After shaking up the FMCG market, Patanjali Ayurved has firmed up plans to take apparels market by storm. The company is set to launch its clothing brand ‘Paridhan’ by the end of this year, Patanjali MD and Co-Founder Acharya Balkrishan said. Apparels would be manufactured in-house via a third party, he said.
Balkrishna said a team had been formed in Noida to handle the company’s apparel business. Patanjali would open 100 exclusive stores in metros as well as non-metros, he said. Patanjali Founder yoga guru Baba Ramdev had earlier said that the textile portfolio would have around 3,000 products ncluding kidswear, yoga wear, sportswear, caps, shoes, towels, bedsheets and accessories. However, the mostawaited item would be its swadeshi jeans, which the company says it has adapted to the Indian conditions. “Jeans is a Western concept and there are two things we can do with Western concepts. Either boycott them or adopt them but customise them to suit our traditions. Jeans have become so popular that they cannot be taken away from the Indian society. Swadeshi jeans will be Indianised jeans in style, design and fabric,” Balakrishna told two years ago when Patanjali swadeshi jeans was still a concept.
“Our jeans for women will be loose so that they comply with Indian cultural norms and are also comfortable for them. Indian families will find our swadeshi jeans concept very comfortable,” he said. “Denim jeans that people wear these days come from abroad or are manufactured here by Western companies. They are all based on designs and cultural patterns of foreign countries. These are not suited to Indian culture. Our jeans will be similar to many Indian clothes. This will make Indian women feel comfortable too,” he said. After giving sleepless nights to FMCG giants such as Hindustan Unilever, Nestle and Colgate, Patanjali will now lock horns with big apparel brands such as Levis and Wrangler, if its modified jeans catch on with the youth.
