The Good Product – but stagnant business

Business Situation; SK Biologicals in Gujarat has been manufacturing natural crop nutrition products for five years now. The company sells through 50 distributors and dealers spread across North Gujarat with general appreciation for the product quality. In last two years - company's annual sales have remained stagnant. Concerned by this trend, Mr. Arvind Bhai Mehta, Founder & Managing Director, convenes a review meeting with his senior leadership team. Two senior colleagues present different viewpoints. 

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Rajesh Sharma, National Sales Head, 18 years of experience in Dealer Network Development.

"Our products are good but our market presence is limited. We need to strengthen dealer network, give motivation, organize farmer meetings, participate in more agricultural exhibitions and increase our field demonstrations. This is how we have reached here.

Dr. Meera Joshi, Director – Technical Services & Farmer Education, 3 years of field research and farmer advisory experience in NGO.

I would first like to know - how farmers themselves describe the problems we are trying to solve. Unless we understand that first, expanding our communication may simply increase the volume like in the past but may not improve multifold." 

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Reflections; Whose thinking comes closest to your own?

If you were participating in this discussion, what additional suggestion would you place before the Managing Director?

Mentor's Reflection; Both professionals raise important concerns.

Rajesh reminds us that no organisation can grow without expanding its market presence. Strong distribution, dealer confidence, field demonstrations and customer outreach remain essential for business growth.

Dr. Meera, however, suggests that before increasing distribution, the organization should first improve its understanding of the customer's own language and way of describing the problem. Best is when farmers are able to generate reference sales. 

This reflection illustrates an important principle understanding is not an alternative to outreach. It is what makes outreach more meaningful. 

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A Healthy and Sweet Product... where to market 

Business Situation; Nature Sweet Foods Pvt. Ltd., Panipat has developed Sugar-Beet Candy and selling them for the last one year. The product is made from natural sugar beet and contains no artificial colors. The company supplies through supermarkets, gift shops and selected health food stores across Haryana and Western UP.

Retailers appreciate the product however; consumer demand is growing much slower than expected. Sushma The Owner feels the product has much greater potential than the market response suggests. She approach AM Consultants in Delhi for advice. 

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Ritu Malhotra; Consumer Insights & Product Development. 10 years of experience in food consumer research. 

I would like to understand why anyone should choose Sugar-Beet Candy over dozens of other sweets already available. Unless we clearly understand the situations in which people would naturally prefer our product, increasing availability alone may simply increase our distribution costs but not sales in equal proportion."

Vikram Singh; FMCG Expert 20 years of experience in FMCG retail distribution

Your biggest challenge is availability. The product is still not present in enough retail outlets. You should appoint more distributors, improve retailer margins, increase in-store promotions and encourage retailers to display the product more prominently. If consumers see it more often, sales will naturally improve."

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Reflection; Whose thinking comes closest to your own? If you were participating in this discussion, what additional suggestion would you place before the Managing Director?

Mentor's Reflection; Both professionals raise practical business concerns. Vikram reminds us that distribution, retailer confidence and product visibility remain essential for any FMCG business.

Ritu, however, shifts the discussion towards buying process. She asks a deeper question: What role does this product play in the consumer's life? Is it an everyday sweet, a healthier indulgence, a gifting option, a children's snack or something else? Unless this becomes clear, increasing availability may not necessarily translate into stronger demand.

Understanding is not an alternative to distribution. It is what makes distribution more productive.