The Rs 350-crore Himalaya Dug Company, one of the leading Ayurvedic drug manufacturers in India, is planning to introduce its new range of personal and consumer healthcare products in the CIS markets shortly. The company's new launches are in the view of expanding the market volume and reach by capitalising its brand awareness in the market at present.

Although the company has not specified any time frame for the new launches, it has already made some progress in their prospecting. While the present export earnings of the company is Rs 50 crore, its share from CIS is only Rs 3 crore. It has chalked out a strategy to achieve a cent per cent growth rate from the region in March 2005.

The company's exports to CIS includes Cystone (prevention of stones), Liv 52 (restores the functional efficiency of the liver), Himcolin Gel (erectile dysfunction), Speman (spermatogenesis), Speman Forte (Spermatorrhea) and Tentex Forte(VigorCare for Men).

The ranges of products are marketed to Armenia, Byelorussia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyztan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, apart from the Russian Federation.

According to Ravi Prasad, president & CEO, The Himalaya Drug Company, despite the company's extensive reach in the region, no research is conducted to determine the size of the market.

For the future, the company would strengthen the existing brand equity of its existing best sellers, capitalise on new markets, continue registration of products in the pharmaceutical range and launch the personal care and consumer health products.

Ayurveda products from India are well accepted in CIS countries. Ravi Prasad said that the high-quality of herbal drugs is the only recognition in the region. "There is a high level of Himalaya product awareness in this region more than the knowledge of the 'science' itself. There is, therefore, immense potential to increase market share," he added.

Some of the problems encountered by Ayurveda companies to export to CIS are the language barrier. The region is expected to follow the European Union regulations. "Once Ayurveda is accepted in the EU, the CIS will follow suite and this will bolster trade with brisk marketing efforts," added Ravi Prasad.