How to Sell Ayurvedic Products in the USA from India?

Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine that involves the use of herbs, plants, and micronutrients to promote physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

Ayurveda has been the primary system of medication in India from ancient times. Recent medical research is more effective than allopathic medicine, even though it takes longer to see its effects. The West has slowly woken up to the amazing benefits of Ayurveda. The demand for Ayurvedic products has consistently increased in the past decade.

The market for Ayurvedic products increased at an annual rate of 8% between 1994-2001, and it is expected to become a 5 trillion dollar company by 2050.

According to a report from the National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2007, at least 200,000 US adults had used ayurvedic medicine along with acupuncture and chiropractic healing methods. The curiosity in ayurvedic medicine has risen exponentially ever since the popularisation of Yoga.

Turmeric, one of the central ingredients in Ayurveda, made sales worth $80 million in 2011. Since then, its popularity has increased exponentially. It is now being added to various products and is also available as a supplement.

The majority of consumers of ayurvedic products in the US are women. Educated women aged between 35-55 are gravitating towards intrinsic means of healing and medical treatments. With the rise in lifestyle-based diseases, many are looking for long-term, holistic alternatives to medicine. Ayurveda has therefore found a lot of takers in the West.

Scientific studies on the benefits of these products were not available initially. But increasingly, more and more studies are being conducted that have reaffirmed the benefits of ayurvedic medicines. Turmeric, ashwagandha, tulsi, reetha, and guggul, have been found to have amazing benefits. Ayurveda has been found to be effective in treating diabetes, arthritis, cancers, inflammations, even Alzheimers.

Process of selling products from India in the USA

Ayurvedic medicines are tricky to sell in the USA. Although they are exempt from FDA rules, consumer discretion is advised while buying ayurvedic products as medicines or supplements. However, if you go about it in the right way, Ayurvedic medicines have a huge market that is rising every year. Health awareness and lifestyle issues are leading to a large number of people moving towards Ayurvedic medicine.

Let’s learn how to sell Ayurvedic products. Here is what all you need to do to export Ayurvedic medicines from India to the USA:

1. Business plan

You can sell your Ayurvedic products in the USA through an online e-commerce site or through retail. Finalise what works better for you. Once this is done, you can either set up a physical retail shop or, in the case of online sales, a backend distribution centre. You can then start selling the products.

• Start a registered company or firm that has all the legalities sorted well.
• Apply for a GST number.
• Create an inventory list of the Ayurvedic products you plan to sell.
• Ayurvedic products need to be registered either under the Drug Department for pharmaceutical products or the Ayush Department for Ayurvedic preparations.
• Find the right wholesale sellers to source the Ayurvedic products from.
• Contact the pharmaceutical promotion council to understand export rules.

2. Licenses required

• Ayurvedic medicines do not need any drug-related licenses.
• FSSAI registration is required if food products are used.
• You will also need to apply for an Import Export code and sale certificate for exporting medicines to the USA. The IEC code is vital to start an import-export business.

3. Storage and distribution

• Invest in a hygienic place to store the products and manage their distribution and packaging.
• Use the B2B portal to look for consumers and foreign agents.
• Create a contract with the agents and set up a continuous channel of exporting products from India to the USA.

4. Export setup

• Once you have the IEC code and foreign agents to export to, you need to qualify for an inspection or certification.
• There are 3 types of inspection consignment-wise, system-level, and dossier. All these need to be completed before you can start shipping the products to the USA.
• As an exporter, it is also important to have the HS code of the products being exported.
• ITC code for the selling of Ayurvedic products defined in chapter 2 of Indian Tariff regulations.

5. Marketing

• Setup traditional or online channels for marketing of the products.
• Create a comprehensive marketing strategy to approach prospective clients and ensure that a continuous sale and distribution channel is built.

6. Profits margins and other factors

• Depending on the type of products you are trying to sell, the buying price can vary. There is no average price for Ayurvedic products across the board. Therefore the investment costs and consequently the profits can vary.
• Profit margins for export companies can be as high as 50 -150%, depending on the kind of products you want to sell.
• Since ayurvedic products are sold as supplements in the USA market, sales have skyrocketed.
• In recent years the export value of ayurvedic products was $428 million from India. There has been a consistent increase in export sales from 2015 to 2019.
• Patanjali, Boutique, Ayurveda, Dabur are the big players currently in ayurvedic products. They have claimed that the majority of their profits come from exports.

Conclusion

Ayurveda is a lifelong commitment to a holistic healing method and is quite the opposite of how OTC medicines work. Imbibing Ayurveda in our lives is like learning a whole new language similar to Yoga. So while it is a slow process, the benefits it provides are plenty. The West has been discovering multiple benefits to Ayurveda in recent times.

Therefore as per the predictions of the market experts, the exports of Ayurvedic products will grow tremendously in the coming years, especially in a post-Covid world.  Everyone has been re-thinking their lifestyle and the adversity of erratic habits that have led to chronic illnesses. Ayurveda promises not just physical but emotional and spiritual well-being through its products and practices.

The Haldi doodh that every household in India consumed as a regular drink was extremely successful as turmeric latte across the USA. This means that our ancient healing methods are finding a global appeal and will soon be widely recognised. So if you are planning to export Ayurvedic products, be assured that it can be a winning business proposition if done within the regulations. You can spread the goodness of India’s ancient wisdom across the world.

Also read:

1) Startups in India: Growth & Other Factors to be Considered for a Startup
2) What Are Some Good Startup Ideas?
3) Where to Get a Small Business License?
4) Startup Ideas: How do you know if your Startup idea already exists?
5) Best Ayurvedic Brands in India
6) OkCredit: All you need to know about OkCredit & how it works.

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FAQs

Q. Which are the popular Ayurvedic products exported from India?

Ans. Skincare products, healing medicines, turmeric supplements, ashwagandha, tulsi, neem extracts are some of the popular Ayurvedic products exported from India.

Q. What licenses are required to sell Ayurvedic products outside India?

Ans. An FSSAI registration for selling the products and an Import Export code to export the products from India to the USA is required.

Q. Does the seller need to have qualifications to export Ayurvedic products?

Ans. Unless the seller is prescribing the Ayurvedic medicines to the consumer for specific diseases, there are no qualifications required. Most Ayurvedic products are not sold as medicines but as supplements.

To manage the payments, ledgers, and other transactions of your business efficiently,  you can use the OkCredit app.

Q. What are the profit margins in exporting Ayurvedic products?

Ans. For Indian markets, the Ayurvedic products can reap 25-30 % margin; however, in an export setup to the USA, the profit margins can soar up to 50-150%.

Q. Does the seller need to have drug licenses to sell Ayurvedic products in the USA?

Ans. No drug licenses are required to sell Ayurvedic products in the USA.