Kochi: Kerala’s Rs600 crore organized Ayurveda industry is embarking on an expansion and quality improvement drive as it braces to compete with retail giants moving into its turf. After a joint venture with state agencies to ensure uniform testing and manufacturing facilities, the industry wants to set up an Ayurveda export promotion council to boost exports.

The impulsion for the drive comes from the entry of firms such as Reliance Retail, through its Reliance Wellness unit, Hindustan Unilever Ltd’s (HUL’s) Ayush and Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd’s Tulsi brand of Ayurveda drugs and health centres.

Their entry into the ancient Indian system of health care is a sign of “the appeal Ayurveda holds for consumers”, says P.R. Krishna Kumar, head of the Confederation for Ayurvedic Renaissance Keralam Pvt. Ltd (CARe-Keralam), a group of 15 Ayurveda firms that are trying to reinforce the strength of their traditional knowledge of the “science of life” with marketing muscle.

Vaidyaratnam Oushadasala, which makes and markets Ayurvedic drugs and runs a nursing home, plans to set up 500 retail outlets across the country in two years, taking the total to 1,500, said managing partner E.T. Neelakandhan Mooss. The outlets will have a qualified Ayurveda doctor to attract patients. The firm has two manufacturing units, and will set up a third at Pollachi in Tamil Nadu to take advantage of the availability of herbs and cheap labour there. Vaidyaratnam also proposes to double the bed capacity of its nursing home at Thrissur in Kerala to 200.

» Read more: Kerala Ayurveda companies join hands to battle new retail giants