A GLOBAL CHYWANPRASH MISSION

Marketing is said to be a war of perceptions, as per Al Ries and Jack Trout. Another marketing guru Philip Kotler reiterates that Marketing is very much about customer relationship management and that every company does three things to its market: provides goods, services and communication. Thus a foundation aspect of marketing is marketing communication to attract new customers and help retain current customers.

Marketing is a very noble activity. This is from the moralistic or ethical angle. It is marketing that ensures product availability in every nook and corner of a market and endeavours to enhance consumption thereby enhancing living standards. Marketing is a key element for commercial and social contributions.

In the healthcare market, one can broadly visualize the scenario in two divisions: SICKNESS market and WELLNESS market. While the former focuses in making sick people healthy, the wellness market is preventive in character. It strives to raise the health bar, so as to say, and ensures the wellsprings of wellbeing are flowing always.

Chywanprash

Chyawanprash, also spelled chyavanaprasha, chyavanaprash, and chyawanaprash, is an ancient Ayurvedic health tonic, widely used in India, as a rejuvenative, energizer and immunity booster. It is often called "the elixir of life" due to its numerous nutritional properties and benefit to the body.

It is said that Chyawan Rishi (Rishi is a Hindu saint) was the first to prepare this tonic. Hence the name Chyawanprash. The first historically documented formula for Chywanprash is found in Charaka Samhita, the ancient Ayurvedic treatise.

Chywanprash is a brown-colored, sticky paste with the consistency of jam and a sweet/sour/spicy taste. It can be eaten directly (one or two teaspoons per day) or mixed in warm milk or water.

Since many companies manufacture Chyawanprash, the recipe may differ a bit. The number of herbs used in preparation of the paste varies from 25 to 80, but the main ingredient of all Chyawanprash is amla (Indian gooseberry or Embellica Officinalis), which is one of the richest natural sources of Vitamin C. Other chief ingredients are dried catkins, Cinnamon, Asparagus, Ashwagandha, turmeric, ghee, dehydrated sugar cane and honey. Clarified butter is included to help the body's absorption of the vitamins.

Chyawanprash is a rejuvenative and helps balance the body’s working. Regular intake of Chyawanprash strengthens digestion, absorption and assimilation of food. It eases constipation. Chywanprash's basic ingredient amla is the richest natural source of Vitamin C and strengthens the immune system (body’s defence systems). Chywanprash is also beneficial to the heart and the brain cells. It is considered a memory booster. It also works as an antioxidant (quenches disease causing free radicals, ie reduces free radical load), thus slowing down the ageing process. It is believed that Chyawanprash purifies blood, eliminates toxins and is beneficial to liver. It is also said to fight bacterial skin infections and improve complexion. It also improves muscle tone by enhancing protein synthesis. It promotes absorption of calcium, leading to stronger bones and teeth. It is especially beneficial for cough and asthma patients. It enhances fertility and keeps menstruation regular.

From the above it is apparent that Chyawanprash is apt for both the wellness market and sickeness market (as an adjuvant).

Globalising Chywanprash

One thing is having a ‘good product’ but it is another thing to make the product a commercial success. The commercial success of a product depends on the forces that enhance the demand for it. As such if we analyse the business continuum, we observe that it comprises of innovation, manufacturing, distributing, retailing, and activities to enhance consumption. To this continuum, there are issues of production management, quality management, distribution management, management information systems, IT and technology management, sales management, marketing management, Human Resources management etc. Hence, to make a product a marketing success the product is to become a part of the culture, just as say The Hindu newspaper is a part of Madrasi culture or as McDonald’s is projecting, a great family restaurant for the upworldly mobile families of India. And to make such exciting successful events happen, marketing communication plays a key role.

VISION OF A GLOBAL CHYWANPRASH MISSION

The vision of a GLOBAL CHYWANPRASH MISSION is that of a non profit organisation that has the avowed objective of globalising chywanprash; putting it on the breakfast table of every home across nations in the world, so as to say. It is like what Kellogs has achieved in USA and Europe putting corn flakes as the cultural item on breakfast tables. And it is like what NASSCOM is doing in India; NASSCOM markets the IT and ITES industry of India to the world. This softens the ground for purely commercial organisations to enter in to virgin markets and sell their services. Similarly a global chywanprash misson can catalyze the creation of a global chywanprash consumption culture through unbiased communication and sampling systems. This mission obviously has to be a public private and Govt initiative for it to produce tangible results. This mission can through proper management and aggressive communication (through mailers, events, advertisements, celebrity based advertorials, evangelical advertising etc) can create through the Indian diaspora as its primary initial market, a great global chywanprash consumption culture, from paediatric to geriatric age groups.

The potential for a global chywanprash based culture in both the WELLNESS AND SICKNESS markets is there. What is required is application of mind and resources to create the necessary systems. Any takers??!!