Lahori Zaira -making company Archaan Foods was founded by Saurabh Munjal in 2017 with his cousins Nikhil Doda and Saurabh Bhutana. The idea of making Lahori cumin came to him when Nikhil once made them drink a beverage at home. Its taste was amazing. What was it then, the three made up their mind to take it from house to house. But, there was a confusion in the mind of the three, can a local brand really compete with global legendary companies?
Survey distributed to family and friends
Initially, Lahori cumin was made in very small quantities. It was distributed only among the family and friends to see if the native taste is liked. Whoever drank it, he became obsessed with the taste of Lahori cumin. This tremendous response encouraged all three. Apart from this, when he did research about beverages sold in different countries, he came to know that Coca-Cola and Pepsi were not always number-one everywhere from America to Asia-Pacific, but many times local beverage brands have been ahead.
Start in 2017
Unique marketing strategy
Lahori Zira did not spend crores of rupees on advertisements. Instead, they planted bottles of bottles outside the shops. Attractive packaging itself became a marketing tool. Consumers started buying full crates of 24 bottles instead of one bottle. According to a survey, about 50% of the company’s sales are directly from the purchase of crate. This model proved to be absolutely unique in the Indian market.
No-credit policy
Another feature of the company was-100% advance payment and no-return policy. When we talked to distributors for the first time, they placed a condition to give goods on credit and withdraw unbike goods. But the Lahori Zira team refused to accept this. He himself allowed the shopkeepers to taste the product, created a demand and then showed the distributors that the consumers are ready. Only after this, distributors were ready on advance payment. This rule is still the backbone of the company.
1000 crore turnover without advertising expenses
Today this company makes more than 2 million bottles daily and has also launched new flavors like lemon, raw mango, masala cola and Shikanji. The company is growing at a rate of more than 50% year after year. According to Munjal, today it is the fourth largest carbonated beverage brand in India and the country’s number-one ethnic beverage brand.