For seasoned entrepreneur Pradeep Chowdhary, business is like golf. As he puts it, the target size is small and requires extreme concentration to succeed.
Perhaps, this logic may have come in handy for the Dehardun-born chartered accountant to transform Gemini Edible Oils, which he had founded in 2009-10, into a `1,600-crore business within a short span of three years.
Chowdhary discovered his entrepreneurial streak after two decades of work with corporates. From a humble start in a fertilizer and chemical plant (finance department) in Kanpur, he joined Britannia’s edible oil business in 1987-88. “When Britannia decided to dispose of its edible oil business, I was part of the finance team negotiating with potential buyers including ITC. Eventually, the business was sold off to another company, but ITC later offered me a job,” recalls Chowdhary, who now runs Gemini, with a majority of professionals half his age or even less. But more on this later.
Though Chowdhary joined ITC’s finance division, it was only a few years later, precisely in 1991 when economic reforms were announced, that his tryst with edible oils industry began. “ITC ventured into commodity trading but that was a time when commodity trading was unheard of and trading professionals didn’t exist. Loosely, it was defined as buying during on season and selling in off season. It was extremely challenging with no prior expertise. We made a lot of mistakes but finally, did succeed,” explains Chowdhary, who was instrumental in the success of ITC’s successful brand of its time -- SunDrop.
“But in hindsight, there was no forward thinking. Though SunDrop was one of the first few players, others like Saffola, Fortune etc forayed and were merrily selling in pouches. Customer’s general perception is pouches are cheaper than bottles. But at ITC, we were stubborn and refused to sell in pouches. And when we finally did launch pouches three years later, we had lost our leadership position,” he says adding, “Secondly, we went into backward integration like seed crushing, extraction and what not, instead of focusing on branding and packaging.”
Chowdhary and his team at Gemini have collectively invested his experience in the company focusing on product differentiation yes but with added emphasis on packaging and branding. Interestingly, the task of establishing the company’s flagship product -- Freedom -- is thrust upon a relatively young team comprising Chowdhary’s son Akshay, who is also the MD, a 20-something IIM graduate Vivek besides marketing professionals.
“We zeroed in on ‘Freedom’ from about 200-odd names. Because it’s neutral, has a positive connotation with no regional bias,” points out Akshay, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans unlike his father’s formal attire. Not without reason. It was a Friday.
Perhaps, Gemini is banking on this combo -- oldies with lateral thinking and foresight and youngsters with zeal and out-of-the-box approach. “We are enhancing capacity. But we’d first like to consolidate our position as number 2 in AP and Orissa and then, penetrate into other markets like Chennai, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu,” reveals Chowdhary, who has been playing golf for over 17 years, before teeing off.
