In a bid to capture the potential international market for Indian System of Medicines through creation of brand values, Ayurvedic Drug Manufacturers Association (ADMA) has recommended to the dept of Ayush to support the industry in developing star products of common herbal formulations.

The proposal aims at identifying, promoting and developing "Star product's for the International market" and also ensures a brand promotion for the ASU sector - domestically and internationally.

Defining a star product as one that has a potential of becoming a global product, Ranjit Puranik, general secretary ADMA said, that there would be no set parameters for selecting a star product other than market potential. This offer comes under Schemes for Industries and Entrepreneurs of ASU Industry that has been recommended by the ADMA.

Elaborating the concept of the proposed he said, "Once the dept of Ayush gives an in principal nod for the programme we would begin the consultations to identify products, which have such a potential. This will start with surveys in developed markets to gauge the therapeutic segment for a star product focus. All of this market survey work will require a multi disciplinary approach to get the science correct for positioning of the product on credible technical platform. The back up science has to be one that is benchmarked on globally acceptable practices and norms. The product so developed must conform to regulatory requirements of the west."

Giving further insights on the process he stated, "We would propose that the ministry of commerce and pharmexcil also be deeply involved with this process to ensure that there is a concerted strategy, which spells optimum utilisation of the resources and knowledge base at hand for success. We need to launch and register presence, success and marketing patronage. After that we believe this catalytic process will enthuse a dozen entrepreneurs to march on with various ideas and projects."

On asked about the execution of the project, Ranjit said, that the Department of Ayush, CSIR and ICMR would support this idea and will coordinate the various phases of this programme. On the management side, the Ministry of Commerce and the Department of Ayush will have to come up with a road map after discussion, he added.

When asked about the management and financing he replied "We would propose a steering committee with greater involvement of the ASU industry and the dept of Ayush would provide the seed capital for the development and launch programme for the start products. The basic capital required will be provided by the government and the entrepreneurs will take it forward thereafter."

About the feasibility of the star product he maintained that surveys would guide the trends in developed markets for natural products. Surveys will also test the potential of a product idea to validate the same such that the developmental efforts are more focussed and fine tuned to what the consumer aspires of the product.

Talking about the launch, he said that the main focus should be the US and the EU nations. It is seen that once a product gains momentum in these markets, global acceptance is rather easy.

To promote products, he opined that initiatives in trade promotion and sensitisation of foreign regulatory authorities through organised study tours in India would have to be undertaken. Discussions between Union health Ministry and their counterparts around the world would have to take place in acceptance and recognition of Ayush practice and formulations. An overall image enhancement and global public relations exercise for the Ayush sector is required to boost its ability to access the global potential for natural products."

Observing the market trends he said, "It has been observed that the brand equity of India is on the rise in International markets but the brand recognition for Ayush sector is very low. On the other hand we see enhanced brand recognition for complimentary medicinal systems of China, Latin America and Africa. The Indian traditional medicinal systems under Ayush also have global potential and have been received well in pockets. There is a need to enhance this esteem and increase the publicity and brand position for the Ayush sciences".