Today, a mass market that draws attention is the Tier II and III markets of India. Moderator Aashika Jain, Associate Editor, Entrepreneur Media, asks about the future demand of consumer products and how to pitch for investments.
Product range and its Target audience:
Farah Nathani, Co-Founder, The Mummum Co points out that it is necessary to build a consumer brand which will be sustainable. “Launch a pilot in the market to see how the market responds to it.” She adds, “Once done we went ahead with Angel investment as they get you prepared for each round of investments.”
Prashant Chopra, Investment Director, Peepul Capital, says, “It depends on the industry. An innovative concept can work and no point in being biased.” It is necessary to know whether there is a demand for the product, capability and most important is distribution. Another question is whether you have the courage to build a brand.
Jagannath Samavedam, General Partner, Ventureast, says, “Products that are targeted for Tier II and III are the future right now and it is what we are looking for.”
How to get investments:
India is a diverse market and you need to be physically present as well as online. But keeping offline availability of products is a huge challenge from which online availability is comparatively easy.
Nathani adds that to ensure investments one must make its brand visible, both online and offline.
Karthik Prabhakar, Executive Director, IDG Ventures India Advisors, says, “As early investors we question whether there are market share and technology. You also need to target the right customers and go accordingly.”
Samavedam adds, “Keeping the standard investor expectation aside. What excites us is that when one is introducing a new product we want to see whether they know their target consumer or not.”
Most entrepreneurs do not understand that reaching success has layers and layers of investments in it. It is a very long journey where profits won’t rise. That’s the time to keep your team together.
Chopra adds, “Omnichannel is the name of the game.” You cannot choose any one chain. You can start with one channel and then spread to others. But an omnichannel presence is a must.
