Nutritional supplements are a small market in India but market analysts expect big growth numbers in the coming years. Indian researchers Netscribes recently predicted that the market will double in value by 2013 as Indian consumers become richer and more sophisticated in their buying habits.
But there are various impediments to growth including a lack of standardisation, high pricing and low product awareness.
Ayurvedic supplements share many of these problems and suffer in general from a lack of product standardisation, quality control and an absence of scientific data on efficacy.
Regulation
Dr Anantha Narayana, the head of Herbals Research at Hindustan Unilever Research Centre in Bangalore, added the uncertain regulatory environment to this list.
Narayana said no decision has been made on whether to continue regulating ayurvedic products under the Drugs & Chemicals Act or to move them under Food law, according to FnBnews.com.
In this environment, Narayana stressed the importance of building high quality scientific dossiers. For example, he said dosage must be mapped according to end use and the recommendations reviewed by a qualified and experienced scientist or vaidya.
Credibility
The preparation of quality product dossiers and scientific review documentation may go some way to improving the image of nutraceuticals in the eyes of Indian consumers.
A recently published knowledge paper on the potential of the nutraceuticals market in India, prepared by FICCI and Ernst & Young, said that nutritional supplements currently have a low credibility in Asia Pacific countries.
The paper pointed to a survey carried out in the region which reported that 30 per cent of respondents thought food supplements do not offer any additional health benefits.