Brands of Bangalore

KMF moos ahead in the milky way

2012-07-15T22:58:00.001-07:00

Milk co-operative is expected to post revenues of `6,000 crore this year, closing the gap with Amul

Rajalakshmi, a resident of Sira in north Karnataka's Tumkur district, life had become tough after her husband's death in 2002. She had to raise her two daughters and get them married. With no proper college degree to boast of, getting a job seemed bleak.

Today, Rajalakshmi has got her elder daughter married, thanks to her job as a dairy farmer with Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF). Like her, around six lakh women are earning a living as dairy farmers in various districts of the state such as Tumkur, Yediyur, Kibbanahalli and Madhugiri.

Like the milk cooperative started by dairy major Amul in Gujarat, a year before independence, KMF is charting out a path of its own. With an average procurement of 45 lakh litres of milk a day, the federation aims to overtake Amul, which procures 100 lakh litres a day. Taking inspiration from Amul, KMF is providing life insurance cover to farmers along with veterinary healthcare.

Farmers pay `75 to avail veterinary care, while KMF's tie-up with Narayana Hrudayalaya provides insurance schemes for farmers and their families. Since last year, the state government has been providing `2 per litre of milk as an incentive to producers who provide milk to dairy co-operatives. “We've to constantly encourage people to take up dairy farming. While in south Karnataka,people accept it as a commercial option, in most parts of north Karnataka, it is considered a subsidiary to other farming activities," said D Srinath, director, marketing, KMF.

The state set up the first dairy in Kudige in Kodagu in 1955. Today, KMF, which came into existence in 1984, owns 13 dairies in the state. “The turning point came when acceptance of the co-operative structure grew among farmers,” said G Somashekara Reddy, chairman, KMF.

Initially, there were four milk unions in Bangalore, Mysore, Tumkur and Hosur—all in the southern region. Now, there are nine spread across the state, including cities like Belgaum, Gulbarga, Bellary, Dharwad and Bijapur.

Even so, KMF continues to scale greater heights. If statistics are anything to go by, the co-operative has managed to close the gap with Amul. While the latter clocked revenues close to `10,000 crore during 2010-
11, KMF is expected to touch `6,000 crore this year. Reddy wants Karnataka to overtake Gujarat in milk production. For one, it needs to create the right infrastructure. For this, it may have to make use of Centre’s `2242-crore scheme to increase milk production by 4% over the next 15 years under phase I of the National
Dairy Plan.

It also has to improve milk productivity of cattle through artificial insemination. As per dairy industry statistics, each Indian cattle gives 6-7 litres of milk while globally the average output is 15-16 litres.At present, KMF distributes around 25% of milk in the state,while private players such as Hyderabad-based Heritage Foods, Arokya, Nestle and Gowardhan, occupy 30% market share. This means there is still a large section of people who prefer buying milk from independent doodhwalas—thereby providing more scope for KMF.

As a part of its plan to expand,KMF has formed a forum which constantly thinks of coming up with new products that’re relevant to the fast-paced lifestyle of the youth. The forum plans to introduce yoghurt,cheddar, processed cheese, chocolate biscuits and sugar-free sweets.This, they believe, will help enhance KMF’s reach. But experts say though Nandini is a household name in most homes, it's about time the brand is reinvented before it loses space to private players, specially with milk sold in Tetra Pak. Brand consultants call Nandini a 'bottom up built brand'. This means the sales of the product are not so dependant on advertisement.

However, Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consultants, feels it's high time Nandini shed its rustic image and become more suave. “Though I do not doubt Nandini's strong brand value, there has to be some degree
of brand management control. It should stop looking like a 40-year old product," he said.

The Mysore Sandal Soap factory-Soap opera that gets better with time

2012-07-09T22:15:00.002-07:00

The Mysore Sandal Soap factory, which will soon celebrate its centenary, has achieved what most PSUs could not. With the successful launch of the costliest premier soap in the country, KS&DL is now all set to tap the export market and enter health and dental care. Its story is that of a dramatic turn-around

The other day, when chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda announced that apartments would be built on lands belonging to Mysore Lamps Limited, many old Bangaloreans felt a twitch in their heart. With Mysore Lamps joining the long list of dead PSUs, it has now been left to the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KS&DL) to script a success story that can be projected as a practicable model for sick PSUs

The company, all set to celebrate its centenary in four years, has come a long way from the `90 crore of accumulated losses in 2004-05 to register a 28 percent growth in 2011-12 with ` 262 crore sales and a net profit of `16 crore.

