Kitchen appliance brand Wonderchef, which is co-founded by chef Sanjeev Kapoor and Ravi Saxena, sees the south Indian market as No.1 as about 30% of sales is coming from the southern market.
Ravi Saxena, Co-founder and CEO of Wonderchef, who was in Bengaluru recently for the inauguration of its 30th Exclusive Brand Outlet (EBO) in Bengaluru, said that South India is a great market for any brand. “At the same time, it is a competitive market because all the mega brands in any industry come from South India. We have 20,000 retail outlets across the country and in the South alone about 4,000. In terms of the number of stores, it is less, but in terms of sales, the south market is the highest,” he said.
The kitchen appliance brand sees a lot of traction in its smart kitchen appliances, and it plans to make its IPO debut by the end of this year. With Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu emerging as key growth markets, the company’s expansion strategy is to prioritise these regions, and it also aims to double its EBO count in the next financial year. “In the last three years, we have been growing by 18 to 20% per year,” he said. In FY24, its revenue from operations surged by nearly 20% to Rs 377.7 crore.
“We have been able to grow fast primarily because of our unique distribution model and products. We made an entry into an industry which is 100-years-old and if we were to try just to sell things cheaper, it’s a race to the bottom. So Sanjeev Kapoor and I decided that we will do quality and innovative products. We will spend a lot on R & D, and will provide different solutions to the people. And it’s always customer focused & customer first,” he said, adding innovation should bring better value to the customer.