hink of your friendly neighbourhood homeopath and chances are, a familiar face running an out-of-home operation will float before your eyes. But things are changing. In keeping with the tendency these days - for all familiar things to turn packaged, branded and delivered-at-your-doorstep - homeopathy in India is getting corporatised too. Much of the credit for this goes to Dr Mukesh Batra (one might recall him from the Positive Health Show on ZEE TV) who established a single-doctor clinic in 1982 promising "homeopathy for a life of wellness". Today, Dr Batra�s Positive Health Clinic Ltd (DBPHCL) has grown into a chain of 22 clinics spread across 13 cities in India, where about 100 qualified full-time doctors provide homeopathic treatment to almost 2 lakh patients each year.

What makes Dr Batra�s story interesting is that he is perhaps the only player in the field of homoeopathic medicine with a national reach and he is also the only player who is trying to build an umbrella brand, Dr Batra�s, with some high-decibel mass media advertising. Other than Dr Batra�s Positive Health Clinic, there are no national branded player in the homeopathy market which is still highly fragmented. Dr Batra�s also retails a handful of personal care products under the Dr Batra�s Positive Health Products brand name. "We are five years ahead of any competition, if at all it exists. We are market leaders and we continuously upgrade our services to be there," the company claims. ... more