The brand new management team has allayed fears of the unit being closed down.But that is not all - the company has set an ambitious sales target of `500 crore by 2015.

The KS&DL turn-around, of course comes with its own inspiring story.

Obtaining sandalwood from legal and ethical sources was the biggest challenge it confronted initially. In spite of bottlenecks, Karnataka became the pioneering state in the commercial cultivation of sandalwood under the leadership of KS&DL, says VS Venkatesh Gowda, deputy general manager (R&D).

Things started changing for the better when the Lokayukta conducted raids on the houses of corrupt officers of KS&DL in 2004. Later, they were removed unceremoniously. The management recognised efficient workers and promoted them as well. The results were there to be seen - the credibility of the organisation soared

“Today, our brand equity is very high as far as Mysore Sandal Soap is concerned. People trust us, and everyone knows that we are the only people in the world to use natural sandalwood oil to make soap. I won’t tell a lie just because I want to make profits,” says general manager (marketing and exports) DN Vasanth Kumar.

This, the company did without any promotional help. “It’s important to note that we have been successful without advertising. The company was allotted `5 crore for an all-India marketing of all brands (more than 30 products). I need `5 crore for each region and each product to compete with private soaps. Wipro spends `25 crore for advertising in Andhra Pradesh alone. How can I compete with others? If you take this factor into account, you will know how well the brand is doing,” he asserts

And it is spreading too. Mysore Sandal Soap is now being exported to the UAE, Singapore,Malaysia, the US, and a number of European countries. “This year we are all set to make a foray into South Africa,” says Vasanth.

“It feels proud to achieve this target (`16 crore) which has been the highest in the last decade. This was obviously made possible by different wings of the company. The production wing created a record with 10,000 tonnes, the highest in a decade once again. Their efforts were backed by the extremely efficient research & development wing,” explains S Shekar, managing director of KS&DL

In early 1990s, the company went into the dumps. The production capacity was increased, as was the employee strength. Products were marketed, but there was no synchronisation between the production and marketing units. Massive investments and a beefed-up workforce succeeded in increasing production,but the market response remained lukewarm. Losses gradually started piling up. When the figure reached `90 crore in the mid-90s, there were talks of KS&DL being closed down. Maladministration,corruption and mismanagement were the order of the day. It was a hopeless situation.

Then, realisation slowly began dawning. The company came to the conclusion that the marketing, hitherto outsourced to Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL),should be done by themselves.KS&DL then built up its own marketing team. The officers put their heads together and chalked out the core strategy of the company.

The company realised that it was the only one genuine sandalwood oil producer around and that it sold more
sandalwood soaps than other varieties. It was decided that KS&DL would hence forth bank on premium soaps.

The core market area was South India. Company investment was confined to the core market, and the employee strength was curtailed from 1,500 to 800. Numerous consumer schemes were also launched. Till 2000, the only sandalwood supply came from the government.

Later, KS&DL decided to participate in auctions in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In 2007-08,the company signed a pact with the Maharashtra government.

Gangarams - They brought Bangalore to book

2012-07-09T02:57:00.001-07:00

The owners of the iconic Gangarams bookstore recount how the shop came into existence and metamorphosed into Bangaloreans’ favourite, and the challenges facing them today

We don’t look for profits, we look for happy customers. Therefore our idea of good business is very different from other book stores around today
—Atmaram N Gangaram, proprietor

The smell of new books, the exhilarating feeling when you suddenly find a book you were long looking for, the joy of turning the pages... You surely must have felt a mix of these emotions at Gangarams, the iconic bookstore on MG Road.

