"With category creation, the biggest challenge is selling the idea to retail": Gayatri Tampi, Prasuma CMO

Steamed, fried or deep fried – India is a country that clearly loves its dumplings. It’s no surprise then that brands have started offering customers various ways to make it at their home only. One such brand is Prasuma.

Founded in 1985 by Mahendra Suwal, Prasuma specialised in selling antibiotic-free meat. The family business initially had distribution in nine cities across the country. Keeping up with the meat delivery boom in the country, the company founded Meatigo, a D2C brand, in 2017.

Meatigo is a service which allows users to order and receive meat delivery at their doorstep. Over a call, Gayatri Tampi, chief marketing officer, Prasuma and Meatigo, tells afaqs! that the brand’s foray into the space was a natural move, as it already specialised in selling good quality meat. The trick was to simply bring it to consumers’ doorsteps.

Today, Meatigo has a distribution network which rivals Fresh2Home and Licious. It is the third largest meat delivery service in the country. “However, our business is structured a little differently than these two companies, as most of our revenue comes from value-added products, such as marinated meats,” mentions Tampi.

But that’s not the point of this call. Tampi talks about another product that Prasuma introduced in 2019 – ready-to-cook momos. The product is available in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian variants. The company recently introduced another veg variant due to popular consumer demand. The preparation process is fairly simple – a person can steam it, pan fry it, or deep fry it.

Tampi reveals that the domestic momo market is booming. She adds that 97 per cent of it is unorganised, and is made up largely of street food vendors and dumplings served at restaurants. In India, Prasuma Momos also competes with Wow! Momos - an Indian chain of fast food restaurants headquartered in Kolkata. The chain specialises in selling varieties of momos, momo-filled burgers and momo-based desserts. It also sells ready to cook momos. The brand founded in 2008 by St. Xavier's College alumni Sagar Daryani and Binod Homagai.

She mentions that when it comes to eating momos outside, most people are concerned about the quality of the ingredients used. They are also concerned about the water used to steam momos, or the oil used to fry it. These concerns have led to a demand for momos that are easy to make at home, minus the arduous preparation process.

“The convenience of our product is such that a consumer can eat it even as a late night snack. We also make it a point to use high quality ingredients. So, the customers don't have to worry about falling sick after eating the momos,” says Tampi.

Prior to joining Prasuma, Tampi worked at L’Oreal, where she met Lisa Suwal, CEO of Prasuma. Tampi recalls how Suwal would get home-made momos delivered, and there was huge demand for them in her office.

“The founder of Prasuma first saw frozen Ravioli being made in Italy and that's where he got the idea of making frozen products. Italian women know how to make Ravioli from scratch, but having the product frozen and pre-made helped to save a lot of time. In India, people prefer fresh food, so, it can be difficult to market frozen items,” Tampi says.

“We first launched Prasuma (momos) as a ‘freezer’ product and not a chiller product. That’s how we’ve been able to cross that hurdle of 300-400 stores. We are currently present in 5,000 stores across the country. It is one product that has helped us achieve scale because of how popular it is as a snack and how well established it is in consumers’ minds.”

Tampi explains the difference between a chiller and a freezer. A chiller is one in which the temperature is maintained between 0 and 4 degrees. Sometimes, the temperatures can go as low as -7 or -8 degrees. This is why frozen products are processed differently and need to be maintained at a different temperature. Chilled products, like butter, fresh cheese and yogurt, have a significantly shorter shelf life.

“We still have products available in that business, but it is a much smaller universe because you have a maximum of two weeks to sell them all,” Tampi adds. The brand was launched in a pre-COVID world, but the company claims that product sales went up during the pandemic-induced lockdowns.

When asked why a consumer would pick Prasuma over momos from a street food vendor or a restaurant or other brands, Tampi points out that the convenience of making it brings people back to the brand.

“Mothers, especially, have had a really hard time during lockdowns. We’ve seen success in adoption from that audience segment, because it is a snack that’s healthy and easy to prepare. The preparation process is, in fact, so simple that the children can also make it on their own.”

Tampi tells us that the company’s marketing strategy is to reach digital-first consumers. Digital is the preferred medium of marketing.

“Our ad spends are heavily focused on digital and we rely on our retail presence to reach consumers. Our packaging is designed in such a way that it's easily visible on shelves at supermarkets. Our objective is to drive awareness and prompt consumer trials at this point.”

Tampi adds that when a consumer tries Prasuma (momos), the return rate is around 90 per cent.

She observes that the momos are more popular in states closer to the hills, such as Haryana and Rajasthan. The company hasn’t had much success in South India yet, she adds.

Some of the problems that Prasuma faces, are related to the brand’s physical retail presence. “Making sure that the stores have electricity and freezers is important, as it ensures that the products stay fresh,” mentions Tampi.

“With category creation, the biggest challenge is selling the idea to retail itself. You have to believe in the potential of the category. Then you need to demonstrate, with references from the global market, how it's a good choice for the consumers here in India. This is how we set up our retail presence.”

When it comes to the snacking segment, consumers are spoilt for choice. They can opt for a pack of chips, prepare a quick plate of Maggi, or maybe even have some ready-to-eat French fries or nuggets - courtesy of a brand like McCain.

“The customers, who crave momos specifically, seek it out. The problem in India is that there is no variety when it comes to frozen foods. Most of it is potato-based and there is this impression that frozen food is unhealthy. That’s not always true. In other countries, like the US and UK, companies have perfected making healthy food that is frozen and convenient to cook. This is the kind of food we want to bring to India too,” Tampi signs off.