IT GREW 150 PER CENT IN 2015-16 and crossed Rs 5,000 crore in revenues. This year, Baba Ramdev seems confident of revenue crossing Rs 10,000 crore. It has taken ITC two decades to reach that milestone; P&G has taken all of 25 years. No wonder, managers at global FMCG giants are worried about the “smart baba” as they describe him in private!

Delhi-headquartered Patanjali Ayurved has four business divisions: home care, cosmetics and health, food and beverages and health drinks. The company is venturing into khadi products and animal feed this year, Ramdev tells BW Businessworld in an exclusive interview. Patanjali Ayurved, founded in 2007, has grown its revenues more than ten-fold in five years, an unprecedented feat in India’s fast-moving consumer goods industry.

“This is just the beginning. Nestle, Hindustan Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive will be left clueless eventually,” says Ramdev. The company’s Dant Kanti toothpaste posted sales of Rs 450 crore in 2015-16 while Kesh Kanti shampoo and hair oil notched up Rs 350 crore in sales in less than a year. Patanjali Ayurved plans to increase its distribution network in 2016-17. The company has 4,000 distributors, 10,000 stores and 100 mega-marts. Last year, Patanjali tied up with retail chains Future Group and Reliance Retail. To meet increasing demand, Patanjali will set up at least four new manufacturing units in the current year at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. “We will set up six processing units in various parts of the country. Apart from this, we will invest Rs 150 crore in research and development,” says Ramdev. The company is set to export its products to at least 10 countries.