This is one of those places where most Bangaloreans must have spent much of their spare time, browsing through various books, children accompanied by their folks looking for stationery or making a beeline to the store to grab a copy of academic books and guides days before their exam

Little surprise then that the news of Gangarams shutting shop a few months ago came as a shocker for many. After all, the place acted as a refuge for many bibliophiles. For many, Gangarams holds a special place in their hearts. Crowds gathered for one last visit to its stationery section—one last purchase, for old times’ sake—when news of it shutting down came out. Proof enough of its iconic status in the city

So what were the factors that triggered the owners to call it a day?

“I was quite taken aback when my daughter once remarked, ‘Papa, I want to see a smile on your face. Please take a break from your work.’ I realised at that point in time that my job was getting too stressful,” says Atmaram N Gangaram, who took care of the stationery section of Gangarams. A self-confessed workaholic, he decided to heed his daughter’s words. The next day, a notice was put outside the store, notifying customers that the end was nigh.

Ironically, the timing of his daughter’s sentiments coincided with the expiry of the lease of the property where Gangarams stands. “We had a 35-year lease, which was due for renewal this year. But the owner quoted a very high premium, which we could not possibly agree to,” says Atmaram. It left the brothers no choice but to vacate and look for a suitable place to relocate.

The group’s business started seeing a slowdown around 2007-08 when the Metro work started on MG Road. “With the whole digging up work happening, MG Road became more and more chaotic. People dreaded coming here because of the traffic woes,” he says, adding that lack of parking space in and around the area made the situation worse

While Atmaram decided to call it a day, his brother, Prakash, was keen to keep the bookstore alive. “We are looking for another premises around this part of town to shift the books section to. If something comes up by the end of this year, that would be great. Otherwise we are left with no option but to close.”

The veteran bookseller attributes the dwindling business to the changing times. “Unlike earlier, today 70% of the customers who come in are drivers, maids and peons. They invariably ask us to give them a bill of a higher amount than what they purchased, to make quick pocket money,” recalls Atmaram, “But since we do not encourage these demands, they prefer to go elsewhere and we lose out on business.”

“We don’t look for profits, we look for happy customers. Therefore our idea of good business is very different from other book stores around today,” says the 62-year-old workaholic. “It is not possible for us to open many branches. We cannot be in 10 places at the same time. We believe customers are our God, and by expanding we would risk compromising on our services towards them.”

Down memory lane

In 1959, Atmaram’s father shifted to Bangalore from Mysore in search of better prospects. He started off by buying out a printing unit, Mohan Press, the same year. The press undertook mostly “last-minute orders for exam question papers, race books and cumulative records.” The press was sold off in 1965 to make way for their first book shop—Bangalore Book Bureau, in Majestic. It may be recalled that the building collapsed in 1979. “Other bookstores took advantage of this hitch of ours and built their customer base,” he recalls.

Despite being the go-to place for most book lovers in the city, Gangarams hasn’t managed to replicate this success on the corporate front. “No matter how well-known you are, you have to pay a bribe to get corporate orders. Again, that is not something we are capable of, so we lost out there too.”

But there is always something to smile about for the brothers. Loyal customers still make time in their busy schedules for a visit to Gangarams. Atmaram is pleased to tell us that many a times, old customers who have shifted base out of Bangalore often say they are “Going to Gangarams, instead of going to Bangalore.” Proudly, he underlines that is what this place means to them.

Not only are the customers loyal, Gangarams also has employees who have been around for the past 25-30 years. Atmaram recalls an anecdote that made him start the stationery section. “Those days, there were hardly any shops that sold good greeting cards. Once I wanted to give a beautiful card to my girlfriend, but I couldn’t manage to get a card of my choice anywhere. Though I gave her one finally, sensing an opportunity in that market, I decided to open a separate department that would sell stationery, including cards,” he says.
Thus, the stationery wing of Gangarams was opened in 1977.

The journey from here

“My kids are not too keen to continue the business. Though they did take interest for a couple of years, they did not enjoy it much. I do not want to force them to continue it. My son has a pet shop and he is happy running that successfully,” he says.

And what are his plans from here on? “Stock worth `30 lakh is still left. I am waiting for the right party to whom I can give this. If today a school shows interest in buying this stock, I will be more than happy to hand it over to them at a throwaway price. When you offer someone something, they do not value it as much as they would if you give them something when they ask for it,which is why I haven’t actively approached anyone to purchase the stock. I have given 50 years of my service to people. I want to relax a little now,enjoy retired life,” he says, signing off with a smile.

