Watch out KFC, McDonald’s! Baba Ramdev all set to launch fast food chain

May 9, 2017

New Delhi, May 9: Baba Ramdev, founder and promoter of the home-grown FMCG company, Patanjali Ayurveda, is moving ever farther from his core competency: yoga. He is setting up a restaurant chain.

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He said he would be positioning his restaurant chain in the fast food space. The menu would consist of 400 traditional vegetarian recipes.

Baba Ramdev's Patanjali group which specializes in herbal juice and medicines last year registered a revenue of Rs 10,000 crore. That's the kind of growth in ten years that an IT company in the Silicon Valley would envy. Ramdev's next foray is likely to take on multinational food chains like KFC, MacDonald's and Subway.

Across a resurgent Hindu India, with cattle getting holier and vegetarianism almost taking on a patriotic dimension, the new chain of restaurants that Ramdev is proposing just might become yet another money spinner.

Recently at a public meeting Ramdev said half in jest and half in earnest: "We will give customers a lot to choose from. There is nothing tastier and healthier than vegetarian Indian food. When we get these recipes together, all these multinationals restaurants serving chicken or mutton will have a hard time countering us."

As it is, nearly 60-70 percent of all fast food items like pizzas and burgers sold in India are vegetarian even in the multi-national chain of restaurants, Acharya Balkrishna, CEO, and Ramdev's partner, said.

Ramdev did not fail to put in a nationalistic angle to his project. He said McDonald's, KFC and Subway were like the East India Company. "They are here to loot. We will free India from food colonialism." He said he would "drive the foreign food chains way from Indian shores in five years." Clearly, food has become fodder for a kind of Independence movement.

In the process, Ramdev said, his people would establish direct contact with the farmers for fresh produce."In the next five years, Patanjali would educate the farmers about the latest techniques in farming to boost production. We will also offer decent prices for the produce." He said his food chain will benefit both farmers and customers.

Baba Ramdev took yoga to the masses, and turned his popularity into a brand that people have come to trust. His businesses have made life tough for established giants like Nestle, Unilever and Colgate.

The Haridwar-based FMCG firm has registered a turnover of Rs 10,561 crore in 2016-17, and Ramdev wants to double that in the coming year.

The company is in the process of setting up mega production units at several places, including Noida, Nagpur, and Indore, which would take its production capacity to Rs 60,000 crore, from the existing Rs 35,000 crore.

The firm is also planning a push for exports after its food park in Nagpur is commissioned.

For Ramdev, the restaurant business can be another way to get more customers for Patanjali products. For brand awareness, he uses Aastha, a spiritual channel, to promote the products along with his yoga lessons.

Market watchers are skeptical on Patanjali's foray into the restaurant business. "Serving a packaged product is one business and running a services business is another," said a business analyst. But Ramdev has been adept at turning predictions wrong.

Meanwhile, a restaurant in Chandigarh, Postik, has been using Patanjali products to make vegetarian and satvik snacks. The walls of the restaurant are lined with pictures of Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna. The restaurant carries the logo of Patanjali on its menu which also lists health tips for its customers as a take-home message. Reportedly Postik owners were the ones who approached Ramdev with the proposal of a food chain.

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March 27,2024

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Hassan: Former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda has announced that his son, former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy will contest from state's Mandya parliamentary seat as NDA candidate.

Deve Gowda told reporters on Tuesday that the decision to field Kumaraswamy, who is also JD(S) state president, in Lok Sabha polls from the Mandya seat was taken amid mounting public demand. "People are demanding that Kumaraswamy should contest from Mandya. In the core committee meeting as well, all members suggested that he should contest from Mandya," Deve Gowda said.

The former Chief Minister's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy had lost to independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The JD(S) supremo further said that the name of senior leader Mallesh Babu has been finalised from the Kolar seat.

Deve Gowda's grandson and former Karnataka Minister H. D. Revanna's son sitting JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna will be contesting as the NDA candidate from the Hassan seat.

Earlier in the day, Kumaraswamy in a media briefing indicated that he would contest from Mandya amid mounting public pressure on him.

Congress has fielded Venkatarame Gowda popularly known as ‘Star Chandru’ from the Mandya seat dominated by Vokkaligas. Star Chandru is a close associate of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

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March 21,2024

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Mangaluru: A man from Dakshina Kannada was duped of Rs 2.5 lakh after he was promised a Poland visa.

In a complaint, a resident of Belthangady, stated that the accused, Manoj, had promised a job for his son in Poland. 

Between May 22 of last year and March 19, he handed over Rs 2.2 lakh in various phases, citing different reasons.

However, since the accused failed to provide a visa or return the money, a case was registered at the Dharmasthala police station under IPC sections 417 and 420.

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March 28,2024

Mangaluru, Mar 28: Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Mullai Muhilan MP has warned the individuals and political parties against the poll code violations during private events. 
 
“Private events such as marriages, birthdays, housewarming ceremonies, and other non-political programmes do not require any permission. However, one should ensure that there is no violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) at these functions. Permission is needed if the events are attended by politicians or candidates,” the DC said. 

He said that these gatherings will be under the surveillance of MCC teams, as there are chances of luring voters by campaigning and supplying food, said the DC. The district has 38,386 new voters, of which, 19,619 are men.

He said that the notification of election in Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency will be issued soon, and the filing of nominations will be held between 11 am and 3 pm till April 4. 

Only five persons, including the candidate, will be allowed to enter the returning officer’s chamber to submit the nominations. A facilitation centre will be opened at the DC’s office. 

The expenditure of the candidate will be counted from the day the candidate files the nomination.

The DC said that the district is not an expenditure-sensitive constituency. Assistant expenditure observers and expenditure observers will monitor the expenditure of the candidates. An expenditure book will be provided to the candidate to record expenditure incurred, he explained.

Further, he said that no election materials can be printed without the name and address of the publishers, and the number of copies printed. Separate permission should be availed for procession prior to the submission of nomination papers from the ARO office, through the single-window system.

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