Indian manufacturers should build capabilities for exports

Sandeep Verma, Country Head, India, Consumer Health Division, Bayer

Preventive healthcare, increasing instances of lifestyle-related disorders, and rising consumer focus on health-promoting diets and many other factors are driving the nutraceuticals market in India. However, the industry has issues related to regulations, implications of the Biodiversity Act, lack of a mechanism to explain the small, micro-industry on compliance requirements, complex policies for commercialising nutra products, efficacy and safety, labelling issues that hinder the growth of the nutra segment despite increasing awareness. With this background Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), organised the “9th Nutraceuticals Summit & Awards” on the theme – Road Map to Compliance, Certifications and Regulations- in New Delhi. In an interaction with NUFFOODS Spectrum Sandeep Verma, Country Head, India, Consumer Health Division, Bayer shares his views on various issues including industry expectations from the government to enhance market penetration and ASSOCHAM’s role in the growth of the nutraceuticals market in the country. Edited excerpts:

The Indian Nutraceuticals Market is about $6 billion in 2023 and growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of over 11 per cent. But India’s contribution to the global Nutraceuticals Market is less than 2 per cent. According to you, how India can increase this market share in the coming years?  

India’s nutraceuticals business is estimated to reach $18 billion by the end of 2025. With the nutraceutical manufacturing sector opening up to Foreign Direct investment (FDI), many global players are showing keen interest in the Indian market. To propel the industry forward here are a couple of things we need to do (1) Indian manufacturers should build capabilities for exports. This includes upgrading their manufacturing and quality standards to meet global regulation standards. (2) We have enormous contract manufacturing organisations (CMO) in our country that can benefit from the production-linked incentive schemes (PLI) – an initiative by our government under the Make in India campaign. This is a good way to boost domestic and export manufacturing practices. Many companies are involved in manufacturing spurious nutraceuticals and health supplements. How will associations like ASSOCHAM address such issues?   The proliferation of spurious and sub-standard supplements poses a challenge to healthy growth in any market. Associations like ASSOCHAM can help by proposing to our Health Authority the need for a strict quality framework and harder penalties for defaulters. ASSOCHAM can support health authorities in conducting

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