Koshy-RETRO & LOVING IT

2012-07-09T02:17:00.002-07:00

Arguably, Koshy’s has become an integral part of Bangalore. Starting it was the idea of an unemployed man, whose grandsons are managing the place now

It is 10.30 on a sunny morning in June. A middle-aged couple seated pretty in their BMW are hunting for a parking spot. They are out for some scrumptious mutton stew and appam—something they have been having almost every weekend at this British-style cosy cafe, Koshy’s, for two decades.

For those well acquainted with Bangalore, this is a familiar scene outside the eatery

“The other day I met a regular customer, who usually comes in his limousine, on a bike. I asked him what happened to his car, to which he replied that he had to come on his ‘jet plane’ (two-wheeler) to get parking at Koshy’s,” jokes Santosh Koshy, who runs Koshy’s Restaurant along with brother Prem Koshy.

The anecdote signifies the place Koshy’s holds in the hearts of many Bangaloreans.What started off as a bakery outlet in the 1940s has today become an iconic eatery

Looking back, unemployment was the beginning of good things to come for the founder, PO Koshy. Having lost his job as a senior executive with a private bank when it shut its doors, Koshy carved out a lucrative career in the food industry by starting one of India’s first bakeries.

It later went on to become a department store on MG Road, which now houses the showrooms of Kelvinator and Samsung. In 1952-53, with the backing of the warden of Bishop Cotton School, Rev Cannon Elphick, Koshy leased a plot of land from St Marks Cathedral and built the premises where Koshy’s now stands on St Marks Road. The eating house was initially called Parade Cafe.

Fast forward to the third-generation restaurateurs, and in keeping with the times, Koshy’s has revamped its ‘Jewel Cafe’ while still maintaining its old-world charm. “My father was very apprehensive of expanding the cafe by eating into the department store space. I had to fight to get my way,” says Santosh.

The menu has more than 800 items on its list with old favourites such as fish and chips, mutton stew and a traditional English breakfast of sausages, eggs and bacon still finding a prominent place.

“During peak hours, the restaurant is nothing short of a fish market,” he says.“Sometimes customers, while talking among themselves, are not in control of their emotions. They are so regular at Koshy’s that they have started treating the place as their home. Our non-air conditioned section is very popular. We have old-timers who come and sit for hours reading a book over Koshy’s coffee, but there is another section of customers who would want a more sophisticated, quiet environment to have a date or business meetings over lunch.”

This is the customer base Jewel Cafe caters to today. “Yes, dining in this section would mean your bill is slightly on the higher side, but we cannot help that—the overheads are larger,” he says

Santosh insists the company has never increased its profits beyond 20%. “My grandfather always insisted that we should not treat Koshy’s as our business, but as a means to service people. I also come from that school of thought. People may term this as conservative but if we have survived this far, we will surely survive in the coming years as well,” he says.

This partly explains why Koshy’s bakery arm has not been able to sustain competition from the likes of
Daily Breads and Spencer’s. “Daily Breads has done well to sustain itself. Unfortunately, we could not do it,” Santosh says

It has not been all praises for the brand. The family has had to fight off the way people sometimes perceive Koshy’s. “We often hear that despite us starting way ahead of other brands, today we are lagging behind in the race,” he says.

Expansion, however, is on the cards for the group with another fine-dining restaurant opening in Koramangala soon.

“Our customer base is spread all across the city. With the traffic and parking constraints these days, they find it hard to come all the way into town for a meal at Koshy’s,” Santosh says. “We’d be able to cater to more customers by expanding our footprint in other parts of the city.”

As it usually happens in family businesses,the third generation faced differences of opinion in the way business had to be run. “Those were crazy days. For instance, I wanted to change the way payments were made to suppliers. Instead of locking their payments for days, I felt it was best to clear the accounts on a daily basis,” Santosh says.

Even the equation with employees became more open. “I discouraged the from wishing me or saluting me every time they saw me. I told them to do their work sincerely so that they could go home on time. These workers have their own problems, right from alcohol addiction to womanising, but that is strictly after their work time. The time they are here, they are under my custody, and we take personal care and interest in them,” he says.

