Video summary
The panel discussion centers on the evolution of retail strategies, moving beyond simple multi-channel presence toward a true omnichannel approach that unifies online and offline experiences. Speakers emphasize that while starting online offers data visibility on what sells, offline channels provide crucial insights into why products sell by capturing the consumer's firsthand experience. For apparel brands like Indo Era, this means curating specific collections for physical stores based on local occasions and family dynamics rather than trying to replicate the entire online inventory. Similarly, beverage companies like Key recognize that while they must be present across various channels, true omnichannel success lies in using data from one channel—such as quick commerce—to optimize inventory and efficiency in another, like general trade, rather than just being everywhere simultaneously.
Innovation and speed to market are identified as critical differentiators, particularly for fast fashion and beauty sectors where consumer expectations are high. Brands like Indo Era have achieved remarkable success by utilizing data-driven design processes that align with real-time consumer searches, resulting in an 83% sell-through rate compared to industry averages. The discussion highlights that innovation is not just about creating new products but about understanding the specific nuances of consumption occasions and cultural contexts. For instance, beverage brands focus on replicating sensory experiences like taste and temperature to build emotional connections, while beauty brands ensure their brand identity remains consistent across all touchpoints even as the functional role of each channel varies. This balance allows companies to maintain a cohesive brand voice while tailoring assortments to the specific needs of different shopping environments.
The conversation also addresses the dynamics between large conglomerates and agile startups, with larger entities like Dabur leveraging acquisitions to acquire speed and agility from smaller, innovative brands without losing their core profitable businesses. Startups are praised for their ability to take risks and focus on product differentiation, whereas large companies often struggle with the inertia of established processes. A key takeaway is that loyalty in consumer goods is driven primarily by repeat purchases rather than traditional loyalty programs, as consumers quickly switch brands if they perceive friction or pricing discrepancies. Therefore, maintaining hygiene across channels and ensuring consistent pricing and experiences are essential for building long-term brand trust and encouraging customers to return repeatedly.
Ultimately, the panelists conclude that the future of growth depends on trusting local products and redefining consumer behavior away from a blind preference for imported goods. The speakers urge Indian consumers to support domestic brands that offer quality comparable to international counterparts, noting that large-scale Indian conglomerates have historically struggled due to a lack of trust in local founders. By focusing on repeat business, understanding the unique value proposition of each channel, and fostering a culture that celebrates indigenous innovation, companies can build sustainable growth engines. The consensus is that while technology and data provide the tools for efficiency, the heart of any successful brand lies in its ability to authentically connect with consumers through consistent experiences and products that resonate with their daily lives.
Read the full video transcript
Hi, good morning everyone and first of
all you know it's a privilege to be here
moderating a panel with such esteemed
guest and speaker and uh you know we'll
hope to do the best of the time over
here. uh the way uh we'll run the uh
discussion is uh you know we'll have
some pointed questions for uh each of
you but I also invite the co-panelists
to you know talk about this because
these are not specific to one brand the
often the themes are you know definitely
sort of cuts across and I'm sure you
have interesting insights to add uh here
as well right so uh not pointing it out
but you know usually you start with
ladies first so maybe you know uh we'll
start with you Shishi and uh the it's
been an interesting journey with Indo
era over the last few years and you've
sort of crossed many interesting
milestones in revenue uh the way the
business has you know come up in the
tier 2 tier three focused e-commerce
first and so and so forth at the same
time you're also taken steps moving
towards omni uh there are few stores
which are opening up just maybe just you
know tell us a little bit about that
journey and how the omni channel
experience creating a unified experience
experience uh becomes a bit of a
challenge to crack when you move from
online to offline, marketplace to uh
store. How you looking to solve those?
So like any brand starts their journey
whether through online or offline
ultimately uh the product needs to be
delivered to the consumer
and when you are starting your journey
through online channels and then
parallelly planning to get into offline
is very interesting because in online
journey you only understand what is
selling but in offline journey you get
to know why is it selling.
