Our biggest differentiator- our focus on assortment

Founded in 2008, Godrej Nature’s Basket is growing rapidly on account of the daily orders it receives from experimental customers in metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad. By targeting a delivery time of just 3 hours, it has been able to win a long line of gourmet shoppers.     

Mohit Khattar, MD & CEO, Godrej Nature’s Basket talks exclusively to Retailer Media on how customers are seeking divergent experiences; and the need to continue to build and keep strengthening the brand position of the gourmet store.

 

Do you see refinement in the taste of consumers since the time you began operations?

I can confidently share that we are seeing an exciting phase in terms of evolution of tastes. Consumers are increasingly experimental at one level and at another they are also conscious of the choices they are making. The taste palate today is wider, more accepting and seeking to go the extra mile for divergent experiences than what it is accustomed to. At a completely different level, the same consumer is also veering towards healthier alternatives in their food choices. Be it in snacking or beverages or in meal options.

 

What importance do you give to selection of products in grocery business?

For a gourmet business, I would say product selection is perhaps one of the most critical factors. Often, the choice is about what not to stock rather than what to keep. Especially, given the need to continue to build and keep strengthening the brand position of a gourmet store.

 

What is your product range and what according to you are your main drivers?

Our product range is truly wide and we take pride in offering the finest and the freshest from around the world. The range spans from fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs from India and the world, to processed and packaged ingredients and snack foods, artisanal and processed cheese and cold cuts, a fresh non veg selection, an exciting range of bakery products, a large range of health and “good for you” products, wines and beer, desserts, beverages, dairy, confectionery and lots more.

In every category you can be sure that you will find an exhaustive selection from the best that the world has to offer.

The driver remains the uncompromised quality of merchandise across our stores. This is what has been understood by consumers and something that remains our guiding light.

 

 

What is the gourmet food market size? Has online grocery been profitable for you?  

Estimates of the size of the gourmet market vary from 1500 Cr to 10000 Cr and honestly difficult to put down. What is true is that this market is a small fraction of the overall food and grocery space in India but is growing faster.

Online grocery is still in its infancy and in a growth and development phase yet. This is where we are investing our effort, time and money.

 

 As a pioneer in gourmet retailing, what factors have made you stay at the top in eGrocery business?

To begin with, the focus on our assortment remains as tight as is required by a gourmet business. This is what has been our strength in the offline business and continues to be our biggest differentiator in the e-grocery business as well. Additionally, disciplined operations are an absolute essential in this space. About 2 years ago – our delivery timeline for orders placed online was over 2 days. They were brought down to 24 hrs about 6 months ago and now it stands at a mere 3 hrs! The ease of navigation on the site, the user interface that we offer and the feature rich site in general are some of the other factors that have contributed to our rapid growth.

 

Do you fear competition from eCommerce giants getting into the business?

Competition is usually good for all sectors. Whenever there is more competition it draws effort, new product or offering development and money into the sector. Customers get more choices and better value. It usually leads to faster growth of business. I don’t think that the food and grocery space will be an exception to that and therefore, we don’t fear it at all. 

 

What are your growth plans? Please tell us about your recent tie-ups? How will the market be in 5 years’ time?

Nature’s Basket is in a very exciting phase of its growth journey. The brand has scaled well and is today poised for even faster expansion in its operations.

We have been working towards opening newer channels and in that context we recently tied up with Snapdeal and Amazon to make our select products and gifting options available to consumers across over 19,000 pin codes. In addition, we also recently integrated the web platform of a Mumbai based e-tailer with our erstwhile platform. Our other tie ups to improve engagement levels and customer understanding of the products that we sell involve tie ups with leading chefs, writers, bloggers and nutritionists. This is something that we do consistently.

 

What specific challenges did you face in online food and grocery establishment and delivery and how did you deal with them?

The biggest challenge here is to make timely deliveries in promised timeslots and ensure a high fulfilment rate. This is essentially a function of your back end infrastructure, building appropriate delivery capacity and then ensuring a disciplined and consistent process flow. Even when everything is followed, sometimes, unplanned factors like inclement weather or unforeseen traffic build-up can set you back. The idea is to measure everything you do and keep improving on the same.

 

Which city has shown you the most responsive market for organic and gourmet food? Do you have a market only in metros? What about Tier ii and iii cities?  

The response in every market must be seen in the context of the size of that market. While all our markets have been very responsive for both organic and gourmet food Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru are ahead of the rest.

It is not that there is no potential in Tier II and Tier III cities. On the contrary, they are growing and their potential is yet to be tapped. However, in our category which is gourmet food – we do feel that we are sometime away from extending our operations to tap that potential.

 

What kind of service gives you an edge over others? What initiatives are on board to further tap consumers?

Our services include customised gifting options, party food, fresh food theatre – free weekend demos for customers at pre-defined times across our stores, free home delivery, a rewarding loyalty programme and many more. We have always believed in building long-term value for customers rather than relying on short term promotions.

 

How do you compete with traditional grocers?

Traditional grocers have their own space and their own customers. They are omnipresent and contribute to over 95% of the food and grocery market in India. But honestly, our competition is not necessarily with them. Our range is much more eclectic and targeted at the discerning consumer. Our service propositions too are tuned in for an entirely different audience. It may seem to you that it’s the same pie that we are fighting for, but that is not necessarily the case.

 

What kind of infrastructure support is necessary for running an online grocery firm?

An online grocery firm in the food sector must have complete visibility of its updated inventory at all points, an efficient ordering and receiving mechanism, a robust cold chain to ensure integrity of temperature sensitive products, a strong delivery mechanism to ensure on-time deliveries and customer service setup as well.

 

One success strategy that you would like to share….

Differentiation in approach and consistency in execution has been our philosophy.