Initiatives
Safal aims to increase its retail network in Delhi NCR and Bangalore. Safal added around 100 retail outlets in the last 3-4 years in Delhi NCR. In addition to the above, Safal is currently operating 25 retail outlets in Bangalore, with an average outlet size of 1500-2000 sq ft, offering different food items in addition to fresh fruits and vegetables. It has also introduced a range of packaged fresh fruits and vegetables.
Marketing initiatives
The company is planning a facelift for ‘Safal Pure Vegetables’ retail outlets in Delhi NCR and thus improving the brand image further. This would help in providing better retail experience to the customers. The company is going that extra mile to stay connected with the consumers and keeps them updated with respect to various promos, prices and schemes through SMSes, leaflets, POP materials at retail outlets, banners, etc.
Brand proposition
The company promotes the concept of ‘Health and Wellness’. It practices and promotes use of chemical free safely ripened fruits. Safal also ensures safety by following Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and are providing analysis to detect presence of heavy metals and pesticide residues in food produce.
The Challenges overcome
In the beginning of Safal’s operations, organised way of retailing for fruits and vegetables was quite a tough task as there was nobody in this business to follow. Capitalising on its core competence of seamlessly and efficiently integrating fruits and vegetables producers with the end consumers through a strong back-end facility, Safal eliminated the manipulative middleman and inefficient Mandi system.
Expansion plan
In the first phase, Safal is planning to expand its retail network of current 400 plus outlets to 500 plus outlets in next one year in Delhi NCR. In case of Bangalore, the plan is to double the number of retail outlets. In the next phase Safal intends to extend their presence to other cities.
His understanding of the retail business and his learning in this process
“If you keep your customers close to your heart, your job is done. In retailing, an interactive relationship based marketing works wonder. What you need to do is just deliver the right quality, at a right price, and at a right time.”
