V B Ukani, chairman of Vasu Healthcare Pvt. Ltd , one of the major herbal products manufacturers in India, in an interview with Chronicle Phrmabiz, gives an overview of the company and its expansion plans.
Please tell us about the background of Vasu Healthcare
Vasu Healthcare Pvt. Ltd.( formerly known as Vasu Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd) was established in the year 1980 and had a modest beginning of operations in a rented premises outside the municipal corporation area of Baroda at village Baujwa, Dist. Baroda. The present MD of our company, Haribhai B. Patel was the first and only employee of the organization at that time. At that time our business was manufacturing and marketing of herbal proprietary products from herbal extracts, powders, bhasma and rasayans.
Initially, we started with one department of capsule and the marketing was done only in Kerala, Punjab and Gujarat. Gradually and steadily, we have established other departments like tablet, syrup, oil, granules, powders etc. and newer and innovative products in the market, focused on continuous improvement and upgradation in quality of products, expanding manufacturing capacity and huge investment in manufacturing and research, QC/QA and innovative marketing techniques and spread marketing throughout India and globally.
The name of Vasu Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd, was changed to Vasu Healthcare Pvt. Ltd in 2007 and since then we are operating at our sophisticated factory at GIDC Estate, Makarpura, Vadodara. Today, we have emerged as one of the major herbal products manufacturers in India.
What is the mission, vision and philosophy of the company ?
Mission: Consistent growth, unmatched quality and commitment to excellence.
Vision: An in-depth knowledge of herbal active ingredients and the search for excellence are crucial commitments to serve the mankind, naturally. Hence we envision "Health to the Mankind Naturally".
Philosophy: To maintain the health of the healthy and to cure the ailment of the ailing.
What are the new products you are developing?
Vasu Research Centre(VRC) is active in many areas of healthcare. To name a few :prostate cancer, female urinary incontinence, end organ damage prevention of diabetes mellitus etc. Our recent research products for psoriasis is now being marketed as Cutisora.
Please tell us about the R & D activities of the company ?
VRC with its five years of existence is the backbone of Vasu Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. VRC is a DSIR recognized in-house R&D centre spearheading the R&D activity of the company which focuses on innovative research areas.VRC is well equipped with the most modern research facilities and with highly qualified team of scientists from diverse fields like ayurveda, chemistry, phytochemistry, botany, pharmacology, microbiology so on.
Some of the note- worthy achievements of VRC are receipt of national award of outstanding R&D achievements from MSME 2008 & MSME 2010. As a part of vision and mission of VRC, we have started a continuous education programme. We have successfully guided more than 30 Master of Pharmacy students for their research projects who have received either first rank or distinction along with industrial working exposure. The standard of our research work can be evaluated by the 34 research papers published in renowned national and international journals. We have filed for two patents in the field of ayurvedic research.
Vasu Research Centre also focused on innovative research in isolation of active constituents from herbal source. We are in the process of working with academic – industrial research projects. Over and above this, we have received recognition from Gujarat Ayurved University (GAU), Jamnagar for offering Ph.D. in Phytochemistry and Standardization.
Is there any expansion plans for the company in the near future ?
We have recently set-up a modern, state of the art logistic facility at GIDC Savli, Near Baroda and are also planning to set-up, a new manufacturing facility for to meet our future domestic & international demand.
We are exporting our products to about 28 countries in the world, which include many of our herbal formulations. Vasu is one of the top-most Indian companies to have many products approved with various MOH. We have developed an exhaustive range of herbal hair care products under the brand name for the Middle East & North African markets and shall shortly start intensive media activity. Vasu’s export is growing at a CAGR of 40 per cent and it is at its ever-best this FY.
Our focus on brand building started some 10 years before and today we boast of having some of the strongest brands in our kitty in herbal subsection. To name a few, Ural-BPH, the prostate health product is India’s highest prescribed herbal prostate health product. Similarly, Zeal, Zeal SF and Bonton are the top of the mind recall brands of Vasu. In herbal hair care industry, Trichup is the most recognized respectable brand.
Vasu’s products are distributed in a few lakh retail outlets i.e. pharmacies and general stores across country by some 2500 plus secondary whole-sellers. A team of 500 plus medical and sales representatives meet doctors, beauticians and retailers to popularize the products. A fleet of brand managers and sales managers provide strategic impetus to maintain the impressive growth rate. The focus is on international marketing as it is most promising from growth and profitability perspectives.