Being a mass brand, how do you position your brands and products effectively in GT which is very cluttered?

Despite being one of the top three agarbatti manufacturers in India, we have to agree it is the most unorganized sector that we deal in. It took a long time for us to be available at 7,50,000 retail outlets via 2700 distributors in India and abroad. One also has to note that consumers are created at the shopfront in a uncluttered segment like Agarbatti. They don’t generally come to stores with an idea of a brand like they have for other FMCG products. At the same time, agarbatti is a segment which hardly gets a dedicated space or shelf in GT. Though we use banners, posters and danglers regularly at GT, what really prompted the retailers to promote our products were the “Retailers Purchase Schemes” – a phenomenal marketing strategy where we empowered and rewarded the retailers on the basis of the sale they made possible.

What are your plans to promote the brand at the store level?

We already have 10 Zedblack stores in India and we further aim to organize them. In exclusive stores, we plan to promote our products through exclusive instore campaigns. In terms of packaging, we are the first in the Agarbatti segment to use celebrity images on the packs.

What are the key evolutions in strategies for Point-of-purchase for better affectivity and market penetration in your segment?What are the most important pop items you use for the kitchen segment category?

Our penetration strategy in the market was rather unique and interesting. Instead of depensing on the CNFs, we created a model that connect us directly to distributors. We started these from MP and Maharashtra and today we have 30 distribution depots or regional offices across India. That’s how we reached out directly to 2700 distributors who can reach up to 300 retailers each. We always believed in doing business with smaller players and that belief has paid us off well.