Yoga guru Baba Ramdev-endorsed Patanjali Ayurved Ltd's plans to enter into the apparel business by making indigenous 'khaadi' clothes has attracted the interest of textile industry's Raymond Group and Ahmedabad-based textile manufacturer Arvind, according to a report.
Raymond Group's Chairman and Managing Director Gautam Singhania is set to meet Ramdev later this month to take talks for the business opportunity with Patanjali forward, The Economic Times reported citing unnamed people.
The paper also cited Ramdev, who said that some big names of the textile industry have approached him without identifying any.
Mails sent to Patanjali Ayurved, Raymond and Arvind did not elicit any response till the time of filing this article.
Early in July, Ramdev had said that he plans to launch khaadi clothes, dairy and baby products to expand its consumer products portfolio as it is eyeing a turnover of Rs 10,000 crore this fiscal.
Patanjali, which was founded by Ramdev along with his aide Acharya Bal Krishna in 2006, has been growing at a break-neck speed even as the FMCG sector at large is still reeling under slow growth due to two consecutive years of poor monsoon.
The firm hit a turnover of Rs 5,000 crore for the financial year ended 31 March 2016, compared with Rs 2,006 crore in the previous year.
Early this week, it made its first inorganic expansion by acquiring RH Agro Overseas Pvt. Ltd's rice mill in Sonipat, Haryana for Rs 70 crore (around $10.5 million) to manufacture its packaged rice products, The Times of India reported.
In addition to rice, the firm sells other food offerings including pasta, noodles, breakfast items such as museli and nutritional products. It also has a personal care range including toothpaste Dant Kanti.
Patanjali’s top selling product, however, is ghee or clarified butter that accounts for nearly 35% of its turnover, followed by toothpaste, hair cleansers, wheat flour and honey.
Balkrishna told VCCircle earlier this year that the firm was investing Rs 1,000 crore in expanding its manufacturing facilities to bridge the demand for its products. Its products such as atta (wheat flour) and juices are processed at its plant in Haridwar. The same factory also makes skin- and hair-care products while its factory in West Bengal makes 400-500 tonnes of biscuits every day.
Last month, Balkrishna, who is the promoter of the firm, entered the Hurun India Rich List with a net worth of Rs 25,600 crore, He also figured in Forbes rich list.
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