Creating Sustainable Product Portfolio: KRBL

The Rs 4,500 crore-plus KRBL Limited, (makers of India Gate Basmati rice) is India’s first integrated rice company with a comprehensive product chain and over 130 years of heritage. Ayush Gupta, Business Head – India Market, KRBL talks about why the company has entered the ‘health food’ segment 

Why has India Gate Basmati Rice entered the ‘health food’ phase?

In 2020, there was a growing awareness of an immunity-boosting product that gave a lift to the healthy variety of products. We wanted to introduce our own ‘health product portfolio’ that saw over twenty percent growth until Q3FY20. Thence we’ve ventured into the ‘Health Food’ phase, not simply addressing the Associate in Nursing rising style revolution but creating it happen yet. We tend to launch products like ‘India Gate Basmati Brown Rice’, India Gate Non-Basmati rice, and Quinoa. It helped the corporate faucet a brand new client phase while enhancing offtake within the packaged rice phase.

Though there have been health products accessible within the market, with the purchasers broadly recognizing branded products’ health, hygiene, and safety aspects, shoppers opted for branded rice from established players. 

It helped India Gate Basmati Rice keep previous the curve and helped beat competition from the unorganized sector.

What is the distribution strategy for these products?

Taking awareness of the invasive e-commerce phase, we’ve strategic tie-ups with each B2B and B2C e-commerce player, like Grofers, Big Basket, Flipkart, Amazon buttery, Jiomart, Udaan, and Jumbotail, among others. We tend to area units seeing over forty-five percent growth in e-commerce sales (on a YoY basis). From a corporation pioneering within the wholesale artifact business, these days, we tend to area unit reworking ourselves to champion active marketing.

For our existing product (Brown Rice), accessible for the past 4-5 years, regular trade is the primary supply of sales contributions. The fashionable trade sales area unit is a future contributor, followed by E-commerce. However, e-commerce is the quickest growing platform for this phase currently.

What regarding the selling strategy? 

India Gate Basmati Rice offers products that area unit remodeled to be additional purposeful to the client right at the purpose of purchase. The “Brown Rice Weight Watchers Special”, “Unity Biryani Rice”, and Occasion Special India Gate Classic” answer the core necessities and don’t seem to be mere choices on the shelf. Through these tumultuous product interventions, we tend to area unit standing except most of our competitors and taking the language aloof from value whereas delivering worth and satisfaction to customers. At an equivalent time, we tend to area units perpetually learning, evolving, and introducing the new product as per the wants and geographies they originate.

Give North American nation Associate in Nursing trade summary within the Covid year. 

The overall business setting remained challenging throughout the year. Thanks to the changes within the regulative landscape, each within the domestic and international markets, and the pandemic irruption. However, because of our robust worth and wide selection of products, we tend to showcase another year of commendable performance. 

The Indian Basmati Rice Market (total) is secured at a pair of.5 million metric tons (MMT).

The share of un-branded basmati rice is at one.5 MMT of overall branded Basmati rice market of one MMT, Republic of India Gate accounts for nearly thirty-five of cent market share, the best market share for any company within the sector in combined urban and rural areas in FY20. India Gate these days commands a thirty-eight. 6 % market share within the packaged basmati rice class. The size of packaged  Basmati Rice trade is around one MMT.