Gelatine major, Bharti Healthcare, has made a major initiative to enter the southern markets through Bangalore, where it has opened a regional office mainly because the southern region is the second largest market for the company's capsules, after the western region. The company which recently won the Golden Peacock Award for Quality, in the medium and small enterprises category, awarded by the Institute of Directors is keen to chalk out entry into southern states via Bangalore.

The southern market is seen as a lucrative location by Bharti as it has been supplying to major pharma companies in the southern region like Glaxo SmithKline, Dr Reddy's, Medreich Sterilab, Strides Arcolabs, Aurobindo Pharma , The Himalaya Drugs Company and Micro Labs. "To open an outfit in Bangalore was ideal because of its central location and access to the markets," Ashok Srivastava, CEO & Director - Operations, Bharti Healthcare Limited told Pharmabiz .com

The size of the global market for gelatine capsules is pegged at 200 billion numbers per annum and Bharti's share is just 2.2 per cent. In the case of Indian market, the volume is estimated at 28 billion numbers annually and Bharti's share is 11 per cent. It is a preferred vendor for all MNC's. Some of its customers include, Pfizer, Cipla, Ranbaxy, Wockhardt, Cadila, Ipca, Wyeth, Novartis, Alkem, Aristo and Nicholas Piramal

The market for capsules is highly competitive both in India as well as abroad. The domestic competitors are Associated Capsules Group, Medicaps, Sunil Synchem, Naturelle Capsules, Chemcaps, Manga Caps Eastern Engineering and Erawat.

India is among the top three hard gelatin capsules market in the world accounting for 14 per cent market share, he informed.

The company with a turnover of Rs.29 crore registering a growth rate of 15 per cent is part of the Bharti Group and exports to USA, South East Asia, Middle East, Africa etc.

In 2000-2001, exports capacity was 486.2million capsules which increased to 1,236 million in 2003 going by the acceptability of the product quality and pricing, he said.

There are 13 production lines using US technology at one location (Dharuhera, Dist. Rewari, Haryana near Delhi) and the current capacity is 4.5 billion capsules per annum. Plans to augment the production capacity is underway with an increase of 13 per cent production expected with 5.1 billion capsules in 2004-05. The following year, a 12 per cent increase is expected with 5.7 billion numbers.