You actually get the consumer on your
firsthand experience and that's the
reason today even if you talk about
Apple they opened their own flagship
stores in India to understand what the
consumer and how the consumer is having
that experience rather than going from
just the franchisee model. So and
especially when you talk about apparel
and the different body fits that Indian
government garments have you need to
have that experience through offline
channel and in offline that doesn't mean
it's just about having a store which is
like a four-world store but it is more
about that what is consumer saying why
are they buying it for what reason have
they shopped before uh buying into the
store on online and what is the thought
process of the consumer when they see a
brand online for years and then they
actually get into a particular store. So
this has been the ultimate mindset while
we move from online to offline. One of
the things secondly which is more
important that if you have captured a
consumer from uh any channel spending so
much of amount like spending into CAC
spending into customer acquisition in
terms of product pricing in terms of
delivering different styles for their
different occasions and then making them
enter into your store because that
consumer ultimately is also shopping
online also shopping offline and also
doing quick commerce. Of course, the
purpose is different. They're not just
buying for same purpose online versus
offline. Offline is more um you know
it's more about ex how you experience it
and what you want to buy. So this has
been the overall thing for us
>> and you know uh one of the things which
one often thinks about pricing and
versus experience especially in apparel
because you know there's a very uh
different sort of a thing you're looking
at online it's often convenience it's
speed but when you're in the store there
is a opportunity to premiumize let's put
it like that anything which you observe
that it's there
or what has been your experience about
So of course uh because of online being
the first channel you have a lot of data
in terms of pin code, in terms of taste,
in terms of what occasion people want to
buy and especially when you go offline,
you have that construct. Okay, you
cannot have everything on the shelf
because we have uh 13,000 designs with
six different sizes and putting them all
in one place would not never be
possible. So you have to curate. So the
curation is of course done in terms of
that you become profitable because we
have been bootstrapped since day zero
and the most important thing becomes
like what the consumer is actually
looking for not what we want to offer
and be everywhere. Of course, I
understand the consumer has today for
example entered into ambience mall and
um they are looking not for a daily uh
ka set because they have come with the
whole family from the traffic of Delhi.
So they don't want to just experience
one of the product. they want to
experience something for their
particular occasion or particular u
reason why they want to uh get into a
physical store and then purchase it
rather than just ordering online. So we
curate the collection according to the
season according to the demand according
to understanding what is the purpose of
being on a offline versus a online that
is most important for us.
>> Fair. Uh moving to sort of and sort of
your of course your story is probably
the other way around where you know Lai
Jira has been a offline first uh you
know uh great innovation amazing price
point available practically everywhere
when you're walking around the street uh
you know and you know it's you can just
pick it up and it's been a fantastic
reception from the consumers as well. uh
when you look at the playbook of growth
in the future and when you're also
considering channels like UCOM, modern
trade, all of these uh areas where the
propensity to have a slightly larger
pack size, maybe a differentiated
pricing, maybe a little bit different on
the type of product itself. So are you
looking at your playbook any differently
than the one you followed so far?
>> First things uh thank you for having me.
