~Early 80’s small-town business owner in the food chain!
Last week, I interviewed “the-then” small-business players who could not survive in the market for various reasons!
“My business was at the peak, but due to the workforce shortage, I could not run the business alone.” ~ S. Hemlata, ex-business player, Rashmi Sattu
India witnessed the most severe recession in the early 80s. It created a steep graph of demand and supply chain models. It was not only that, but the households with broadly joint family concepts had to compromise on household spending. The middle-class homemakers had to suffer in choosing between home chores and a child’s education with their career aspirations! The majority of the men in society were not so keen to work with a woman entrepreneur. At the same time, the majority of women did not incline toward self-dependant economic independence.
In the middle of everything, there were buddying enterprisers from Patna city; Mr. & Mrs. Anirudh Chandra Sinha made organic Sattu somewhere in 1984-1985. There were many reasons behind this business:
The Concept:
a. through a market survey that they did on a door-to-door and shop-to-shop basis, consumption of Bengal gram flour was less than none.
b. Mr. AC Sinha, hailing from a medical background, explained the multiple health benefits of Sattu to various people they met. Natural source of immunity booster, a quick filler, fiber-iron filled nutrients, stomach-friendly, and can be consumed easily! One of the best mediums to beat the heat-waves effect!
c. The average middle-class household income was between Rs.500-800 per month, along with some fixed expenditures like monthly grocery and other perishables costed up to Rs. 250-300 per month, and other necessities were approximately Rs. 250/month.
d. Sattu came up as the most promising with excellent nutritional values product in the market. The per kg cost was Rs.28, also sold in 50 gms and 100 gms pouches. For the average family size of 15 members, 5-6 teaspoons were sufficient to fill one-time hunger. The storage duration was also longer, more than any other flour. Overall, it contributed an average of Rs.15/- per month cost-effectiveness per family.
e. There were no market players in the town. So considering the above facts, the Sinha(s) started producing Sattu and marketed it well, considering the “the-then” marketing concept.
f. They exported Sattu to the defined markets of Delhi and Bokaro
g. Rashmi Sattu flourished well for only five years!
What went wrong?
- Lack of workforce
- The concept of “laghu-grih udyog” was equally new to many cities due to the lack of effective communication (although grih udyog started much in advance)
- Homemakers were hesitant to pitch in for a part-time job.
- Lack of investors
- Supply chain management was yet another challenge.
Solutions that can be addressed today in the era of Digital Marketing!
All of the above-faced challenges can be taken care of now. However, Rashmi Sattu pioneered the “Sattu-concept” in the locales, giving wings to all the buddying enterprises.
Today Digital Marketing plays an essential role in establishing better brand values through:
- Effective content marketing
- Social promotion
- Email marketing
- Most dynamic website creation
- Mobile applications
And various virtual promotions for real-time business!
What’s in store for Rashmi Sattu in 2023 from the marketing perspective?
Leave your comments to encourage the lost business comeback with a strong mindset!
Thanks
Read this on LinkedIn
