The Rs.69 crore Natural Capsules is now making a come-back with its veg capsules which are of pure plant origin. It has pumped in Rs.3 crore for research and installation of new equipment, which will manufacture about 400 million vegetable capsules per annum.

The company which was a pioneer in the manufacture of veg capsules in 2001, did not pursue marketing of veg capsules with vigour post 2006 because the Indian market was not ready for this capsule and increased its focus with gelatin versions. Now it has made a re-entry driven by global demand and promising domestic market opportunities.

The 20 year-old company which is listed on the Indian bourses since inception eyes the international arena to fuel its future growth with the veg capsules or the hard cellulose capsules manufactured from Hydroxy propyl Methyl Cellulose (HPMLC) through a patented process. HPMC is an ultra purified molecule of cellulose.

The big advantage is that veg caps are chemically stable even at low humidity levels and do not foster bacteria unlike gelatin versions. Further, veg capsules have very low shell moisture, light protection, no reaction with fillings and low static charge. Moreover these capsules are being used by food, dietary supplements, herbal and nutraceutical industry in a big way.  

Now demand for these capsules is likely to increase especially keeping in mind the religious and cultural needs of the consumers, and trend towards vegetarianism. “Therefore, we see a big opportunity here and we are the only company along with ACG Capsules which entered the market in 2006-2007 in the country to manufacture veg capsules. The domestic market size for veg capsules is approximately at 1.2 billion capsules”,  Sunil Mundra, managing director, Natural Capsules, told Pharmabiz.

The company is already marketing its products in 28 countries globally where there is a visible trend to move towards veg capsules especially in non-pharma segments. “We are confident to return to this space at time when the market holds promising prospects and having successfully completed our ongoing gelatin projects early this year,” he added.

In order to maximize growth opportunities, the company has entered into a strategic equity partnership with Mysore based Supreme Pharmaceuticals. This US FDA approved and GMP compliant vitamins and minerals company offloaded 40 per cent equity to Natural Capsules. “It will now give us a head start into a well-established pharma, nutraceutical and vitamin international market,” noted Mundra.

The two plants of the medium sized Natural Capsules, one at Attibele, Bengaluru and the other at Puducherry have been upgraded to augment production capacity. The Attibele unit has a dedicated line for veg capsules. Efforts are on to convert its three gelatin lines for veg capsules to only focus on the same. The Puducherry WHO-GMP certified facility is now USFDA compliant. A couple of years ago it invested Rs.30 crore to upgrade the processes in sync with international standards and improve efficiencies to cater to the high speed automatic capsule filling lines for customers, said Mundra.

Now with Indian pharma pursuing to foray into dietary supplements and with the Foods Safety Standards Association of India regulations, we expect a 70 per cent increase in our top line growth to around Rs.Rs.120 crore by FY 2018 through exports and domestic sales, he said.