uh to be honest with you uh it was it's
been a very simple we've actually kept
things rather simple for us
uh what we actually tried to understand
is where do beverages sell in India and
uh also what is even what was even more
important is to understand who your
target consumer is now each of these
channels actually cater to different
consumers uh there are different cohorts
obviously there's always going to be
overlap that said there are specific
consumers that each of these channels
cater to. So what we first identified is
who are TG is. Uh then we try to
understand where do beverages sell in
India. What channel uh sells most
beverages in India and that gave us a
very logical answer that 70% of
beverages actually 70% of all FMCG in
India is sold in GT that offline
channel. Uh obviously there's a lot
being said today. uh about about
quickcom and and and other channels but
that offline channel building that is
probably uh is the most sophisticated
last mile retail network that India
carries and it's pretty bloody difficult
to be honest with you uh you can't just
spend money and create that visibility
getting those shells comes at a lot of
cost and effort um
what I think how we look at it about the
future is that obviously uh there is no
brand out there who would not want to be
uh not present in a channel because each
channel serves a certain purpose and
each channel as I said serves a certain
uh customer. Uh so I think just in my
opinion I feel slightly uh different
about the word omni channel. Everybody
says that I think uh without really
understanding that multi they're talking
about multi- channelannel and not omni
channel. I'll tell you the difference in
my mind. uh being on every channel is
just being multi- channelannel. Omni
channel ideally should help you get
incremental sales in the original
channel that you are and then using the
information or learning from the getting
the information from the other channel.
Like for example, I'll give you an
example that makes slight things
slightly easier. Let's just say I launch
on quickcom. uh something like a
quickcom gives me a lot of visibility on
the data on who's buying me and when is
it they're they're buying me in GT you
don't know that information that
information is extremely difficult I
know the last retailer where I can sell
to but who is the consumer who's buying
me from that retail shop I can't have
that visibility but quickcom visibility
here so now if I can utilize the
information who's buying me in a certain
micro market in Delhi is this area can
who's buying me and what SQ is selling
better and if I can sort of utilize that
data to optimize my inventory in
whatever uh distributor I'm having over
here so that his rotation is fast now
that is omni channel when I'm able to
utilize the information of quickcom and
improve my efficiency or get incremental
sales in GT so that is what I believe
should be the future this is how how we
see key you got to be present in all
channels but utilize the information
data to help get incremental sales just
moving one consumer who was buying me
from GT now is buying me at Quickcom
that is not really consumer growth so we
just think of it like this
>> no that's a interesting perspective in
terms of how one channel's insight can
feed into another
>> and uh you know speaking of that u and
Siddhart if I can come to you uh you
know beauty brands perspective there are
many more like you have a beauty advisor
channel you have a of course a modern
trade you can have a BBO and so in so
forth like how do you create a a sort of
a prioritization between all of them uh
and is there any merit in sort of like
sort of alluded to that creating a omni
channel experience which cuts across and
makes the brand very consistent
>> I think
Okay. Um, so what I'm going to do is I
think adding to Sorup's point, I think I
agree that it's finally multi-
channelannel. I don't think it's omni
channel. Um, if you look at beauty,
every channel actually does a different
job for a consumer. So, um, a consumer
on Nika will possibly be in a far more
explorative mode, willing to discover a
new brand, new products, understand a
routine, etc. And therefore what you do
in that channel has to be slightly
tweaked versus what you would do in a
quick commerce where someone is sitting
to top up what they already know and
therefore what you list what kind of
assortment you have. I think those are
the things that change in case of
beauty. What does not change is how your
brand comes across. Um and that needs to
remain consistent actually across every
channel and every touch point. Um, and
that means that every time someone sees
a creative or a pack, uh, you come
across as what I saw you on Instagram,
uh, and the way you came across as a
brand, it's the same color, it's the
same code, it's the same vibe, it's the
same feeling, right? U so I think that's
the part that you build uniformity on
and then where you separate it is
actually what the channel has to offer
to a consumer. Um and in that I think
the interesting job that uh a general
trade or a modern trade uh does is I
think we classify general trade
uniformly. Um but if you ask me I would
look at it differently. I would classify
a beauty store in general trade possibly
as competent as Nika to sell to a
consumer because the consumer is again
in a similar mode. When they walk into a
beauty store they want to chat with the
store owner. They want to understand
what's new. They want to try a few
products, they want to figure out what
color works for me and then they want to
make a purchase. Uh so that mindset is
the same whether I do this offline,
whether do this online. So when you
start looking at it from a consumer
continuum rather than a channel
continuum, I think you make far more
holistic decisions uh when you do this.
