made on the basis of the responses of the respondents and the results of the
interviews. Statistical tools that will be used are Pie charts, Bar graphs and Tabulation apart
from statistical techniques based on the requirement of the data collected.

Sample size: 50 Respondents

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 CONCLUSION

The Research in the paper shows that there are many significant factors that together make up
the buying decision of the product. Customers perception towards a brand is built largely on
the satisfactory value the user receives after paying for the product and the benefits the user
looks for. In the above study, a large portion of the user is satisfied from Patanjali products. It
may be because of reasonable price of the product. It may be due to ability of the product to
cure the problem. The satisfaction brings in the retention of customer. Patanjali is enjoying
the advantageous position in market through spirituality element involved in its products.

29
However, it should not ignore the competitors like Naturals, pure roots, Vindhya herbals.
Patanjali in order to retain more customers and satisfy them,must fulfill the claims made by
the company before any other brand may mushroom up and take away the benefits of
marketing through spirituality.

Following strategies of Patanjali Ayurved have also been found out:

Aspires to be part of every kitchen:

Patanjali is working on a kitchen concept, as part of which it will launch products that will
touch all categories of the products used in an Indian kitchen. For instance, the company
already has products that are used in the Indian kitchen such as dishwash bar, ghee, rice (has
3 variants of rice), pulses, spices, mustard oil, flour and madhuram (replacement for sugar
made out of jaggery) under the Patanjali brand name.

Attractive pricing, natural positioning ensure competitiveness:

Patanjalis key strength, apart from its superior product quality, lies in pricing. The
companys products are priced at ~1530% discount to competition, which makes it an
attractive proposition for consumers. It is able to offer such discounts primarily because of
having negligible A&P spend versus other consumer companies which have A&P spends
ranging from 1218%, as a % of sales. Another reason for the discounts is the consumer
centric ideology of the organisation and selling best quality products at attractive price points.
There may even be some products in the companys portfolio which are making losses or
fetch low margins, but it continues to sell these products to meet consumer needs.

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Table 1: Pricing of Patanjali products versus other consumer goods companies:

Product Name Qty Patanjali Comparabl Comparable Company

Products e
Prices Price
Special 500 gm 115 160 Dabur Chyawanprash
Chyawanprash
Pineapple Juice 1 Ltr 85 99 Dabur Real Juice
Cow Ghee 1 Ltr 450 710 Parsi dairy farm Cow
ghee pure
Honey 500 gm 135 199 Dabur Honey
Patanjali Saundraya 60 gm 60 80 Pears Face Wash
Face Wash
Patanjali Kesh Kanti 200 gm 110 159 Head & Sholders Anti
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 Anti Dandruff Dandruff Shampoo
Shampoo
Patanjali Dant Kanti 200 gm 68 84 Pepsodent Germicheck
(Tooth Paste)
Patanjali Kanti Neem 75 gm 15 24 Himalaya Neem &
Bathing Soap Turmeric
Patanjali Super Dish 175 gm 10 15 VIM Dish was Bar
Wash Bar
Patanjali Corn Flakes 500 gm 145 182 Kelloggs Corn Flakes
Mix Original
Patanjali Detergent 250 gm 13 19 RIN Detergent Powder
Powder Popular

The 3 principles vital for growth:

Patanjali Ayurved is an incorporated company under the Companies Act Patanjali Ayurved
Limited. Though a corporate entity, its working and ideology is not completely that can be
compared to that of a perfect corporate culture. The company is focussed on topline growth
rather than profitability. Its business ideology is inspired by Swami Ramdevs ideologies to
touch every life through Patanjali which will help the consumers and be present in all the
segments where the consumers feel they can get a better product at a better price. The
organisation conducts its business on the following 3 main principles:

Providing worldclass products to consumers (making sure the company does not add
any preservatives or uses natural preservatives as far as possible).
Producing products in the most costeffective manner so that the products are priced
very reasonably.
Whatever profits the company earns are ploughed back into business so that it can
invest the same for launch of new products, cost effectiveness or further capacity
expansion.

32
Patanjali will not launch any products that are harmful to the health of consumers and
detrimental to the health and lifestyle of the people. Hence, the company will not get into
product categories like tobacco and liquor which are bad for health. Going forward, the
company also plans to open 500600 branches of Acharyakulam (educational institutions).

