HiGrocer - Catering to the Needs of Your Neighbourhood Grocers

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HiGrocer India offers wide range of Comfort Food Products. HiGrocer enable every retailer to compete with organized giants and e-commerce, by their Last Minute SKU range of Quality Products Chained by Technology.

HiGrocer has a mission to partner with millions of retailers (by becoming their Trusted Brand and Supply chain partner) making it the biggest and quickest go-to-market channel for products and services. They are focussing on solutions for the grocery online end-to-end management system.

HiGrocer - Company Highlights

HiGrocer - Target Market
How was HiGrocer Started?
HiGrocer - Product/Services
Founders of HiGrocer and team
HiGrocer - Name, Tagline, and Logo
HiGrocer - Business Model and Revenue Model
HiGrocer - Startup Launch
HiGrocer - User Acquisition and Growth
HiGrocer - Startup Challenges
HiGrocer - Future Plans
HiGrocer - Funding and Investors

HiGrocer - Target Market

In India, the rate of urbanization has increased to a considerable level since the 2009 census, as per the United Nations (UN) World Urbanization Prospects 2018 report. There has been a noteworthy change in the eating habit in Metropolitan Cities. Due to the fast-paced life in urban cities, about 79% of the urban people prefer to have ready-to-eat food in their regular meal.

The reasons behind the increase in the use of comfort food in urban cities are the steep rise in income, the standard of living and convenience. Mostly, in a small family where both husband and wife are working, they prefer having ready-to-eat food for their children. It has become the most favorite and convenient part of their meal.

The Indian middle class is growing and so is their buying capacity and demands. They love to try on new products that come in the market. They prefer premium products; explore comfort food in the ready-to-make mobile SKU and easy-to-eat category.

Rural India provides a great opportunity for the comfort food and beverages industry. As almost 65% of the total Indian population lives in the rural region. They are attracted to food products of urban cities. The buying capacity of rural households has also increased in recent years due to benefits from investment in infrastructure and rising wages.

How was HiGrocer Started?

It was somewhere in mid 2018 when we brainstormed of creating our own Consumer Product Company. Once the calling was clear we left our respective erstwhile FMCG Leadership roles to commenced with our calling in the Business.

We did dipstick understanding on the sub industry we would like to cater in FMCG with a criteria of continual offtake, counters with higher ticket and demand oriented category; Food which is ever evolving and innovating was an obvious choice of offering.

Our Product Categorization is an outcome of this focused Customer Segmentation, Secondary being the Unorganized retailers which has become Last minute consumer Shopping Hub because of organised players amidst our Primary Audience which being the Urban consumers aged between 16 to 40 yrs their Fast changing urban lifestyle resulted into the growing demand of Comfort Foods.

Our Agenda is going National, hence at planning stage itself we brainstormed the possible scale of Operations and Solution towards it. Thinking about the same we developed Integration of SaaS Technology in our business enables market access concept whereby a product can be directly delivered to the retailer's shop from the manufacturer's factory through our SalesMax & Delhi mechanisms without having to go through the multiple layers of marketing, thereby providing an efficient & effective Supply Chain system.

Around mid 2019 we entered One market with our first RTE Product - Idli dosa batter ‘Ayyappa’, since then we have been growing in terms of Product offering and Shelfing Counters.  

Thereby, Our Go To Market Business Model brings Scalability, Flexibility, Empowers Retailers & Building Brands.

HiGrocer - Product/Services

Helping Unorganized Retailers in FMCG with Accessibility, Affordability and Assistance in more Earning Power.

HiGrocer India as marketer offers wide ranges of Comfort Food Products. As our name suggests we are catering to neighbourhood grocers to answer consumers' thirst for premium quality and Last Minute SKU Products, as the Urban Indians aged 16 to 40 years are part of fast changing urban lifestyle constitutes the major segment of this market. They spend over 40 percent of their income on food, are ready to experiment, and are willing to pay a premium for better quality, variety, and taste. We under the Name of HiGrocer India cater to these Indians, with our Last Minute Range of Products and its SKU.

Currently we have 10 Products across 3 categories and 3 Brands, we pivoted with our Idli Dosa Batter ‘Ayyappa’ and gained momentum for other range of products across categories i.e Frozen Snacks and Staples.

We commenced with Batter as it is a daily need product which gives us accessibility with retailers thereby build relation which makes shelfing of our other products easy and faster.

Founders of HiGrocer and team

Dharit Parikh & Aniket Sharma, both are qualified and respect each other domain experts of being an IIM graduate with 15 years of work-ex expert in Sales & Marking & other being CA with 9 years in work experience, managing Finance and Products, respectively. We have a team of 20+ and with each Delivery Centre Opening we will add 10 more in each. Even in Field staff we seek entrepreneurship skills, thereby the culture at HiGrocer is competitive, enabler and proactive.

HiGrocer - Name, Tagline, and Logo

Our Business Model is a basket Approach hence Commanding Shelf at the Counters we are present especially at the Kirana Stores. Therefore, We wanted a name which Resonates Trust with Casual atmosphere, thereby ‘Hi’ build friendliness in the conversation and because we in the Consumer product Food business ‘Grocer’ stands for ‘Grocery’ which resonates Trust.