>> Fair and you know obviously the channel
complexity you can't overstate in
today's uh time and era. uh but what it
also uh brings in mind is that you know
how are we internally structured and
what are the capabilities we have within
the organization and DTC companies very
different capabilities large companies
very different sort of mindset
capabilities and DU I'll come to you
because you have a benefit of seeing
this play out you've obviously also with
the benefit of your previous experience
seen this in multiple other uh areas as
well so what do you feel is that a large
company uh sort of gets to learn from
the smaller counterparts and vice versa.
>> Uh no, so great question. I think uh an
acquisition first of all is a very
expensive way to learn. Uh I know
there's been a lot of debate on the
internet about an MBA, but try an
acquisition much more expensive. Uh so
we better learn, you know, if you're
doing one. Um and we've done about six
acquisitions so far. Uh we've had an
investment in True Native Man Company
with fragrances, Briller, uh which is
into hair oils and skincare. We do aloof
Fruit which is into fruit juices. And
most recently we've acquired VIX and
Skincraft. I think the the one thing
frankly in all of these is is reflexes.
We're not really buying scale. Uh we're
buying the speed at which these brands
are reacting. We're buying the speed at
which they're interacting with an ecom,
a quickcom platform or even my GT
distributor. Right? So where my parent
entity comes in is a 25 to 30% very
profitable business. Their processes
that are running everything. Nothing
will go wrong. But where these brands
are coming in is we will provide you 2x
the growth because we are willing to
take risks. We have the license to take
that risk. And so you know for us it's a
very nice u you know it's a very nice
situation that we're building where we
have a core very profitable business and
a set of new brands that have entered
very interesting demand spaces that
honestly we would have been stuck trying
you know in in various innovation
workshops and may not even have come up
with these ideas right but here are
brands that have taken it to scale and
then we feel that we have the ability to
you know make the right connects very
importantly let them run independently
let them do what they want to
But uh you take away the boring stuff.
So for instance, you know, I've got
multiple founders here on stage with me.
How many of you started your company
because you like doing GST filings,
right? Probably no one. Uh but we take
that boring stuff away. We keep the
craziness. We keep the agility. At least
that's the attempt. And and that's
that's the learning, right? That's how
we grow.
>> That's actually uh you know, pretty much
an ideal case to land, right? in a way
that if you take the boring stuff away
and you can just focus on you know as
they say uh making your beer taste
better then you know of course that's
the ideal place to be. uh let me switch
gears a little bit and maybe uh you know
invite everyone's thoughts also on
innovation and maybe Shishi I'll start
with you like in terms of uh one of
course uh how do you see omni channel or
for that matter online versus offline is
it aiding innovation the speed of
innovation you spoke about so many
designs and so many complexity uh how do
you sort of get it right because there
is a limit to how much of AB testings
you can do
>> so for any fast fashion brand today you
know uh the pressure is high you know
you have to deliver 250 designs every
month um the launches needs to be on the
time you can't miss the deadlines if
it's Diwali you need to launch it prior
to that if it's Eid you need to do it
before that otherwise it will not make
sense so it's very uh you can say
interesting plus it has a huge risk how
you really mentioned and that's the
reason today if you talk about any brand
who has been like uh omni channel has
not existed in this space especially
into ethnic wear because uh today 95% of
the market is still unorganized and
that's the gap that we saw that okay a
lot of people can't do it. So we started
with one thought that okay we don't want
that any anyone's perception to drive
what we want to deliver to the consumer
but we want to create something which
the consumer is already searching. So we
did data designing. We understood what
people are searching and what is the uh
output they are getting in terms of okay
if somebody's searching today a black ka
to wear it for a office uh from a tier
three city and uh the Google or any of
the platform is showing something of
2,000 rupees it's not going to make
sense for her to buy that ka for that
purpose. So we understood the right
problem and that has been our visions
from since day zero and this is how we
arrived to creating designs. So all our
designing has been like a data
designing. It's not aesthetic design how
it goes for any other brand. And parally
what we did uh to kind of initially in
days when you know when you're starting
when you have to figure out okay whether
this will work or not work because we
have to keep the inventory then wait for
the consumer to buy it. Okay, we cannot
be like okay once the order comes then
we have to create it. So all that we
started with doing lesserQS
uh so that the risk is less the number
of styles are more and then we
understood okay this is working this is
not working initially when you start
doing it maybe 50% is working 50% is not
working but today at a accuracy of more
than 83%
uh all uh designs have been moving
>> that's I mean I think uh for any fashion
brand to have a 83% success rate of NPDS
is unheard of. So you know
congratulations that's fantastic. Uh any
other comments like you know D Shat or
sort of on the speed of innovation
you're obviously seeing different facets
of business coming together. So you know
how does that move with time?
