Expanding Horizons Globally

What are some of the tenets that you followed in building the Keventers brand?

There are many products and too much clutter at the moment. The market sometimes seems to be saturated. How does one reach out or connect with the audience against this backdrop? In a country like ours, when one is looking to connect with the audience, the most important thing is to resonate emotionally. That’s what we have personally done as a brand. In some cases, brands with excellent products may not be able to connect with audiences due to the lack of reach on digital or offline platforms. But for us, this has been mission-critical.

As normalcy returns, how are you balancing your online and offline marketing?

For us, it is always about giving a complete, good-quality experience to our customers. About 50 per cent of our business is offline. Delivering the right product and marketing on the ground differs from doing it online. Through stores, advertisements, coupons and the like, we attract customers’ attention and then we need to ensure they are given the best service. 

Online continues to be a big chunk of the business. About 40-45 per cent of customer outreach online is through food delivery apps even though some platforms have their web presence as well. The strategy is different in this aspect. We have a call to action everywhere in our ads and we want to show the imagery that prompts people to buy. Right now, we are focussing on digital in a big way. Most people believe this is very cost-effective. Given our presence across 65 cities and outside India, this makes more sense as well. 

With so much diversity and different modes emerging, what are some of the key complexities marketers are witnessing?

During the last two years, there has been confusion about budgets. We don’t know when to spend and what to spend. That’s the biggest concern. I remember we had launched a new product category of smoothies, and there was a lot of work put into it. We thought about marketing campaigns, online and offline, but then Covid happened. Three to six months later, when we were starting communication again, there was a second wave. It got very difficult. It’s almost the same challenge that every brand is facing when it comes to budgeting. Now as everything is picking up and there is a huge upswing in retail, and we are primarily a retail-focused brand, it's a good time. The budget remains a concern.