Himalaya is well-known for both their pharmaceutical and head to heel herbal wellness products.
The brand, as we all know today, was founded by Mohammed Manal in the year 1930.
This trade mark of the Indian nation is one of the top competitor’s for face wash and lip care lines, selling their products to more than one hundred countries globally.
The history of Himalaya began in India when India witnessed a deep rooted Western influence on their culture during the early twentieth century, making Mohammed Manal to perceive an urgent need to contemporaries the Ayurveda through modern scientific research.
Manal possessed a love for nature, boundless curiosity and a firm belief in herbal healthcare.
Despite no formal scientific training, Manal successfully launched Himalaya in 1930.
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In the 1930s, people still believed in herbal goodness but the growing influence of Western education meant that critical reasoning was becoming important and traditional ideologies and belief systems were being challenged.
Mohammed Manal knew that if herbal medicine had to be taken seriously it had to be validated by empirical evidence.
Therefore from the very beginning, Manal focused on research and scientific data to prove safety and efficacy of Himalaya products, which at the time was at the initial stage.
The big break came in 1955, when the company launched Liv.52, a liver-protective herbal medicine that soon became its flagship brand.
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Even today, Liv.52 is the crown jewel in the pharmaceutical portfolio, registering over Indian Rupees 250 crore in revenues and being the only herbal medicine in India’s top 10 selling drugs.
Himalaya moved its head quarter to Mumbai (then Bombay) during the 1950s and later his son Meraj Manal insisted his father to shift to Bengaluru in 1975.
In that same year Meraj managed to take Himalaya to a next level by introducing it in the US.
He pushed his team and developed products according to US regulatory standards.
When US FDA in 1994 implemented the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), allowing herbal products to be sold, Himalaya was ready with a range of therapeutic products which was branded as the “Care”.
In early 1996, two years after DSHEA came into force, Himalaya launched its range of dietary supplements in America.
Himalaya also launched their products in countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Russia where Ayurveda is not a familiar system of medicine.
Their hard work paid off and today ten Himalaya products are sold every second world-wide!
