Ramdev launches Patanjali instant noodles, plans 6 plants
Just a week after Maggi came back on the shelves, Patanjali Ayurveda, the fast-moving consumer goods brand led by yoga guru Baba Ramdev, on Monday formally launched its whole wheat instant noodles.
Just a week after Maggi came back on the shelves, Patanjali Ayurveda, the fast-moving consumer goods brand led by yoga guru Baba Ramdev, on Monday formally launched its whole wheat instant noodles.
Swiss giant Nestlé’s Maggi instant noodles was banned in June for allegedly containing MSG (monosodium-glutamate) and lead beyond permissible limits. Nestlé India relaunched Maggi noodles in the market last week after the Bombay High Court lifted the ban.
Patanjali will set up five manufacturing plants in Delhi-NCR, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh within a year, to cater to the rising demand. These plants will manufacture Patanjali’s other products.
Patanjali claims its new “Atta noodles” to be cheaper and healthier than competitors. A 70-gram pack of the noodle is priced at Rs 15. “It is Rs 10 cheaper than our rivals’ noodles, which are available for Rs 25,” Ramdev said.
Patanjali products are available at modern trade shops, including Reliance Fresh, Big Bazaar, D Mart and Patanjali’s own retail network.
According to the company, the use of whole wheat flour and rice bran oil, instead of the normally used palm oil, makes it a healthy option.
“By December end, our noodles will hit one million stores. We are ramping up production capacity,” said Ramdev. “The profits we make from the sale of our noodles and other products will be used for educating the under-priviledged children.”
To compete with multinational companies, Patanjali will soon start airing TV commercials for the new product.
The company clocked a sales turnover of Rs 2,007 crore in 2014-15, and expects to reach Rs 5,000 crore this fiscal year. “We are looking at 150% growth in our sales this year and aim to cross Rs 5,000-crore turnover,” he added.
When asked if there is a plan to list Patanjali Ayurved on the stock exchange, Ramdev said: “No, not right now.”
On exports, he said: “Right now its very small as we are focusing on meeting domestic demand. But we would also look into that.”
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