After Patanjali's Baba Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar gets ready to take on MNCs

Taking a leaf out of Baba Ramdev's book, spiritual guru and the Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar could soon follow the success of Patanjali by opening around 1,000 retail stores of his brand to sell ayurvedic toothpastes, soaps and herbal products.

According to a report in The Economic Times, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will launch clinics and treatment centres on the pattern of Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali. The move is expected to give MNCs a tough competition after Patanjali's dominance in the FMCG sector.

The products which will be initially launched include toothpastes, detergents, ghee and cookies. "People have now accepted ayurvedic products in their daily lives, and we believe our brand offerings are different compared to those of existing players," the report quoted Tej Katpitia, chief executive of Sri Sri Ayurveda (SSA) Trust as saying.

Sri Sri Ayurveda will open 'Sri Sri Tattva' branded stores.

"The first store will be launched next month with plans to open 50 doors by November. The aim is to have a billion dollar business in the next few years," Gaurav Marya, chairman of Franchise India Holdings, a retail solutions provider that is helping the company get franchise partners told The Economic Times .

Sri Sri Tattva has already been selling health drinks like Ojasvita, natural juices, pulses, health supplements, soaps, fragrances and spices through its retail stores and online. Sri Sri Tattva also retails apparels on its website www.srisritattva.com

Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved Ltd is also expected to enter the branded apparels market by April next year. The yoga guru is also reportedly planning to get into the Rs 40,000 crore private security market.

Patanjali Ayurved also plans to enter the restaurant business dominated by McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Subway in India. The new venture will leverage the popularity of the Patanjali brand in the already crowded restaurant market. The turnover of Patanjali was Rs 10, 561 crore in the previous fiscal year and the company aims to double its turnover this year.