blow against Ayurveda for western health seekers

[Guest guest]

ayurveda, p s <tightbrwn76 wrote:

>

> I appreciate your sentiment Liz. There maybe a different perception

on this, which I'd like to share.

>

 

I agree with what you have written but two wrongs do not make right.

If Ayurvedic physicians and drug manufacturers take the western model

of doing business as their model then sorry Ayurveda has little scope

in western countries. Most of these peopple who have set up web sites

trying to sell products at outrageous prices are not sucessful.

 

Take one interesting example. Kerala Ayurveda Pharmacy set up a

Panchakarma clinic at Calicut with the idea of catching foreign guests

at very inflated prices like the Taj Ayurveda Spa. This place has gone

out of business and been sold to someone else who is trying to turn it

into more of a modern style health club - not Ayurveda. This operation

lost a lot of money while they were trying to hang in with the idea

that eventually the forengners will come and of course the rich

Indians did not go because they would rather have the luxury of the

Taj if they are going to spend so much money. KAP also opened a center

in Bangalore with the same flawed concept. These types of operation do

not have a chance of success because they do not understand their

potential market and they have priced themselves out of the market and

no one comes.

 

Many Vaidyas have opened web sites trying to catch the foreign market

for herbs - in fact way to many have done this and they are finding

that they are in a highly competitive market with many sites and few

customers. They could compete but they can not give up their notion of

making quick bucks. I think if an intelligent person were to set up a

site selling quality Ayurvedic medicines at ordinary Indian pharmacy

prices plus postage they could quickly catch a large share of the

market. This would be a good sideline business for a Vaidya that

could be run with a minimum of overhead and time involved. Many

Chinese people have done this selling Chinese herbs to westerners -

they have been very succesful doing this. The western market for

herbal products is there but as yet undeveloped and if the pricing

scheme is unreasonable it does not give the patients confidence in

Ayurveda in general.

 

I hear comments on this subject often. It is a blow to Ayurveda

whether Indian business men are willing to admit it or not. No one can

have a viable business model if they do not understand the market they

are trying to sell to. Western people do not have infinite money

especially a large percentage who are interested in Ayurveda.

sometimes I think some Indian business men think that westerners are

rich and stupid so they try to get as much of their money as possible.

Panchakarma clinics have shown that this idea does not work becasue

even if the customer comes once they will not return and they will

tell all of their friends not to go because the people there are

crooked. Such things do not help the promotion of Ayurveda in western

countries.