The director tells BW Retail World that the company is targeting Mexico and Brazil as it expands internationally
Emphasising that the company is looking to increase the contribution of ecommerce, quick commerce and modern trade in its overall sales, Anshul Agrawal, Director, Mysore Deep Perfumery House and Zed Black, stated that Zed Black is aiming to cross Rs 800 crore in turnover this fiscal year, with eyes set at magic figure of Rs 1,000 crore in the next two to three years.
In an interaction with BW Retail World, Agrawal noted that the majority chunk of business comes from the non-metros, and the consumer interest is shifting to Rs 100 packs. The company is targeting Mexico and Brazil as it expands internationally. Edited Excerpts:
In a price-conscious market, how exactly are you differentiating Zed Black from the competitors?
How Zed Black differentiates itself is the fragrance. Zed Black’s fragrance has always been a key differentiator when it comes to any other product. Second, I would say is the consistency of quality of the product. Whenever I talk to my friends or to people in the market, they say that the fragrance of Zed Black is very soothing. The kind of quality your product carries makes us want to use it again and again. Quality is one thing that my father started this company with on day one, and it is something that is still abided by in our thoughts. We never compromise on that.
What would be your current distribution footprint, and where do quick commerce and ecommerce stand when it comes to sales breakup?
We are a retail-heavy company, with very much reliant on the mom and pop stores. We are very strong in that. We have around 4,000 distributors who, in turn, distribute to around seven to eight lakh Indian shops. That constitutes 95 per cent of our business. Less than 5 per cent is being contributed by ecommerce, quick commerce and modern Trade. Earlier, it was modern trade-heavy. Then, some business got shifted to ecommerce, then to quick commerce.
In the next three years, we expect that quick commerce plus ecommerce, plus modern trade together will have a share of 15 per cent in our business, as these categories are emerging.
How are the metros performing for the company as compared to the non-metros?
We are very strong in tier two and three towns. The majority chunk of business comes from the non-metros. There are different trends. In metros, bigger cities, we have seen that people want to buy much bigger packs. Earlier, for the last four to five years, the most common size was the Rs 60, Rs 70 size but, now the consumer interest is definitely shifting to Rs 100 size. Be it in the package or in the zipper pouch.
Another insight is that people are looking for packs which have much more number of sticks. Maybe people do not want to travel much. Once they go, they want to buy a bigger pack for a monthly use kind of thing. A 400-gram pack, which sells for Rs 100, has become the most popular bag.
What are the revenue goals that the company is targeting this fiscal year?
This year, I think we are aiming to touch Rs 800 crore of turnover and probably next year or next to next year, we want to touch the magic figure of Rs 1,000 crore. We have been doing double digits for the last 15 years now. There has been a steady pace of growth even in the Covid years; we grew by double digits. So, in two to three years, we should definitely cross that magic figure of Rs 1,000 crore at our top level.
Talking about the international markets, which are the new global markets that you are looking to tap this year and beyond?
We are doing very well in the United States. Last year, we introduced an air freshener. Our air freshener has got very good success and response in the US and has now become a brand here. Our new markets are growing. We are targeting Mexico and Brazil. We have recently started in Morocco. So, these are the new markets which are growing for us.
What Are You Offering Differently This Festive Season?
We have a five-foot Agarbatti which we are planning to light up at a lot of Ganesh pandals, Durga Puja pandals this year. So, that is our mega Agarbatti which we as a part of the initiative would be lit up at various places. This year, we have sponsored a property called Chhoriyan Chali Gaon on Zee TV. That is a mainstream TVC property that we have got this year. Then, as always, we are running a lot of regular schemes that will be in the market.
The trend of giving market schemes has been on the rise in the industry. Another strategy this year, as part of our sales, is that we capture as many retail points as we can since the brand is already there in the market. Earlier, we started with Big Basket Now, and now we are very active on Swiggy and we will be very soon active on Blinkit as well.
When we talk about fragrance technology, how have you been able to move beyond the traditional scent that we used to have a few years back?
Traditionally, in Agarbatti, the three most popular fragrances are Rose, Mogra and Sandalwood. We have been experimenting with these fragrances. My father said that the customer is the ultimate validator. Just by me smelling anything or even my distributors smelling anything, we cannot say this is good or bad or will this work in the market or not. It is the customer who is the final decision maker.
We keep giving new fragrances to market, like we do a fragrance called pineapple. Now, in the wildest dream, nobody will put that pineapple kind of fragrance in an agarbatti voluntarily. Within 11 months of introducing it, we sold Rs 40 crore worth of pineapple. The market value is going to be Rs 75 crore. Likewise, we introduced the perfume series. The actual perfume that we use on our body for maintenance, we brought those perfumes in Agarbatti.
The popular ones like Acqua Di Gio, Cool Water. People just don’t want it for pooja, they also want it for their rooms, drawing rooms, and dining rooms. They want to buy it physically. The perfume series is becoming one of our largest sellers.
How, as a company, are you ensuring compliance with the sustainability norms?
We are constantly conscious of all the choices that we are making. We have taken a lot of initiatives. One initiative is where we recycle almost everything we are making in-house. So, all the agarbatti that we make, if it is not made right, we do not go out, throw it away or sell it in the market. We have deployed 20 machines to recycle those agarbattis. There is a lot of circular economy that we have created inside our factory so that we do not have to throw anything, any waste away from our factory. Practically in terms of solid waste, we are a zero solid waste company.