Bangalore has seen a lot of changes, some may like it, some may not. However, there are things that never grow old, despite their retro style. The city has hundreds of such things that give it character and life. Koshy’s, many will agree, is one such place. Just like namma Bengaluru, it welcomes both old and new.

Bhagatram, the sweetmeat shop on Commercial Street

2012-07-09T01:56:00.001-07:00

Sweet child o’ mine

Bhagatram, the sweetmeat shop on Commercial Street, which is credited with introducing samosa to Bangalore and known for its mouth-watering gulabjamuns, retains its old-world charm and holds its own despite the emergence of other competitors

In the bustling lanes of Commercial Street, where shop owners are busy thinking of ways of renovating to keep up with the changing taste of customers, there is probably one shop which is an exception, and has refused to be part of this race—Bhagatram.

“Constant” is what defines Bangalore’s earliest sweetmeat shops. From the location, the staff to the appearance of the outlet, Bhagatram’s has seen little or no change Perhaps the only difference between its humble beginning in 1948 and now is the ever-growing number of loyal customers the chain is attracting.

Bhagatram, hailing from Delhi,first moved to Mumbai, and then to Chennai before settling down in Bangalore. “My grandfather had 10 mithai shops in Delhi at the time,so my father thought he should also do something on his own.

That’s when he moved out of Delhi. The greenery and freshness of Bangalore attracted him to the city,” says BR Giridhar. He joined the business in 1972.

The first outlet was opened on Commercial Street in 1948, right next to the premises on which it stands today, at a time when the area was “pretty much a jungle with no proper road or electricity. My parents worked very hard initially,” he adds. Bhagatram started out with specialising in three items—its piece de resistance, the gulabjamun, samosa, and jalebi.

“To get customers initially, my father would offer free samples of our gulabjamuns. Once people knew the quality of our products, there was no looking back for us.”In fact, it was Bhagatram that introduced Bangaloreans to the popular snack, samosa. Bangalore’s famous halwaii has come a long way since it first opened its doors to city folks. Bhagatram caters to about 4,000 customers on a daily basis at its Commercial
Street branch alone.

“Earlier, we used to sell about 300 gulab jamuns a day, now it is in the range of 6,000. On festivals, our demand shoots up incredibly. One Diwali we even touched the 50,000 mark!” Giridhar shares with pride.

Revolving door

Undoubtedly, the chain is doing roaring business. On any given day, one can find a steady flow of customers pottering in and out of the shop, some for the famous gulabjamuns, others for a quick snack of chhole-bhature or maddur vada.

Giridhar, who has introduced about 150 varieties to the portfolio, says he plans to introduce another 100 variants in the days to come. Bhagatram’s fans have more to cheer Not only is the snack joint opening three new branches (at Ulsoor, Brigade Road and Jayanagar) in the next two months, but also introducing a range of meals. “To start off with, we will start serving Gujarati, North Indian and South Indian thalis. And in due course, my plan is to serve all types of Indian food here for my customers.”

However, Giridhar is quick to confess, 90% of the items on their menu today, were created by his father. “Most of the recipes are what my father passed on to me. The rest I have created on my own.” They might have been among the first sweetmeat shops in the city, although since the 1940s a sizeable crop of new chains has popped up at every corner of Bangalore.

How does Bhagatram still manage to retain its position in the market, we ask.

“To this day, we follow the same principle my father started business with—that of love. The reason our sweets are so popular is that we put a whole lot of love and care into everything we make, and customers
appreciate our sincerity.”

He opines that there is room for everyone. “Each mithai chain has its own customer base, its own specialities. We are confident in our product, and being among the earliest entrants gives us an edge.” Keeping the tradition alive, Giridhar is confident that like him, his sons too will also join the successful family business, though both are still young—aged 11 and 13 years.

“I will train them the way my father trained me.” Until then, Giridhar and his wife are the dynamic leaders who run the business. “I go to all our outlets at different times of the day, once all the items are prepared, to keep track of the finances and ensure smooth running,” says Giridhar, who spends most of his day at the main outlet on Commercial street along with his wife.

