From the Forests of Dehradun to 100 Countries: How Himalaya Wellness Proved That Herbs Need Science

In 1930, in Dehradun, a young man named M. Manal (also spelled Mohammad or Mohammed in different sources) started a company with a conviction that was unusual for its time. The company's own telling says he foresaw the benefits of herbal remedies while riding through the forests around Dehradun.

Manal had no formal scientific training. What he had was a belief that Ayurveda deserved to be taken seriously, and that the way to earn that respect was through scientific research and evidence. That idea became the backbone of what is now Himalaya.

A Liver Tablet That Became a Flagship

The company moved to Bombay in the 1950s. In 1955, it launched Liv.52, a liver-protective herbal product. It went on to become the company's flagship. According to a 2015 article bylined to the company's CEO, Liv.52 earned over ₹250 crore in revenue and was the only herbal medicine among India's top 10 selling drugs. Those are the company's own, dated figures.

Himalaya also states that Liv.52 is endorsed by doctors worldwide.

The Son Who Took a Bet on Bangalore

The next chapter belongs to Manal's son, Meraj Manal. According to the same 2015 article, he pushed for a move to Bangalore and financed a manufacturing unit there by selling his flat in Mumbai. The unit started in 1975, and the company's base shifted to Bangalore, which remains its headquarters today.

That facility became one of the first Indian herbal manufacturing units to receive a GMP certificate, according to the company's account. Standardised manufacturing helped the products gain acceptance among modern-medicine doctors.

Taking Ayurveda to America

The company's next ambition was global. In 1994, the US passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which allowed compliant herbal products to be sold as dietary supplements. Himalaya launched its dietary supplements in America in early 1996.

Meraj Manal moved to the US to study the market, pushed for research that met American regulatory standards, and, by his own telling, proofread product labels in the early years while working from a small space above his garage. The company's expansion then moved on to Russia, West Asia, the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

From Medicine to Face Wash

The US years also led to a second business. In 1999, Himalaya launched personal care products under the name Ayurvedic Concepts, later renamed Himalaya Herbals. According to the 2015 article, personal care contributed 38 percent of the company's India revenues, and the company claimed over 20 percent of India's face wash segment, calling itself the country's largest face wash brand. Another source describes Himalaya Neem Face Wash as the second-biggest brand of its kind in India, so that claim depends on who is counting.

Other lines followed, including the HiOra oral care range in 2010 and mother and baby products in 2016. Today the company describes itself as a global herbal health and personal care organisation, with products across personal care, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals and animal health.

The Company Today

Himalaya is headquartered in Bangalore. Its parent is Himalaya Global Holdings, based in the Cayman Islands, with regional offices in Dubai, Singapore and Houston. Revenue was ₹37.6 billion in FY22, according to one source, with about 10,000 employees. Products are sold in 106 countries, and more than 290 researchers work with Ayurvedic herbs and minerals, per the same source.

One difficult episode is also on the record. In September 2023, the company obtained an ex parte injunction from a Bangalore civil court against Cyriac Abby Philips, a critic of alternative medicine who posts on social media. In October 2023, the Karnataka High Court ordered his X account reinstated after he deleted nine posts about the company. Critics described the case as a restriction on speech.

Its Marketing Strategy: Science First, Then the Shelf

Himalaya's approach to marketing is unusual because it started with doctors rather than shoppers.

• Evidence as the brand. The company positions itself as "Ayurveda backed by modern science and international quality standards," and presents its products as pharmaceutical-grade herbal healthcare.

• Doctor engagement. The company says it reaches over 400,000 doctors in India, and that modern-medicine doctors endorse its products.

• Head-to-heel wellness. Its positioning covers wellness from head to heel, under the tagline "Happiness through Wellness."

• Principles it highlights. It states no animal testing for personal care products, sustainable herb sourcing and community support.

• Credibility first, consumer second. Medicine came first, and the consumer lines followed, carrying the trust built through doctors and research.

What Himalaya Teaches Us

Himalaya's story is a reminder that a traditional idea can travel far when it is paired with proof. A man with no scientific training built a company around the belief that herbs needed evidence. His son carried it to Bangalore and then to America.

Nearly a century later, the same instinct holds the brand together. The forests of Dehradun remain where its story begins, and the research behind each product is what keeps it going.