By Anil Kumar Saini
Family Values
According to me, family culture is the sole factor that lays the foundation for success in business. Presently, the 4th-5th generation of my family is managing our Indian sweets business harmoniously with an unflinching adherence to our traditional ideals.
Our forefathers considered sweets not as a mere indulgence but as a sacred offering to deities during pooja rituals. Hence in sweets, purity has always taken precedence over taste.
This gifted sacred vision of our ancestors continues to flourish in our family’s generation. This is the foundation of our traditional family business.
I positively affirm that by following our ancestor’s vision we will continue to flourish with leaps & bounds.
The Role of Family Members
Various responsibilities have been entrusted to each member of the family depending on their Potential, Preference, Qualification, Interest, and Commitment towards the operational goals. Each member strives to perform their duties diligently, towards assigned task be it either Production, Quality, R&D, Purchase, Outlet Control, or Technical Monitoring.This very attitude, lends us morale and belief that we will be able to take our business to new heights continuously.
The Changing Perception of the Young Generation
Preparation of traditional desserts is a culinary art and doesn’t require any particular specialization, hence it turned into a family business by default as successive generations kept joining the business with the passage of time.
It is the traditional business families that have a special contribution in getting Sweets & Namkeen segment its due recognition at the global level.The youth of our family are working towards changing the perception of consumers those who considered traditional sweets as “unhealthy & unhygienic”. We have stepped up to the challenge by introducing stringent measures for hygiene & food Safety.
With a focus on educating the laymen about Indian “Mithai”, we have taken help of videos & infotainment content with factory visits to engage corporate customers as well, which will boost their increasing acceptance. With all these initiatives, we want Indian sweets or mithai to be considered just as important, relevant, and admissible as it was.
The Role of Modern techniques and Automation
We are trying our level best to bring in automation in production and packaging and are taking a step-by-step procedure towards it. This is because in every automation there has to be customization and that plays a major role in it. So with the requirement of the products, we are accepting automation in series.
This will certainly enable us to attain improved hygiene of products than conventional handling, which increases trust and faith in the brand.
Lockdown Consequences
We are all familiar with the consequences of Covid-19. • Our plans are trivial in comparison to God’s plan. Just like in case of any natural calamity, in this situation also we can only persevere & survive by adopting the most sincere business ethics.
• The pandemic has made consumers prefer packaged food over non-packaged ones, hence there is a need to transition towards packaged segments with better packaging options.
• Our major take away from this whole situation is being automation centric as it will ensure better hygiene for our consumers.
• Customers have become health conscious and are having more inquiries about ingredients and production processes. Only products that are high on quality, purity, and hygiene, will be able to stay in the market. We aim to ensure that our customers get the best quality & safest products.
In the context of existing scenario & for every new task (Infrastructure, machine, etc…) that is being taken up, possible microbial concerns should also be stringently looked into.
Growth in Diwali And Sales of Gift Hampers
Media spreads a lot of misleading information in Diwali season on adulterated Mawa & Milk, which instills undue fear in customers, hence over the years we have resolved to distance ourselves from producing milk & Chhena based sweets during this particular season.
Due to Covid-19 compliances & resultant limited production, we have been unable to cater to bulk & corporate orders.
As far as launching new sweets are concerned, during this season, we are making only selected sweets from regular sweets.As far as growth is concerned, due to new techniques and automation in the industry, the trend of sweets distribution by corporate has increased and is on continual growth.
We hope to see this growth continues & believe that by adapting to new technologies with regular R&D, our traditional manufacturer families will restore the “Mithai” to its original glory of stapling at every Indian auspicious occasion.