Secondly, We are Consistent, Respects Boundaries, Show Gratitude and Don’t compromise in maintaining relations are the characteristics we would like to be known for.

Hence, A friendly neighborhood Grocer is ‘HiGrocer’ as a name builds, under the affirmation of Quality Assurance and at Best Price, which makes out Tagline Quality Bhi, Daam Bhi.

On our Logo thereby the word has cautiously been written in 2 different fonts and Red is the color of passion, strength, sensitivity, etc. also gets easily identified in the clutter.

HiGrocer - Business Model and Revenue Model

We are in the Consumer Product Business, building consumer Brands is what we endeavour for long run, the path to that is the journey we are crafting with our Business Operations

We have our own plant for one of our category of products and for the rest we do Contract Manufacturing. As we are a firm believr of Basket Approach with a Concept of Shared resource in FMCG to create the most advanced Sales and Distribution model which gives maximum retail coverage which is Marketed by HiGrocer

We do the Retail tie-ups and ensure product placement, our tie-ups with retailers are made with a committed shelf space or gondola space named “HiGrocer”, and we have a dedicated planogram for the shelf and Trade commission bundled in each every sales made.

Our Partnered Products are warehoused in vicinity directly from the manufacturers factory and delivered to the retailer shop tethered by our Technology Platform of SalesMax & DelHi mechanism without having to go through the multiple layers of Marketing, thereby providing an efficient & effective Supply Chain system.

HiGrocer - Startup Launch

Around mid 2019 we entered One market with our first RTE Product - Idli dosa batter ‘Ayyappa’, we categorically chose this as an entry product as it gives us leverage of providing Regular service and build Relation with retailers being a new entry this was very important for us.

Today, we are serving almost 2000 Retailers in a single market. We have 10 Products to offer across 2 Categories and 3 Brands (Idli Dosa Batter, Frozen Foods and Staples). Our Go To Market Business Model brings Scalability | Flexibility | Empowering Retailers | Building Brands.

HiGrocer - User Acquisition and Growth

As HiGrocer, We are providing Shelf of Hi Quality Premium products with On the GO SKU range, which enhances Customer Needs & Retailers Greed. Our tie-ups with retailers are made with a committed shelf space or gondola space named “HiGrocer – Quality Bhi, Dam Bhi”, and we have a dedicated planogram for the shelf. Idea is to build HiGrocer as a Trusted brand amidst Consumers as we will market all products as ‘Products from HiGrocer’, which Promises Quality and Price. We have and will always have a Basket Approach in building a dedicated HiGrocer Shelf at the Neighborhood Stores. All at the palm reach as we are chained with Technology, which will enable us to keep our operation cost at marginal and enhance off-takes.

So By the end of Half a Decade existence as per our plans we will have a bank of more then 50 SKU’s across 6 Categories trailing each with a minimum existence of 3 years. We, at the end of 60 months would have our market penetration across 25 cities mix of Metros, Tier 1 and Semi Urban spread over 50k retailers.

HiGrocer - Startup Challenges

We are living in a Demand Centric world, which makes our Future with Opportunity; India is the world’s fifth- largest consumer economy by 2025, up from the current 12th position.

Secondly we are Acing Products and Brand builder in an organized way catering via unorganized market, support to them will generate Push and our Media Marketing will generate SOV and Demand.

Our Challenges are with the Competition and we have a plan for that, we have identified our competition below in 2 parts:

Branded Consumer Products

This is a Direct Competition. They do Contract Manufacturing of their Products and retail it across Shops, with traditional way of Distribution thereby offering minimum margin to retailers and shelving because of Advertising Demand. At HiGrocer, We have multiple advantages in our Trade We Work on Delivery Centre Model (from manufacturer to our warehouse directly), which gives miss to traditional channels of Distribution, and our Ready stock Delivery to retailers ensures regular Service and Product Shelving. Thereby, we offer almost 2- 3 times of the current market margins, with similar high quality Product, as we miss traditional distribution

Non-branded Consumer Products

This is a Indirect Competition. They Supply Retailers in loose form, which is either/or, repacked under retailers brand or sold as it is.  We work on Delivery Centre Model, which gives miss, to traditional channels of Distribution. Our Ready stock Delivery to retailers ensures regular Service and Product Shelving likewise to our non- branded product suppliers.

Margin: We offer similar margins, with high quality Product bundled with Brand Assurance, which is lacking by non-branded suppliers.

HiGrocer - Future Plans

We are currently retailing in approx. 2000 stores with 10 Products, 3 Brands, 2 Categories, By the end of Half a Decade existence as per our plans we will have a bank of more then 80 SKU’s across 6 Categories trailing each with a minimum existence of 3 years. We, at the end of 60 months would have our market penetration across 15 cities mix of Metros, Tier1 and Semi Urban spread over 50k retailers.

Also, by the Decade of existence apart from our respective Brands, HiGrocer would also be a Trusted brand name as all our products are marketed as Products From Higrocer. Which would unfold the potential of future Business integrations and Cross Selling’s.

HiGrocer - Funding and Investors

We are Bootstrapped company and have decent runway with us, though we are in talking terms with few VC’s who shown Faith and Interest in HiGrocer, we will come back to you on this space soon.