>> So um I think I'll quickly add um on
innovation I think what um works and
it's not an omni channel question. It's
really a question of how clued you are
into uh what's happening in the world
and I think it's much more easier now to
land information. So for example in
beauty skincare it's quite easy to
figure out what kind of ingredients are
trending where are Google searches
heading um what kind of uh products
globally uh consumers find exciting. I
think that that that I think part is now
more democratized. I won't say it's
easy. Uh but then how do you take that
and then you turn it around and land it
uh in the cute packaging that key has
today or how do you land it in the
language that fits your brand. I think
that's where the tough part is. Um and
uh you know at key for example one of
the things uh that's worked phenomenally
well for the brand is that we keep
figuring innovations out well in
advance. We always uh make sure that um
when we think of an innovation, we
always think of how it's going to land
for the consumer in India, for our
climate, for their skin type um in the
package that we want or in the pack that
we want, in the colors that we want,
right? So, so suddenly your moving parts
increase when you add your brand filter
into it. Um and I think that's the part
around innovation u is the tricky part I
think now for brands to figure out.
Yeah, I think uh one thing I've noticed
uh which is very unique about quick
commerce uh not in modern trade, not in
general trade, not in any other channel
that I've come come across, even ecom is
very very uh restrictive and slightly
small because uh visibility is sometimes
filtered. Quickcom gives you the
absolute last mile. I mean imagine if
you want to start up a brand today, what
does what has been happening so far? You
come up with a product uh which may or
may not be differentiated generally is
the same. You just play around with the
packaging which is very differentiated
but in terms of pack size in terms of uh
moqs and all of that. You just pick up
what is happening what the legacy
players are doing and then you just try
and copy that emulate that and just put
it out there without double click into
into it key where can I create a
differentiation. Now what quickcom does
is give you so much information
firsthand that allows you to customize
every piece of that uh journey of
journey. We were just trying to figure
out the packaging piece. That's where
the innovation was happening. But now
you can go right to the point key a
package packaging of four might make
more sense because it's not there. the
packaging of six is there or or how you
sell it, what you sell it with, uh what
what are the features that actually
matter more to a customer all all of
that visibility is not there back in the
day through any other channel it's very
restrictive GT there is no visibility
whatsoever so I think all of that has
helped come uh make people come come up
with innovative ideas but only basis the
information the data that is inbound
because of quick So I think that's what
has changed. Otherwise, uh we're all
founders. We've looked at what legacy
players have done and we've tried to
come up with slightly differentiated
offerings, but at the end of the day,
the inspiration was them. Fair and maybe
just on that and I'll also invite
through both of you are you know in the
beverage category in some parts, right?
I feel that uh there is a whole consumer
experience element in at the moment when
you are consuming the beverage. It gives
you a a a sense of uh you know maybe
it's the food that you're having it
with. Maybe at the time that you're
having it with it's chilled it gives you
a very different experience versus you
know something else. Uh how do you sort
of look at creating replicating some of
these experiences to build that brand's
u you know familiarity let's say with
the consumer so that when you pick up a
food a particular type of like biryani
for example many of us will probably
relate to it. You pick up a biryani and
you're immediately reminded of a cola,
right? So, how do you build those kind
of experiences and associations?
