The passion for organic farming, the desire to eat healthy food, and the overarching wish that this wholesome produce should be made accessible and affordable to all, lies at the root of The Organic World.
As per market research firm IMARC, the Indian organic food market reached a value of $815 million in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 24 percent from 2021 to 2026.
To cater to this rising demand, the brand started off with organic fruits and vegetables and soon moved to organic living. The idea was to offer consumers better choices across the entire monthly consumption basket - curated an array of healthier products, whether it is organic, natural, preservative or toxin-free.
“We opted for products that are a healthier alternative to their conventional counterparts, which are found across most supermarkets and grocers. We wanted to create awareness about the compromises modern life has normalized and offered better choices to empower our consumers to lead a healthy lifestyle,” says Gaurav Manchanda, Founder, and Managing Director, The Organic World.
The brand offers ‘better choices’ in food, grocery, personal care, and home care range covering 1,500+ products, to help consumers move towards uncompromised daily consumption.
“After a single store pilot, the framework for an expansion strategy was set up in 2017. Over 2018-2020, 10 stores were set up in Bengaluru. We are Bengaluru’s leading multi-brand organic grocery store,” Manchanda states.
Brand Positioning
The marketing and retail strategy of the brand is drawn very strongly from its brand ethos, of enabling better choices and creating sustainable value. It aims to become India’s leading ‘responsible retailer’ for conscious consumers across the farm-to-table cycle.
“We source from farms with sustainable and organic farming practices only, work with our farmers to give them the best possible prices for their products, and have created a system of checks and balances so that whatever you see on our shelves is good for you,” he asserts.
“We also have consciously created a ‘not in our aisle list,’ which is an exhaustive list of chemicals and ingredients that we have banned from The Organic World. This list has been created after extensive research and includes chemicals and ingredients commonly found in conventional products - sodium benzoate (carbonated drinks, pickles, salad dressing, fruit juices, and condiments), sulfates and parabens (personal and beauty care products), high fructose corn syrup (soda, juice, candy, breakfast cereals and packaged snacks) and trans-fat (baked goods and biscuits). If a product does not fit into our list, you won't find it at The Organic World. This puts us in a unique position of being the retailer that scans its products for harmful chemicals above industry benchmarks,” he adds.
The brand also gives you access to products that cover a wide range of healthy alternatives - empowering consumers to adopt a cleaner, more nutritious lifestyle. To ensure this, it has partnered with brands that share its vision and provides them a platform to reach the widest audience possible.
“Ultimately, the end goal is to create a brand that espouses clean living and positively impacts the community and environment. Our marketing strategy revolves around educating customers about the compromise they make when they choose conventional products, make them aware of the better choices at The Organic World and build and inspire trust in the brand,” he states.
Omnichannel Strategy
The Organic World has adopted an omnichannel retail strategy. Its stores operate across key catchment areas in Bengaluru. Customers can also place orders via its app and on its website.
“We also accept orders via WhatsApp across our stores. With both offline and online presence across Bengaluru, we allow shoppers to buy from anywhere, fulfill anywhere and return/ replace anywhere,” he shares.
“One of the biggest advantages of the omnichannel organized platforms is that it allows all our small and local ‘better for you’ brands to compete against the more established names. The idea is to provide them a platform to reach the widest audience possible,” he adds.
Technology: The Game-Changer
Technology is a key driver across the industry and an integral part of The Organic World’s strategies and operations. Through its website, it provides a further seamless and integrated shopping experience for its consumers. Shopping via The Organic World app will be a key driver for future sales.
“Currently, 60 percent of our last-mile delivery is via electric vehicles, to honor our commitment towards being a more sustainable and responsible retailer. We are aiming to shift to 100 percent electric vehicle delivery in 5 years. Technology will play a key role in further establishing the authenticity of our products. We plan to incorporate blockchain technology to build a traceability solution for transparency of authentic sources,” he asserts.
Future Plans
The Organic World has recently launched its in-house brand Wellbe Foods, which focuses on offering healthy alternatives for the modern Indian family. Wellbe products help complete the daily food consumption needs of a family with a diverse range of products - from everyday essentials to occasional indulgences. Whether it’s snacks, breakfast cereals, health and wellness products, or kitchen staples, the focus is to provide organic and natural products, completely chemical and preservative-free.
“It is our constant endeavor to continue to add better choices to our customer’s consumption basket and this is what will drive our category expansion strategies,” he says.
“Going ahead, we are looking to expand our reach in South India with the launch of 10 more stores by summer 2022. Primarily, we are targeting anywhere between 20-25 in Bengaluru. We are also exploring various possibilities of expanding in other South Indian markets as well,” he adds.
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