From Struggles to Success: How Kiru Maikkapillai Transformed Divine Foods into a D2C Powerhouse”
Kiru Maikkapillai, the founder of Divine Foods and now regarded as an inspiration for budding entrepreneurs in the D2C segment, has faced many market challenges to scale his brand. But his persistence and passion for his company took him to great heights. In this blog, we will uncover the challenges faced by Kiru and how he leveraged better solutions for scaling his business in the D2C Segment.
Kiru Maikkapillai’s Early life:
Kiru was born and brought up in Attur, Salem district. Since childhood seeing farmers’ struggles with their small lands competing with industry-scale farms. Empathizing their constraints with so many factors that negatively impact agriculture, he understood Agriculture practice is no longer sustainable, profitable even desirable. He pursued a well-settled job in America living his American Dream.
One Fine Vision:
One good day in Boston spending time with his friends, Kiru noticed one of his friends having a glass of Turmeric latte. The moment he became astonished on seeing his friend giving strong emphasis on Traditional turmeric. Realizing the supernatural health benefits available in Indian Traditional Food, gave the birth idea for Divine Foods. Right, then the American dream was not his real dream rather getting Indian Traditional Food to penetrate the modern market was his ultimate goal.
Divine Foods – Holistically Sourced:
Kiru noticed Turmeric, Moringa, millet, Gulkhand, honey, and many more recognized and marketed as wellness products by a lot of brands insisting on their health properties. However, the companies dealing in this space lack control over the lifecycle of the product right from seeding to last-mile delivery. Kiru’s intelligence cracked, “Is that all a healthy produce”? After comprehensive research, Kiru found that the origin of the product matters.
From climatic conditions to soil and water composition, all come together in different proportions to give us different produce in different parts of the world for a reason. And it only stands to reason that said produce from that region will be superior to any that is grown elsewhere. He conducted a study by testing the curcumin content of turmeric sourced from Salem vs that of the condiment grown in different parts of the planet. Surprisingly the sample collected from Salem provides better value compared with other parts. From there on Kiru said “Super Foods are only Super if they’re Sourced Holistically”.
Difficulty in his D2C Segment:
When one of our professionals from Botman exclusively interviewed Mr Kiru Maikkapillai was able to uncover many insights about the challenges he faced and solutions leveraged right from his own experience.
- Unawareness about the brand in the market
- Lack of Personal Branding
- Target Audience
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Unawareness about the brand in the Market:
Since it operates in a D2C segment, At the time of the launch of Divine Foods, the company faced issues with positioning its products and targeting the right audience. There is also no awareness about such offerings. The primary problem existed with the marketing aspects.
2. Lack of Personal Branding:
When our team member asked about the regrets he had in his startup journey Kiru replied with a smile stating Personal Branding is more important to get discovered and thrive in the market. In the initial phase, Divine Foods and Kiru didn’t understand the importance of Personal Branding.
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Target Audience:
Segmenting the Audience and targeting them effectively being a D2C brand is quite challenging in the starting phase.
Marketing Miracle:
Despite so many challenges and hindrances faced by Divine Foods, The Brand began to do well after Covid 19. Covid 19 became a Catalyst for the company. The factors that contributed to better branding are health and fitness. As Covid taught us to follow best health practices in terms of eating and also sanitation.
People started realizing the strong insistence and emphasis on Traditional Indian Products. Kiru leveraged this factor and positioned the brand that contribute to good health.
Another strategy that worked automatically is the Word of Mouth. Homemakers provided positive reviews about the good quality of products and the best benefits they are deriving like improved health, good taste, etc., Lastly, Kiru rapped the entire interview by giving a piece of advice about WhatsApp marketing. Whatsapp Marketing Services plays a vital role in today’s era of digital transformation. Kiru utilized these Whatsapp Marketing Strategies that produced a good amount of results in this D2C Segment.
Conclusion:
This blog blends the experience of a business owner and his business and how they tackled well in the downsizing stage and scaled exponentially in the market. Added It triggers us to explore more on the diverse benefits of Whatsapp Marketing. Are you looking for a growth marketing service provider for your business? Botman is your ideal partner who has dynamic expertise to manage your business with our Whatsapp Messaging Services. Reach out to our professionals through the contact form and get the best Whatsapp Marketing Services.
