In conversation with Sanjaya Mariwala, Executive Chairman and Managing Director at OmniActive Health Technologies

1. Tell us about the shifts and trends in the nutraceuticals industry? What are the key drivers? How has the global pandemic in 2020 created unprecedented opportunities for this sector? How has COVID-19affected people's perceptions of preventative health & well-being?

As the Indian workforce is slowly expanding the Gen Z pyramid base and observing the changing workplace trends, healthcare models are also transforming with these demographic changes. The biggest consumers of nutraceutical products today are Gen Z and Gen X. Technology has enabled the information flow. And thus, has enhanced awareness about healthy lifestyle, organic and nutrition-based food, the importance of functional food and dietary supplements, and in turn preventive care science. This has aided the double digit growth for the nutraceutical industry in the last few years and will continue to drive for at least a decade more. Changing healthcare models are a reflection of changing lifestyle which is increasingly becoming competitive and stressful. Trends and reports suggest that there is a significant rise in psychosomatic disorders resulting in health complications and chronic diseases. Mostly the severity multiplies by the time patients resort to and receive conventional medicine and treatment making cure prolonged or even impossible. Top this with the prohibitive cost of treatment and hospitalisation. Additionally, COVID-19 accentuated the need for immunity building and preventive care. All these have contributed to people resorting to systems of medicines that are focused on prevention (Ayurvedic, Homeopathic, Nutraceutical, and other such traditional streams). With pandemic or no pandemic, the shift towards preventive healthcare is here to stay and it will offer tremendous opportunities for the nutraceutical industry.

2. Do you foresee the nutraceutical industry as a game-changer in 2021? What are the key challenges you are dealing with as an industry player?

The healthcare industry is set for disruption and transformation. Illness to wellness, sick care to preventive care, green and sustainable, organic and nutrient based, all these will take center stage in 2021 and beyond. It is a combination of two things - sudden shock due to the pandemic and gradual shift in lifestyle due to improving awareness. An analysis by Ernst and Young suggests that the healthcare model is transforming from mass to individuals and from prescription to advisory. I would further add, this evolving trend of tomorrow is nothing but moving towards preventive healthcare, customized solutions for individual body types, and care that is available at the doorsteps. These trends will now become the integral part of business models and the industry evolution. India is one of the largest agricultural economies in the world and the nascent, underdeveloped Food and Grocery market of India is the 6th largest globally. Nature based science is deep rooted in India and there is a huge export potential yet to be tapped. Demand for nutraceutical products is growing and continuing to move northward. But there are impediments for the industry players which are currently limiting the growth potential and discouraging business houses from positioning India on the global map. We saw many reforms in the last few months aiming towards integration and simplification. We now need growth and research-oriented reforms and it will be possible only when different laws, regulations will converge to serve a common end goal. Positioning the industry as mainstream from merely an alternative, creating a dedicated desk for nutraceuticals either at the Ministry of Commerce and at FSSAI or creating a dept of nutraceuticals under the Ministry of Pharma, for promoting and streamlining the industry, exports, encouraging the PPP model to augment research and innovation, revisiting the laws and policies that are indirectly penalizing the industry e.g. the Bio-diversity Act; these are some of the immediate steps the regulators should take along with creating policies around product standardization , minimizing product adulteration and evolving a new model of the industry – agri to formulation . And these will allow nutraceutical industry to grow in scale and size.

3. India has an abundant supply of raw materials and a history of Ayurveda and related sciences. How can the country leverage this to become a global supplier for nutraceutical ingredients?

Despite a strong foundation of Ayurveda that persists for centuries in India, lack of a well-defined policy on globalisation of Ayurveda and nutraceutical products, ill-defined industry models, lack of infrastructure, limited incentives, and impetus to innovate have limited the growth in this space. Every stakeholder will have to collaborate to create a comprehensive and integrated ecosystem. India has all the resources and capabilities to build an end-to-end value chain for the nutraceutical industry. While we need to develop codes and standards for the industry, participation from the industry players will play a pivotal role. A robust PPP model will also ensure a strong supply chain management along with effective execution to reap the opportunities that prevail currently. Government and regulators should iron out the regulations and policies, encourage research and development, and incentivize the industry players to invest further in the industry. This collaboration will ensure the benefits of nature-based science reach the undernourished population of our country, boost domestic consumption, stimulate export opportunities, and ultimately the size of the industry.

4. What is your view on the recent initiative of NDHM by the government? Will it help the nutraceutical industry?

National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) is a revolutionary step reinforcing the regulators’ commitment towards healthy India. The mission is surely a step towards not just digital India, but an integrated healthcare system for the benefit of every Indian. While this is surely a thoughtful mission, most often than not, the challenge is always in the execution, where we will have to be very attentive. Poor, halfhearted execution, can make this initiative a nonstarter. NDHM is all about integration and the healthcare system will have to collaborate to share the resources, responsibilities, and risks. Here as well, the PPP model will work excellently. Inviting private participation will take care of both, the efficiency and effectiveness part of the mission.

5. In India, public healthcare is significantly expensive. How do you think nutraceutical industry can help address that challenge?

The impact of a health care system needs to be assessed in its: access, affordability and acceptability. We have multiple problems as a nation. While our system is reasonably affordable in urban centers, it is yet to be accessible by the rural population. Incentives do not exist for doctors to be made available in rural areas. We can easily afford to produce many more doctors by expanding our medical universities. Perhaps, we can look at paying more to doctors in rural areas. Good nutrition is another way to deal with prevention, thereby keeping the health care costs under control or affordable. Then the question is - how can we reach the rural markets for preventive nutrition support? How can we address the affordability question? Under our Jan Dhan Yojna, could the Rs.500,000 insurance cover provide access to better nutrition to our population? These thoughts require some deliberations.

6. Do you think the education system can help industry growth? If yes, how?

Definitely! To bring any change, we have to start from the roots, and the education system is an important pillar. First and foremost, the education system will have to encourage innovations and ideas. Research is not just about doing a Ph.D. What we need is experiment-based research and the research resulting in more patents and trademarks. Secondly, we need to develop a common curriculum for all the streams of medicine whether Ayurveda or Allopathy for the initial two years so that students can make well-informed decisions while choosing the area to specialize in. This curriculum should include nutrition and nutraceuticals as well. We should also consider introducing a structured course on Wellness and Prevention; promoting preventive measures/ concepts of studies rather than only focusing on a cure. And lastly, to induce research and innovation, we should explore to convert Ayurveda scriptures like Charak Samhita, Sushruta Samhita and Ashtanga Hridayam and Ashtanga Sangraha into science-based texts. I personally believe, education system can very well bridge the gap from Shlokas to Science and assist the preventive care industry transformation from alternative to mainstream.