India: Why not develop a desi brand? Part-I

11 August, 2010

To find and collect the innovations by 'unknown' talents hidden in every nook and corner of India and shape them in an entrepreneurial way, we need to change our attitude of searching talent in big institutes and laboratories only.

IT SEEMS that, Indians are becoming more and more fond of ‘foreign’ brand of products and innovations, whether these are in entertainment industry, food and beverages, technology, hospitality, fashion, housing, education - almost everything in our lives is being outsourced to the multinationals. I do not prohibit you to do so, but I think, if we can look into our own country and find out the ‘unseen’ wonders, we can offer more innovative results—and flourish more in commerce also.

To find and collect these innovations by ‘unknown’ talent, there is the need of an entrepreneurial way to be established. The need is to change our attitude of searching talent in big institutes and laboratories only. The focus must be shiftedto the hidden, less recognised and unconventional sources of potentials, integrating modernity with tradition, fusing rural knowledge with technology, mixing tribal style with imported Western design and putting the spotlight on much neglected women home-makers can help India to utilise its innovations in a profitable manner.

Here I am trying to explain my view with some live suggestions and examples:

Only one mantra to entrepreneurship: Create India’s own brand.

Make a desi brand: Desi wine of Russia (Vodka) and Europe (Beer) is hugely popular in India; these countries have made these products as their own brands and flooded the world market. India also has many varieties of Desi wine, but India never tried to put those in global markets. For example: Rural people makes several types of local wine- Handia (of rice-bran), Tadi (Tal juice), Mahul mada (of Mahul flower) etc; there are some area-specific tribal delicacies also.

Ingredients of such products and skill of preparation is available with poor rural people. Excise department destroys these products and arrests the producers regularly. Instead India can utilise these rural innovations and scale-up these to export quality and develop market in foreign countries. This will also be helpful to create livelihood and income-generating opportunity for poor villagers and tribal and also reduce the liquor-related social problem in rural areas—because in India, manufacturers rarely consume the goods they produce.

Promote tribes and make India dance a global brand for entertainment: India has several types of tribal dances, all the tribal dances are mainly group dances –these are gorgeous, rhythmic and give opportunity to participants to dance in pairs or in groups of 10 or more.

Dances of Oriya tribes like Dalkhai, Raserkeli, Dhimsa and Bihu of Assam etc are very graceful, fast and enjoyable. In modern society, dance /disco bars are enjoyed by billions of youths in all countries.

We can inspire NRIs to open Indian tribal dance clubs and give opportunity to foreigners and even Indians to taste the Indian tribal dances, while capture the market worldwide. This will also increase employability of tribal dancers as dancer and teachers and even may develop tribal entrepreneurship as owners of such dance clubs.

These are just two examples to explain that how innovations already exist in India and are dying in the absence of recognition –only we have to identify these and modify the same to meet the market standards. For this, we have many leaders in marketing management, who can study the trend of world market, and read the nerve of it and learn from others to make our successful enterprises.

I am not any expert in marketing, still If I see the market, I find even small items like a doll (Barbie), toys, cosmetics (L’oreal, Lakme etc.), tooth paste (Colgate-Palmolive), paper, soap, sanitary towel, nappies etc, everything produced by foreign companies has a huge marketing budget. The people are mesmerised by the hoopla surrounding these products, which sells in huge numbers.

Starting from jeans, shirts, T-shirts, and business suits, sports shoes- everything is popular here in India is of foreign brand. United States, France, United Kingdom etc. The Western countries are able to project a belief that whatever they produce is of top quality and buyinig their products is prestigious, if you do not use these thins, then you are poor and unfashionable!

I think this is a mind-game, which they play on customers of developing countries. I think India can start to play this game in her own way adding glamour and grandeur to what we produce and sell to the international buyers.

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COMMENTS (1)

Guest

opinder

you are right , but you think our people use the india brands I don't think so........ , we are now 90 % english . you said make shoes or T-shirts but we use most of foreign products..... Bcozzz big film stars promote them,,,,, sorry to say in india people want money only money....... thanks.