>> I'll go first. Uh I think to begin with
a beverage brand uh should any brand for
that matter any consumer good brand
should not try and start creating an
experience right immediately. I mean
first you need to figure out the right
product market fit. Try to understand
what and why is the consumer trying to
or wanting to consume you. Uh so we
basically launched something so familiar
uh that existed in every household which
is Zera. Uh that we did not really have
to introduce uh it was differentiated in
how in form and factor but it was always
familiar right and then we tried to
launch it at a price point which is
extremely accessible. uh we try to
ensure that we first targeted uh the GT
which is the most difficult channel
generally but because it was the largest
channel and the chances of success
became higher because that sort of carry
70% of total sales uh so we just chose
we did things simple kept things simple
focused on one thing we didn't try and
launch ourselves everywhere we were not
trying to create an experience right
away what we were trying to understand
is if the consumers like the not if they
like it. What was happening is people
were liking it. People were talking
about it and they were creating their
own moments of consumption, occasions of
consumption. We just tried to figure out
what were the occasions of consumption,
what was the pattern, what was the
behavior of the consumer and then tried
to double down on on it by sort of
integrating all of that into everything
that we say that the brand says, the
kind of advertisement that we did. We
only picked up on the nuances of the
consumer behavior that we learned over
the period of time. So not everything
and create an experience does not mean I
create a experience center and say now
my brand has an experience center and
therefore I'm trying to create an
experience for the consumer. the very
fact that that the consumer
generally picks me up at a certain time
or maybe after a meal. Now I need to
double click into that and try and
create more conversations around that so
that becomes that that becomes
culturally authentic. I just need to
just make sure that I keep double
clicking to it, keep reminding people
that.
>> So any advertisement that I do, I try
and keep that in mind that those nuances
need to be repeated, double clicked into
and made sure that people are reminded
after a meal. So I mean that's how we
create experiences.
>> See, absolutely. I couldn't agree more.
I think unlike BPC, when it comes to
food and beverages, the moment you taste
it, right, that very instance, you know
whether or not you're going to like it.
You're not waiting for, you know, acne
to grow away or hair to grow back. It's
instant. And um going with, you know,
tastes take a long time to change. It's
a 10ear cycle. So going with something
that seems familiar but has that edge,
right? Like the kind of product that you
guys have built. You know, for us, we've
we've gone with aloe vera chunks within
the juice. And we realized that there
was a subsegment where for particular
occasions, they really like the product.
they wanted to have it, you know,
alongside, let's say, certain festivals
or, you know, on on certain occasions.
It's not a breakfast drink. It's more of
a dinner type beverage or it's more of a
travel beverage. And so, we target those
occasions. I think there's a scientific
way of doing it, which is to say, you
know, let's list down the 100 occasions.
Let's list down who we want and so we'll
ensure that we have at least two
generations in every ad. We'll ensure
that we have x number of colors. We'll
ensure that this is the messaging that
goes across. But I think a lot of it is
also intuitive. I think what sort of you
spoke about you know with quick commerce
with e-commerce now if we have data to
the you know end of one then we can
figure out which are the occasions at
what time are people purchasing our
product how quickly do they want it what
kind of quantities do they need what
color uh are they buying more than the
other colors and that we are able to tie
to specific occasions and say okay let's
reinforce this let's get the marketing
going uh we don't care about primary
sales we don't care about secondary
sales we are only looking at repeat
which means that you know the idea has
actually worked
Um so and that's the ultimate truth for
anybody sitting here or anybody sitting
in the room or anybody out there
building a consumer brand. There is only
one northstar. Everything is just a lot
of you know a bunch of rubbish. The only
thing that really matters is repeat for
any consumer brand. I don't think
there's a consumer brand out there who
doesn't care about repeat. It can't
work. That is the ultimate northstar. So
that that's a fantastic segue into the
question which I have for uh you know
shishan Sadatu because repeat and if I
were to build on that right uh the often
quoted term around this is loyalty let's
say that is there a the you know most uh
often asked question is is there
genuinely a room for loyalty programs
and things like that in India and uh you
know both of you I mean I will try and
club them somewhat in the similar genre
let's say fashion and skare care. They
are you know often extremely considered
product not as impulse but at the same
time it can be highly repeated and you
know when you stick to a brand you often
tend to sort of grow with it. What's
been your experience in terms of seeing
that repeat and how is loyalty really a
driver? What are the other ways of
building that repeat with your
customers?
