Himalaya: head-to-heel herbal healthcare

Abstract

Subject area

Competitive strategy.

Study level/applicability

Post-Graduate (MBA/Doctoral) level courses.

Case overview

This paper aims to examine the evolution of Himalaya Drug Company (hereinafter referred to as Himalaya), an Ayurveda-based pharmaceutical-wellness company. Over the eight decades of its history, Himalaya has built a reputation for Ayurveda-based formulations that conform to allopathic standards and are accepted globally. In the recent years, Himalaya dramatically strengthened its competitive position of “scientific Ayurvedic products” through its entry into fast-moving consumer goods (or consumer-packaged goods), categories of wellness products as well as over-the-counter (non-prescription) drugs. This case describes the focused differentiation strategy of Himalaya and sets out the challenges it faced/would face in sustaining its focused differentiation strategy, as it enters into highly penetrated categories such as toothpastes and soaps (that were traditionally dominated by broad differentiators and broad cost leaders).

Expected learning outcomes

The outcomes are as follows: to exemplify the logic of focused differentiation, where a competitor commands a higher willingness to pay than its average competitors, by narrowing its target segments; to illustrate how the firm’s entire set of activities are tailored to meet the specific needs of a set of carefully chosen products, narrow customer segments, of defined geographic markets; to highlight how a combination of tradeoffs and fit helps protect the firm’s competitive position from its potential imitators; and to demonstrate the limits of a focused strategy, specifically relating to growth, and how a company such as Himalaya can overcome such limits.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CSS 11: Strategy.

Citation

Srinivasan, R. (2016), "Himalaya: head-to-heel herbal healthcare", , Vol. 6 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/EEMCS-06-2015-0137