Just five years ago, Raj Makhija left a thriving franchise business in Canada to start his own sports nutrition supplements and products company in India. His success here has set a record of sorts. The man and the story of Smart Nutrition, as told to Vikalp Dubey.
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| Raj Makhija CEO, Smart Nutrition |
Returning to India was a big decision. What prompted that move?
I was involved in the health and fitness industry right from my college days. While working in the West, I realized how huge the gap between the sports nutrition market there and in India was. Our sportspersons were competing with the best in the world, without knowledge of or access to the right supplements. I spotted that gap, and took the plunge.
During that time Hollywood actor & celebrity Sylvester Stallone asked me to market his brand Instone Nutrition in India. That’s how it all started and soon new brands and valuable customers joined Smart Nutrition which now has more than 500 fitness and nutrition products.
You’ve seen phenomenal growth. Tell us about it.
Back in 2006 we did a business of merely Rs18 lakh. This grew to Rs10 crore by the time 2010-11 rolled around. Currently we are seeing 30-40% YoY growth, while aiming at 100-150% in coming years.
One reason for this zoom is the dramatic rise in awareness levels. The sports nutrition market is worth Rs15 billion in India today, and the dietary supplements sector is another `20 billion.
Our association with top sports bodies like BCCI, IPL franchisees, CWG teams and Bollywood celebrities has also reinforced the quality of our products. It is obvious that such institutions would not consider you unless you are the best in the field.
Quality, I think, is foremost in assuring success. We select products which are leaders in their own countries, and have been tested and certified safe by independent laboratories.
This attention to quality combined with focused marketing has helped us establish ourselves in the market.
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Smart Nutrition imports an extensive range of vitamins, health supplements, sports nutrition and Fitness products from USA, UK, Canada & Australia. The company sells its products through Religare Wellness Stores, Planet Sports, Decathlon and fitness centres and gyms across the nation. Smart Nutrition is a preferred supplier to the Indian Cricket Team, IPL teams and other sports teams and federations across India. Its clients include wrestler Sushil Kumar and athlete Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, among others. |
What kind of challenges did you face?
In India custom duty rates are very high; it almost doubles the cost of the product. Then there is lack of awareness among customers. These two things lead to smuggled and parallel imports of cheap quality products which may be harmful. Also, in India, infrastructure and retail distribution is lacking, improving which is a major challenge.
Our JV with Religare wellness stores for distribution helped us a lot. We are hoping to get more from retail distributions once the sector opens up. For custom duties, unorganized and parallel imports, we are taking the matter to the highest level and hoping that it would be resolved very soon. The recent doping scandal tells us how big a problem it can be. We are focusing on increasing the awareness among people using various newspapers and social media platforms.
Tell us about the initiatives you take for sports personnel and society at large.
We run a program called Team Smart Sports where athletes are sponsored and helped with diet advice, training and exercise for better performance. In India a lot of talented people are not so privileged, so these things go a long way to build a career in sports.
We set up health camps at local Resident Welfare Associations and with senior citizens. We take part in various marathons and organize events like Health day and Earth day.
What are your future plans?
We are diversifying into the personal care and beauty segment and have plans to begin manufacturing various products in India itself. It will take a couple of years to formalize everything.
Meanwhile, Smart Nutrition is seeing a growth rate of 30-40% annually. We expect to expand to 250 outlets across India by the end of the year.
Your take on entrepreneurship in India?
Growing sports awareness in India is opening up the market for ancillary sectors such as sports nutrition, physiotherapists, health consultants etc. It is a good time to be here.
Having said that, India is a huge market but takes a lot of perseverance to be successful. Keep the faith and have patience, and you will meet your goal.
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