Bhagatram’s culinary preparations start at the crack of dawn, as early as 5 am every day and go on till 3 pm.
But the hard work isn’t in vain, as items fly off the counters throughout the day. “About 90% of the items are cleared from the shelves by evening, so there is no question of wastage or serving stale food. We prepare fresh stock every day.”

On a daily basis, the items are made here and then sent to the respective outlets at Malleswaram and Avenue Road, to ensure quality. Riding high on success, Giridhar has more brewing in the pipeline.

The chain plans to introduce gulabjamuns packaged in tins. “We want to be able to supply our jamuns to customers in every corner of the country. We are also looking at exporting them.”

MTR-A time tested stop for DOSAS, IDLIS AND COFFEE

2012-06-17T23:31:00.002-07:00

Most Bangaloreans will get the name right when asked about the oldest eatery joint on Lalbagh Road. The famed eatery - Mavalli Tiffin Rooms or MTR, as it is popularly known, has withstood the test of time and is still a hot favourite among Bangloreans,whenever one yearns for a sumptuous South Indian meal.

“Our dosas and coffee are the most popular items on our menu. In fact, the Lalbagh branch has a unique coffee customer base,” points out Hemamalini Maiya, who runs the restaurant along with her brothers. For a long time, since establishment in 1924, the Maiyas did not expand their business.

“My father (Harishchandra Maiya) was not keen on expansion, mainly because he was not sure ifwe would be interested in joining the family business in the future. In fact, there were very good offers he used to get to expand in other parts of the country, but he was content running this one branch,” Hemamalini said.

However, the third generation took it upon themselves to expand the business. “After my father’s demise in 1999, I and my brother took over. We realised that expansion was the need of the hour. After all, the city had expanded and it was not possible for people to come all the way to Lalbagh. We had to reach out to people. Today, we have six restaurants,” she says, adding that plans of adding two more in Indiranagar and Mysore Road is on the cards.

The eateries have still managed to retain the old world charm. “This is a conscious effort on our part to maintain the look and feel of the restaurant. We are very clear that we are not a luxury brand,” she asserts.

Is an expansion into other parts of India on the agenda? “As of now we are not. Even our expansion in the
city has been at a slow pace. One needs to understand that we are a family-run business. So there are limitations,” she replies, adding that the company is apprehensive of taking the franchise route.

“If MTR is to remain popular, it has to maintain a standard of quality and taste,” she says. With this in mind, the group has designated its old timers with leadership roles at various branches. “Some cooks have been with us for over 40 years. They have great potential, which is apparent as they are handling various branches of MTR very successfully.”

The Maiya family went through a rough patch during mid 1970s - the Emergency Period. The government had introduced flat rates for hotel food at the time. Maiyas were left with little choice, but to pull down the shutters for a brief period.

“During this period they had to keep the staff occupied and that is how MTR’s packed foods division was kickstarted. For instance, they made rava idli mix, khara bhaath, sambar mix, and other stuff and started selling them out of here,” she recollects. This continued even post- Emergency, owing to its popularity. The division later went on to become a separate entity — MTR Foods.

“Unlike the restaurant business, MTR Foods aggressively expanded operations.” The brand was finally bought over by a Norwegian company Orkla for $80 million in March 2007. “Though we have no association with MTR Foods anymore, we share the same brand name.”

Another setback hit the organisation in 1999. With the untimely demise of Harishchandra Maiya, the restaurant was left with no succession plan in place. “There were lot of question marks and gaps. The uncertainty in the minds of people, especially our staff, was evident. They weren’t sure whether they would still have a job the next morning,” says Hemamalini, “I had no time to grieve, the very next day after my father passed away, I was at work taking over from where he left off.”

She had a tough task cut out for her, being the first woman to enter the third generation family business.“Initially, it was difficult for the staff to take me seriously and accept me as a leader, as many of them have seen me from my childhood days. So taking orders from me was not easy. But I had to put across the point that I am here to stay.

”Also, the high attrition in the industry does not help. “It is hard to get and retain cleaning staff. They would much rather clean a mall than work in a kitchen.” The brand has also tried to standardise its recipes as getting good cooks is rare.