So for us, we don't think that repeat
becomes only relevant when somebody's
just buying me for a daily wear. I want
to add into her closet for the other
occasions and that's where we think that
the loyalty is there that okay today if
somebody has bought Indoera for uh maybe
office wear and then she's buying for
her sister wedding and then she's buying
for her own wedding also that is where
we see that okay the consumer has been
loyal the how the price point has
increased over the time span And for the
same consumer how the basket size has
increased because today in India the
consumer is not just buying once or
twice they're buying at least 12 times
and if we don't serve them for their
different needs somebody else will do it
and that's where how journey started as
everyday fashion and we believe that
even a important occasion becomes a
everyday fashion today because today
people are socializing so Today a woman
is not just wearing a outfit for one
purpose. She's wearing it for the
multiple purposes. So that's where we
think that okay we want to serve for
different occasions as well and that
that's where we see the loyalty coming
and uh apparently on Amazon we have been
selling and rather than just if you want
to understand how in a e-commerce a lot
of taboo is there that okay the data is
not there you don't get the visibility
how or which consumer has bought but for
us to understand was that okay If it's
search is happening for the brand name
and the consumer is not just randomly
landing to your page or landing to your
product from the search if the
conversion is happening then you have
win the game and that's how we started a
journey and that's how we are building
now.
So um
I think for a skinincare product I think
loyalty is questioned every month when
you run out of your pack of sunscreen
right so u and every uh purchase
occasion for a consumer becomes a point
for considering another brand um and
having said that for a brand like key to
operate at a so we operate at roughly a
50% repeat rate u but I think the repeat
rate typically comes back from and
especially especially in beauty personal
care from finally the product
experience. So what you bought it for
and did it deliver to it, right? So
that's almost table stakes. Um and
that experience starts one step before
on what did you promise, what did you
deliver, right? And then therefore when
the next buying occasion comes up, am I
considering you? Uh this the second big
breaking point for loyalty is typically
friction uh at the point of purchase. uh
which usually in a category like BPC is
disrupted by pricing mismatches across
various platforms, channels uh
discrepancy uh you know across multiple
channels and I think the learning for us
has been that if you can keep that
friction to a minimum and you make sure
that the next time consumers are
considering the category your brand is
um you know top of mind. I have a great
experience using you and now as I go
through the buying funnel. I see you as
who you are consistently. I see you
saying the same thing. And pricing is no
longer a decision I have to think about
because I'm pretty sure that the pricing
here is 99% the pricing in any other
channel. Chances are you'll convert. So
I think that hygiene from a business and
a model standpoint is very critical if
you want to get it right.
>> Fantastic. That's that's deeply
insightful and while I'm sure we can
continue this conversation uh you know
for much longer and thanks a lot to all
the panel members for making this such
interesting but I do realize that the
buzzer has rung. So with that uh vote of
thanks to all of you for making time
today. Thank you so much.
>> Thank you.
>> With my sincerest apologies but I'm sure
do we have time to squeeze in one
question from the audience? Yes we do.
Of course. Take your seats. It's time
for the Q&A.
