Now, Emami forays into homeopathy

KOLKATA: Emami Group, the Rs 2,200-crore consumer product firm, has forayed into homoeopathy sector by acquiring Kolkata-based M Bhattacharyya & Co Private, one of the country���s earliest homeopathy companies.

M Bhattacharyya���s reputation is largely confined to the city���s homoeopathy circle, both doctors and patients alike, and its outlet on B B Ganguly Street is always choc-a-bloc.

Kolkata-based Emami now plans to take the brand beyond the city and beyond the country. ���We plan to set up a modern factory of international status to ensure that quality, effectiveness and purity is at par with international standard for immediate therapeutic and curative use,��� RS Goenka, the group chairman of Emami, told ET.

���We are looking at strategic technical collaborations with German and French homeopathy firms including the likes of Dr Reckweigh, Willmar Schwabbe and Biologische Heilmittel Heel GmbH for a new greenfield unit,��� added RS Agarwal, joint chairman of the group.

The idea is to be among the top five homeopathic companies in the world with an annual sales turnover of Rs 400-500 crore a year, Mr Agarwal said. Emami already has a presence in ayurveda and allopathy. It is part-owners of AMRI hospitals tha makes and sells ayurvedic drugs and owns the Frank Ross chain of pharmacies which also are a landmark in Kolkata���s allopathic medicine scene.

For 64-plus Amitabha Bhattacharyya, grandson of philanthropist Mahesh Bhattacharyya who established the first M Bhattacharyya outlet in 1889, it was a move to ensure the brand would not disintegrate.

���Both my children have taken to different streams of education. I decided therefore to hand over the reins of the business to someone who would be able to run it and expand it,��� he said.

Spearheading the business will be R K Jatia, currently in charge of Emami Group���s pharmacy business under the Frank Ross umbrella. Mr Jatia has been inducted as director on the board of M Bhattacharyya & Co Pvt Ltd.