Our Simple Business Model - Good Quality Products And Great Service: Ashish Khandelwal
The foundations of B.L. Agro Industries Ltd. date back to the pre-independence era when Kishan Lal Khandelwal and Bishan Lal Khandelwal started a commodity trading business in a small town in Uttar Pradesh. Presently led by Ghanshyam Khandelwal and Ashish Khandelwal, BL Agro has seen immense growth from a small trading business to one of the leading FMCG players in India.
How has sales been for the firm during the ongoing Indian Festive Season?
The festive season always sees an increased demand. This year has been good for us as we have seen a hike of 25 per cent in sales.
In the year 1986, the company started expanding operations and introduced branded mustard oil by the trade name of ‘Bail Kolhu’ and in less than two years the family business transformed into an organization called B.L. Agro Oils Pvt. Ltd
Any consumer trends observed in the post-pandemic period?
Post-pandemic, the consumer has become more health-conscious and is ready to pay a premium price to consume healthy, good quality, nutritious and hygienic food items.
Ever since its inception and with the passage of time, the management realised to grow the business and expand its horizons in the food business and therefore, in the year 2015 ventured its own brand called ‘Nourish’ with its first product being Chakki Fresh Atta. Currently, Nourish offers a wide variety of Rice, Pulses, Ghee & Oils, Dry Fruits, etc. BL Agro today has one of the largest distribution networks amongst all branded edible oil and food product players in the country with over 50,000 retailers, across 200 cities in 13 states of India - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Jammu, and in Nepal. The company also offers its products through the company’s exclusive brand outlets present in 12 locations across Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The firm is a Rs. 2500 crore company, which currently has Fractioning Plants, Packaging and Warehousing units, Refineries and Labs.
Were any new strategies undertaken by the firm this year?
We follow a simple business model. Good quality products and great service to our customers, which eventually will increase sales.
The firm recently on-boarded the trio of Gangs of Wasseypur fame, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pankaj Tripathi and Manoj Bajpayee, as the faces of the company’s 50-year-old brand, ‘Bail Kolhu’. Actress Shilpa Shetty is being on-boarded to endorse the company’s ambitious brand ‘Nourish’ for the extensive range of Flour, pulses and dry fruits. The firm plans to open 100 Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs), through the franchise route in India at the end of next FY 2021-22. Its turnover in the FY 2019-20 was Rs. 1654 crores and is expected to grow 30 per cent YoY, this year.
In the digital era that we are in, how is the firm trying to amalgamate technology with its business?
We have our major presence offline through our great network of distributors and the company's exclusive brand outlets. However, looking at the market scenario and customers' convenience, we launched our company's website nourishstore.co.in which has the entire portfolio of our products. We also realised the need to be present in Amazon and recently made our presence there as well.
The firm, as a large-scale industry, requires a continual supply of energy, where the carbon emissions are quite natural. Hence, for all the energy consumption requirements, the company relies 100 per cent on Solar Energy for the in-house packaging plants. Its manufacturing unit at Bareilly has also installed state-of-the-art air purifiers across units that help curb and map the emissions from the unit, giving a chance to minimize the emissions.
