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Kandoi Bhogilal Mulchand delivers sweet via online
By siliconindia
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Monday, 24 December 2007, 20:30 IST
Many people thought it was a far-fetched idea when Nitin Kandoi decided to sell traditional Indian sweets online in 1997 to cater to outstation and overseas clients. A decade later Kandoi Bhogilal Mulchand Sweets makes more than half of its profit via business from overseas clients buying online, reported The Economic Times.
Traditional small businesses are using the Internet to expand their operations and they are discovering financial and productivity gains that could benefit companies and consumers alike. "Today's small businesses can grow with high performance and speed delivery," Says Kandoi. His revenues have gone up 20 percent over last year, and next year he hopes to receive large business orders on his iPhone from high-end customers.
In the beginning, his portal (kandoisweets.com) didn't receive many orders but as the world logged on to ecommerce, customers from the U.S., the U.K. and recently from Australia and New Zealand began ordering online. "We take extreme care of logistics and supply of our products," says Kandoi, who has tied-up with DHL and FedEx for overseas customers while FirstFlight delivers to domestic customers.
Customers can register online, order their requirement and pay through credit cards. Deliveries take up to five days internationally, while domestic customers get their orders in lesser time. "The next generation will be high-tech and we expect to receive more than 80 percent business in the next two years," says Kandoi.
Each order is packed in a designer box, with care taken to ensure that the sweets arrive fresh. The packaging uses transparent and shrink wrapped material to avoid any security issues at airports. Orders vary from 100 boxes to 1,000 boxes where each piece is packed separately. Kandoi's sweets command a 10 percent price premium over competition in Ahmedabad or Mumbai.
The nearly $1.25 million firm operates out of four locations in Ahmedabad and has a long list of clientele including major corporates, government offices and homes. 'Mohanthal', a favourite sweet among his more than 60 items, is popular not only in Gujarat but in London and New Jersey as well, where hundreds of Gujaratis are customers.