Rise of local brands

Long before the supermarkets made their way into the our economy, the 'baniya' was the man you would trust. Inspite of his tampered weigh-scale and adulterated chilly powder, women (who continue to be the decision makers of the household, irrespective of the times we live in) had this unshakable belief that the 'baniya' would provide the purest form of the item they had asked for.

It took little time for the people to move to the mall culture. Big Bazaars and Megamarts struck at the right time and expanded to all major hubs of business in the country. Goods were sold at unbelievable prices and parking around these 'market-places'(It actually is just a big bazaar... someday I will write a page of criticism for the chain) was impossible to find. Shopping bags were now filled with things you bought either to try or because they were 'on-offer'. The essentials were still being sourced from the local store.

Major business houses woke from their slumber and launched retail stores to cash-in on the trend. Producers of gas and polyester, were now proud to sell clothes, onions and footwear too. All this, because, in a country of a billion people, you can keep selling 24 hours a day.

However, company reputations do not matter in retail. And customer remains the king in this business. People visited these supermarkets and shopped. But still, the local 'kirana' store walked away with money from year's supply of food grains. In order to kill the kirana store completely, a new factor was brought into the business, Quality. With increased buying capacity, we could now buy products, which offered better quality, rather than just the quantity.

Packed groceries are now available in basically all supermarkets. Here, the company takes responsibility of the quality and outsources the task of sourcing, cleaning and packing them, to local companies. Although, not new to retail business, this method has lead to supermarkets marketing their own products. Every single item on a shoppers list from rice, sugar, cereal, tea powder to the dish washing liquid can be brought under the supermarket brand name. Usually, these products are manufactured by small industries, then packed for the bigger company and sold at prices which can eat up market shares of all major brands.

However, what is a bit irritating to see, is that unless a supermarket gives a product its own brand name, people do not tend to buy these products. We must realize that even without the brand names, small and medium sized factories can manufacture and package products that match international standards. We must be a little more adventurous while shopping. Give that new product a go, just because, it has the potential to grow and promises the same quality at a lower price.

Give this a thought. Is the price of making a soft-drink so much that a 500ml bottle must be sold for Rs. 30/- ? Is it not very obvious that the company is making you pay for all that it spends on mindless ads on TV, radio and print media. So, then why pay more, when Raju Sodawalla offers you the taste of the soft-drink for Rs. 10!!!!!! (while he too makes a windfall profit for every glass he sells).

Recently, RC Cola entered the Indian soft-drink market and with its Rs. 10 (300ml) bottles has made available different flavors to people across all strata of the society. What must be noted, that although, we have Indians heading soft-drink MNCs, there is no recognizable Indian brand in the industry.

Recognizing our own unique products like the 'gola' and 'nimbu-paani', we should experiment, encourage and buy local products that match our tastes, rather than imitating tastes of the west. Soon, these local products will be a brand of their own and give rise to our own local brands.