Mission Vivacare: Packed with supplements
This global Indian eats, drinks and sleeps nutraceuticals, dietary supplements that are a fad nowadays. "I have turned a marathon runner," says Akkshay Mehta, Managing Director of health products company Mission Vivacare.
This global Indian eats, drinks and sleeps nutraceuticals, dietary supplements that are a fad nowadays. "I have turned a marathon runner," says Akkshay Mehta, Managing Director of health products company Mission Vivacare.
"I got deeply involved in the supplements area to understand what is good for my body," says Mehta, 45, who has done the Mumbai Half Marathon and plans to run the full length this year.
When this chartered accountant stepped out of IIM Ahmedabad with an MBA in the late 1980s, he had to choose between the family business of pharmaceuticals and campus placement offers. But he gave all this a miss and applied for a financial services job at 20th Century Finance. A year later, he formed a partnership with some friends to export pesticides. "That was my first learning in exports," says Mehta. He quit the partnership after three years, in 1992, when the liberalisation process was beginning to take hold.
"I decided to enter into pharma exports," says Mehta. "It was fun starting all over again." His initial capital was Rs 10 lakh, mainly his savings and loans from family.
This time, Mehta began by exporting antibiotics made by others. He hit the jackpot in the very first year, reporting a turnover of a crore rupees. Four years later, he bought a brand new manufacturing unit that was lying idle.
Exporting antibiotics, painkillers and over-the-counter drugs, Mehta had a turnover of Rs 20 crore by 1999. Then came a bad phase that lasted till 2003. Mehta had to go through a series of registrations and regulatory approvals overseas. In 2006, Mehta was also thinking of diversifying and saw a big opportunity in nutraceuticals. A year later, he also started work on a facility in Madhya Pradesh that was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
"We have 30 products today," says Mehta. Sold under the MissionPrime brand, the products promise memory enhancement and weight loss, among other things. The nutraceuticals division already accounts for 30 per cent of Vivacare's turnover. "The contribution will be 50:50 by 2011," predicts Mehta.
He is betting big on nutraceuticals, which he claims has a global market size of over $125 billion. "This space will be larger than pharmaceuticals, "says Mehta.
And he is ready to run that extra mile to exploit this big opportunity.
-Anand Adhikari
"I got deeply involved in the supplements area to understand what is good for my body," says Mehta, 45, who has done the Mumbai Half Marathon and plans to run the full length this year.
| Main markets: US: 30% Africa: 30% Europe: 5% Others: 35% Differentiator: Innovative formulas, strong branding and aggressive pricing Customers: Products are sold in pharmacies in most developing countries and in health food stores in the US and other countries Business: Exports pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products First order: Third quarter of 1992 of just $15,000 Total income: Rs 305 crore for the year ended June 30, 2010 |
"I decided to enter into pharma exports," says Mehta. "It was fun starting all over again." His initial capital was Rs 10 lakh, mainly his savings and loans from family.
This time, Mehta began by exporting antibiotics made by others. He hit the jackpot in the very first year, reporting a turnover of a crore rupees. Four years later, he bought a brand new manufacturing unit that was lying idle.
Exporting antibiotics, painkillers and over-the-counter drugs, Mehta had a turnover of Rs 20 crore by 1999. Then came a bad phase that lasted till 2003. Mehta had to go through a series of registrations and regulatory approvals overseas. In 2006, Mehta was also thinking of diversifying and saw a big opportunity in nutraceuticals. A year later, he also started work on a facility in Madhya Pradesh that was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
"We have 30 products today," says Mehta. Sold under the MissionPrime brand, the products promise memory enhancement and weight loss, among other things. The nutraceuticals division already accounts for 30 per cent of Vivacare's turnover. "The contribution will be 50:50 by 2011," predicts Mehta.
He is betting big on nutraceuticals, which he claims has a global market size of over $125 billion. "This space will be larger than pharmaceuticals, "says Mehta.
And he is ready to run that extra mile to exploit this big opportunity.
-Anand Adhikari
