From manufacturing quality medical devices to traditional Ayurvedic medicines, here’s a look at top SMB stories of the week
This week, SMBStory covered stories from the Indian healthcare and ayurvedic sector that is growing phenomenally year-on-year.
The Indian healthcare ecosystem is growing phenomenally. The hospital industry in India accounts for 80 percent of the total healthcare market, and is expected to reach $132 billion by 2023 from $61.8 billion in 2017; growing at a CAGR of 16-17 percent.
On the other hand, The Ayurveda market in India was valued at Rs 300 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach Rs 710.87 billion by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of ~16.06 percent during the forecast period (2019-2024).
This week, SMBStory covered stories of entrepreneurs manufacturing quality medical devices, traditional Ayurvedic medicines, and growing rapidly in their respective businesses.
Here are the top SMB stories of the week:
Pankajakasthuri Herbals
Dr J Hareendran Nair, Founder, Pankajakasthuri Herbals
There’s a famous Malayalam proverb — “Patikkuka, patippikkuka, pracharippikkuka, athil jeevikkuka,” which means ‘study, teach, propagate, and live on that’.
Following this principle, Dr J Hareendran Nair has spent over three decades as an entrepreneur, starting from a small makeshift Ayurvedic clinic to becoming one of Kerala’s largest herbal drug company.
Accoladed with the Padma Shri award for his contribution and services to the cause of Ayurveda since 1984, Hareendran had humble beginnings. Speaking to SMBStory, Hareendran narrates how he went on to build a Rs 135 crore business venture.
“I hail from a poor family background and my father was a document writer and my mother a housewife. I neither had an entrepreneurial background not did I think of becoming one. I completed my graduation from Government Ayurveda College, Thiruvananthapuram, in 1983, after which I was appointed as a Research Fellow in Research Institute at Poojapura in 1986. I was earning sufficiently for my family,” Hareendran tells SMBStory.
However, Hareendran always wanted to serve the people. After working for almost two years, he quit his job and set up his own business of manufacturing Ayurvedic medicines.
However, he didn’t have enough funds. He borrowed Rs 50,000 from friends and family to set up a small manufacturing space in Poovachal, a rural area in Thiruvananthapuram.
He started Sree Dhanwantari Ayurvedics in 1988, which was later named as Pankajakasthuri Herbals India Pvt Ltd.
Paramount Healthcare
Shaily Grover, Founder, Paramount Segimed Pvt Ltd.
In 1993, the Indian trading and retail markets were seeing a boom, while in China, the manufacturing sector was becoming stronger than ever. Founder of Delhi-based Paramount Surgimed Ltd., Shaily Grover says, in the mid-90s, the Indian manufacturing sector was facing a threat from China due to cost-effective imports from the country that were paralysing India’s manufacturing output.
Hailing from a family that was into trading of medical devices, Shaily joined the family business in the late 1980s. He honed his skills for over eight years, after which he founded his own company, Paramount Surgimed, under the parent organisation, Grover Group of Companies. The healthcare company deals in the manufacturing of surgical blades, adult diapers, underpads, and masks.
In a conversation with SMBStory, the Director of Paramount Surgimed shares how he transitioned from trading to manufacturing medical equipment, and the challenges the Indian medical equipment manufacturing industry faces.
Other top picks of the week:
Oddy
After completing his graduation from Delhi University, Delhi-based Atul Garg joined his father’s wholesale stationery business and started selling products from other brands. He realised that customers trusted brands so much that they were sometimes willing to pay extra just for the brand value.
Eventually, Atul decided to start his own stationery business. He launched Atul Papers Pvt Ltd in 1998. His father, Niwas Garg, suggested the name On Demand, which led to the brand being named .
Today, the Delhi-based company competes with the likes of Camlin, Faber Castell, Kores, and more in the Indian market. Oddy manufactures 97 products under its brand, including writing pads, notebooks, sticky notes, glue sticks, and much more. It has 500 stock keeping units (SKUs) and over 25,000 retail touchpoints.
For the past two years, the stationery manufacturer has been clocking a turnover of Rs 100 crore annually.
Edited by Megha Reddy