Table 2: Product catalogue

Grocery and Dals and Pulses

Staples
Edible Oil & Ghee Ghee, Mustard Oil
Flour / Atta Atta, Besan, Others
Staples / Spices Spices, Salt, Rice
Ready Food Confectionery Biscuits, Cookies , Candies
Snacks & Breakfast Honey, Papad, snacks, Namkeek
Sauces & Pickles Ketchup, Pickles
Sweets Murabba, Soan Papdi
Beverages Juices & Fruit Drinks Apple, Amla, Litchi
Sharbat & Squash Squash, Sharbat
Perosnal Care Face Care Face Cream, Lip Care, Face wash
Body Care Body Wash, Foot care, Lotions
Hair Care Shampoo, Conditioner, Hair Oil,
Hair
Color
Soaps & Hand wash Hand wash, soaps
Oral Care Tooth brush, paste
Make up Kajal
33
 Shaving and Grooming Shave Gel, Shave cream
Health Care Health Drinks,
Chyawanprash,
Nutrition & Supplements,
Digestives
Households Worship related, Cleaning
&
Washing, Herbal Gulal

Lower and effective advertising aids lower pricing:

Patanjali Ayurved has limited advertising expenses, which gives it enough leeway to pass on
the savings from lower ad spends by way of lower prices. The company advertises in a
limited way news tickers, regional newspapers, some digital advertising, etc., though going
ahead it might start other forms of advertising too. Patanjali has adopted the unique
information based advertising. For instance, the company highlights the positives of cows
ghee, which automatically helps sale of Patanjali Ghee. In the recent past, the companys
print advertising has seen a marked increase.

34
 WEBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.edelresearch.com/showreportpdf-30172/PATANJALI_AYURVED_-
_VISIT_NOTE-OCT-15-EDEL
http://www.livemint.com/Companies/hLEBBx17cFY5rPjTjmIP9O/The-Patanjali-
story.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patanjali_Ayurved
http://patanjaliayurved.net/about_us
http://www.thefrustratedindian.com/2016/01/rise-of-patanjali-the-untold-story-of-a-
hindu-baba-taking-on-mncs/
https://explorable.com/research-paper-example

35
 ANNEXURE QUESTIONNAIRE

1) Do you use and Ayurvedic products?

a) Yes
b) No

2) Which kind of Ayurvedic products do you use?

a) Beauty Care
b) Hair Care
c) Food Products
d) Home Care
e) Dental Care
f) Body Care

3) While buying Ayurved oriented products what do you look for the most?
a) Price
b) Quality
c) Availabilty
d) Peoples recommendations
e) Packaging

4) What are the ayurvedic products you know out of the following?
a) Himalaya
b) Patanjali
c) Dabur
d) Zandu
36
5) Where did you find out about Patanjali from?
a) Television ads
b) From a friend/relative/colleague
c) From Shopkeepers
d) From standalone Patanjali shops
e) From TV ads

6) Do you find Patanjali Products easily available?

a) Yes
b) No

7) How do you find the price of Patanjali products?

a) Very expensive
b) Expensive
c) Good
d) Cheap
e) Very cheap

8) What product range of Patanjali have you tried products from?

a) Personal Care
b) Hair Care
c) Food Products
d) Dental Care
e) Home Care
f) Body Care

9) How did you find the quality of Patanjali Ayurved products?

a) Good
b) Average
c) Bad

37
10) How long have you been using the products offered by Patanjali?
a) Less than 6 months
b) 6 months-1 year
c) More than 1 year
d) More than 3 years

11) How do you find the packaging of Patanjali Ayurved products?

a) Attractive
b) Appealing
c) Average
d) Bad
e) Worse

12) Would you buy Ptanjali products if they were to expand their product range into
Pet Care and other ranges?
a) Yes
b) No

13) Is the way Patanjali Ayurved being marketed appealing to you?

a) Yes
b) No

14) Are you satisfied with Patanjali Ayurved Products?

a) Yes
b) No

15) Do you think Patanjali is a value for money product?

a) Yes
b) No

16) Did you get any after-sales-service from the company? Any exchange for a
damaged product?
38
 a) Yes
b) No

17) Have you had any problems by using the product?

a) Yes
b) No

18) Do you think Patanjali products are Value-for-money products?

a) Yes
b) No

19) Will you buy Patanjali products again?

a) Yes
b) No

20) Will you recommend Patanjali Ayurved products to anyone?

a) Yes
b) No

39
THANK YOU!

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