>> Sorry, I'll make it crisp. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Uh the first question is to D. Uh
why are big companies like Imami missing
out on those things and small companies
are coming out with innovations uh these
ideas and secondly tomorrow these six
companies which are giving independent
hand can be disrupting a bread and
butter. So that's one. Second question
is to Sor. Yours seems like more of a
general trade brand. So where is the D2C
component and how come it became so
successful than when there were so many
big cola companies around with so much
of money?
>> So um I think Imami as a whole you know
we we don't like to call it our
traditional brands. We call them our
core brands. And we have a library we
have a library of 700 new innovations
that we are waiting to bring out into
the market. Uh you know but there is a
rhythm to it. There is a sequence in
which we are launching. Obviously, the
company has been launching new newer and
newer products, but we agree and
acknowledge that somewhere there are
others out there that are building
brands uh that we've missed the boat on
and you know before the boat goes any
further, we want to make sure that we uh
try and get over even if we have to swim
all the way, right? So, uh it's it's
been built by acquisitions. So, Azandu
was an acquisition. Uh creme 21 was an
acquisition. uh since 2000 we have been
acquiring companies and I think we've
figured out the playbook to do it quite
successfully. Second, you know this is
our bread and butter. U last quarter we
were 6% of the business. Uh last quarter
last year we were 6% of the business.
Last quarter this year we are 18% of the
business and uh you know I'm pretty sure
that we'll get to 25% very very quickly.
Um so this this is really our bread and
butter and I think the sooner we
integrate from a financial perspective
and everyone starts seeing us as also
part of the business I think the better
it will be for us.
I think uh yeah it's it's been difficult
when I first uh spoke about the idea to
my dad and asked for capital he says
you're stupid to be even considering
building a business against the biggest
possible brand names out there in the
world on the planet I think but yeah I I
think what we've actually done we've as
Indians we've all been sold a global
idea of hydration this is the ultimate
truth we were never cola people we were
always nibbani
What we sort of did was we just made
sure that experience was with some with
all of us. Zerra as I said is the most
familiar thing out there. We just try to
bottle a brand uh something which is
more very familiar. Bottle something
extremely familiar and build a brand on
top of it. Create not keep it merely
transactional which it was there is
we're not the first Zera manufacturers
in India. Uh there always have been have
have been a lot of regional play. uh
that said it was extremely fragmented.
There was nobody who was trying to build
a brand around it. It was just a
distribution business where you
manufacture something and you try and
sell something. We tried to take a
different uh take on have a different
take on it and try to try to build a
brand on it. We kept culturally
authentic and we said we will just
follow the cues of our culture and then
build something on top of that. So that
was the whole thought process.
Eventually uh brand is not built by us.
It's not built by me or my team. It's
built by the consumers. You guys built
it. So all credit to you. Uh we're just
the custodians of it and and one thing
before you sort of take away the mic and
and uh and I wanted to say it before as
well. I think uh on behalf of all the
founders all on this stage and and out
there uh Indian folks uh we as Indians
have always been extremely fascinated
about western products and and imported
goods. It's there that fascination I
understand and I'm I'm part of that wave
right. uh but we need to now understand
and appreciate there's a reason why
Indians have not been able to create
large conglomerates like uh uh like an
Apple or large brands which are which
have international presence we have very
limited few right Amul and and Haldans
maybe a few to name but otherwise very
very limited the biggest reason is that
we Indians only don't believe or trust
Indian founders to build highquality
products now
Hand on heart if I give you two options
if you go to a supermarket and two
options are there priced similarly
looking different exact same quantity
and stuff one is imported brand name one
is Indian brand name by default you go
you'll go for an imported brand name
that habit needs to change we need to
start trusting that Indian founders can
build quality products and Indians need
to start buying consuming Indian
products if they are worth their price I
mean that's my only request we got to
stop that fascination about imported
products Only then will India become
come up with great large companies and
brands. Yeah.