Newstrack

Kairali to enter foreign shores including UK, US

Gayatri Vijaykumar - Bangalore

The Kairali Group, which runs ayurvedic health resorts, spas and centres in India and abroad, plans to expand presence in the US, UK, Poland and Russia. Ram Mohan, its VP (marketing & PR), said, "All our international spas will run on a franchisee basis.

We will be launching one in London by June this year. We are also looking at the US where we plan to start an ayurvedic spa cum university." At present the group has 20 centres running franchisees internationally.

In India, Kairali has tied up with Country Club and the Confident Group to set up spas on their properties. The first has already been launched at the Country Club, Hyderabad and plans are on to set up similar spas in all the other metros. "All centres will be operated on a franchisee model since controlling labour becomes a problem otherwise," explained Mohan. Kairali also plans to set up a wholly-owned spa at Bangalore which will be operational in six to seven months.

Kairali Ayurvedic Health Resort, Palakkad, the company's flagship property, was recently selected as one of the top 50 wellness destinations in the world by National Geographic.

The group has 100 acres of land in Palakkad of which the resort cover 50 acres. According to Mohan, the group might consider expanding the existing property based on requirements. Speaking about the potential for ayurveda, Mohan said, "Although there is huge demand for ayurvedic treatment, the government has to impose stringent regulations to ensure that only serious players are involved."