Kapiva Ayurveda, a healthcare start-up and a sister concern of the Baidyanath Group, is planning to raise about $8 million within a year-and-half to expand its product portfolio and invest in marketing, Ameve Sharma, president of the Kolkata-based company, said in an interview.
Hunt for investors
“Kapiva raised one million dollars about 10 months ago from Gits Foods and other private investors,” Mr. Sharma said. “The Baidyanath family also invested in the venture. Now we have to spend money on marketing and that is a big spend. We are looking at PE investors or venture capitalists for the next round of funding.”
The company sells herbal capsules, juices and oils through its own stores and also exports it to the U.S. “About 50% of sales happen in the U.S. market,” he said. It offers a range of more than 200 products for a variety of ailments.
The global herbal supplements market was estimated at $49.1 billion last year and is forecast to grow to $86.7 billion by 2022, according to Stratistics MRC.
India’s herbal industry is worth about ₹4,200 crore with a potential to reach ₹7,000 crore by 2020 and export of ayurvedic drugs and allied herbal products is about ₹440 crore, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Kapiva faces competition from brands such as Dabur, Himalaya and new entrant Patanjali.
“The target audience for our products are the ones in the age group of between 35 and 45,” Mr. Sharma said. “We use the manufacturing facilities and research and development centres of Baidyanath. Our aim is to arrive at the right sourcing and dosage which is vital if customers are taking our capsules.”
“The market for herbal supplements in the U.S. is huge and we will soon export our products to U.K., Germany, Australia and the Middle East.”
Kapiva plans to enter the personal care and grooming segment soon, he said.
“So far our products have been accepted by our customers due to word of mouth,” Mr. Sharma said. “The plan now is to make it available in more cities. During the last 10 months we have had a total turnover of ₹40 lakhs.
“By end of this fiscal year we hope to reach one crore in terms of sales,” he said.
India created a Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) in November 2014 for development and research in alternate medicines.
“We not only meet the standards laid down by AYUSH but we are also FDA compliant,” Mr. Sharma said. “All the products also comply to the World Health Organisation’s GMP standards.”
