Ayurveda is an ancient science and healthcare system appreciated by many  the world over.  The knowledge system of ayurveda offers a rich variety of  various protocols and treatments to maintain health and rectify ailments through herbs, plants, exercise, diet, and lifestyle changes. The market is divided into oral care, skin care, make-up, hair care, and fragrances, whereas, for the healthcare range, the market is segmented into ayurvedic nutraceuticals, ayurvedic medicines, and dietary supplements. The Ayurvedic Market is undergoing tremendous growth owing to the rising awareness among the population about the positive effects of natural healthcare and also the side effects of allopathic medicines. Corporations throughout the country focus on developing innovative ayurvedic products and generating consumer awareness. Gayatri Puranik, CEO of OM Vital Vertriebs, is leading the company to higher skies through her strategic thinking and determination. OM Vital Vertriebs GmbH is an importer company based in Germany, dealing in ayurvedic products and promoting Ayurveda as a way of life.With a rich experience of 20 plus years, Gayatri Puranik is involved in expanding the outreach of ayurvedic products beyond the boundaries of India and making the life of people more healthy and productive.

What are some essential features of your expertise as a business leader?

Thank you for the question, it is probably my cross-cultural experiential knowledge. Having lived in Germany for a more than three decades now, I can say that I have always been intrigued by the diferences in the social structures of both nations. This has helped me get valuable insights into the German culture and even their fascination for India, especially for natural and traditional cures like ayurveda, meditation, yoga and spirituality. But maybe more important: also becoming aware of the misconcepts! So the experiences in both countries have enabled me to see a situation from different perspectives, look objectively and dispassionately at a problem, and remain calm and solution-oriented. Dealing with Ayurveda in unfamiliar surroundings has heightened this learning. For example, Ayurveda as a holistic science and an inherently personalised system is distinctly different from what one otherwise calls modern science and which has earned its title through use of modern equipment.

Take us through your early educational journey and the prior industry experience youbring to the table.

With a healthy mix of different environments, I did my schooling in Mumbai and Bangalore and BA in Economics and Psychology. Then I moved to Germany for a course in Applied Linguistics, Translation, and Interpretation. All these gave me a good combination of academics and practical learning. As a student in Germany I gained insights through short stints in various companies. But my continued initial industry experience was in the family company in India - Shree Dhootapapeshwar, dealing in ayurvedic medicines. Soon I got involved in building and connecting Ayurveda between India and Germany. By the way, just as in business, Ayurveda too is about ensuring that your supply of food, lifestyle, and sensory intake is timely and in the required quality and quantity, which not only brings one under discipline but also has an overall impact on one's physical and emotional wellbeing and even one's personality.

What motivated you to establish Om Vital GmbH? Tell us about the underlying idea behind the venture and some of its most unique features.

Before establishing OM Vital Vertriebs GmbH, I had already started as a proprietary business, importing Ayurvedic products from the parent company in India. My father has a vision of making the goodness of Ayurveda available to all internationally. I was sent to Italy and stayed at a Yoga­ Ayurveda school to learn the foreign language and understand the culture, which would help judge the market's requirements. After my university course, I was actively looking for business partners for our family business. The conversations with prospective business houses showed that the interest in Ayurveda was there. Still, the more prominent companies were hesitant to invest, and smaller ones were idealistic but not in a position to invest. Hence the idea arose to start the importing and to supply to the smaller business houses, and Om Vital GmbH was born. The company has a  product range that includes handpicked traditional ayurvedic products and curated content of carefully chosen ayu-informed products sourced from companies sharing the high standards, ayurvedic principles, and knowledge of the Ayurveda way of life. A number of my clients are taken up by the noticeable health benefits of Ayurveda, which in many areas of health and well being, modern science does not really address.

"One should have a passion for learning and humbleness to be able to admit a mistake and learn again"

The Kaash bowl for example, is a simple but amazing tool for a foot massage giving a whole list of benefits on physical, mental, sensory and emotional level. Similarly the greatness of certain herbs like Ashwagandha, curcuma, ginger are just being realised. Formulations such as Triphala or Chyavanprash have a more dificult time attaining the same attention in foreign setings.

What are the various responsibilities you shoulder as the organization's CEO? What are your current focus areas in the said role?

As the CEO of OM Vital GmbH, my focus is to research the possibilities of matching traditional ayurvedic products or their adaptations with the market realities of Germany and Europe. Of course at the workplace, my responsibility is to ensure that all processes are running smoothly. I check our future direction and make sure that the people and procedures, including me, stay on track. Practically I ensure that the supply chain is working on schedule, that quality and regulatory requirements are being maintained, and customers are satisfied.

Throw some light on the most critical challenges you face in your current role. What steps do you take to overcome the roadblocks that you face?

In the recent past, we have had significant disruptions in the supply chain as COVID played its part well, reducing our turnover and bringing us to turbulent times. Due to the nature of ayurvedic products and the regulatory requirements, it is not always a good idea to change suppliers. So we introduced a parallel range of products for every new supplier; for example, we have the oil Maha Narayan from two different suppliers and distinguish both based on their differences. Due to fewer supplies, we had space in the warehouse and monetized it by offering the space for warehousing and fulfillment services. One needs to analyze costs before monetizing any opportunity or knowledge base.

"The company imports traditional ayurvedic products contributing toward maintaining balance between body-mind-soul-senses,resulting in a happy-healthy being"

On the regulatory European level, an equal acceptance of ayurvedic herbs will remain a long term challenge. More challenging than above problems however, have been the unexpected and unwarranted upheaveals within the family and business. From my personal experience, I feel that mixing of practical and emotional issues defies human as well as rational logic. Coping with emotional aspects of human behaviour at work especially in family companies is nothing new. But definitely an aspect where women have to shed the traditional trustfulness and be more aware and assertive than in earlier times. The following German saying puts it aptly". Trust is good, caution is better.

What is the direction for the future?

Ayurveda holds a wealth of applicable wisdom and knowledge for maintainance, promotion or restoration of health. In my vision of the future I hope I will be able present Ayurveda to the extent it deserves: as a complete science of life.

Gayatri Puranik, CEO, Om Vital Gmbh

Gayatri Puranik ­ comes from a traditional Indian family steeped in the practice of Ayurvedic manufacturing. She has been living in Germany since 1989 and importing Ayurvedic Products since over the last 20 years. Her continuing Indo-European intercontinental experience is the source for insights in the commonalities and differences between the eastern and western sciences and their practice. This proves to be very useful for practical application of the holistic sciences in a down-to-earth  manner all over the world. With a good mix of economics, language, cross-cultural communication skills, psychology, and a strong Ayurveda background, Gayatri believes in enhancing the well-being of individuals by bringing them closer to Ayurveda and taking the company towards success.