‘Chowbagya’ has proved that through innovative thinking and different marketing techniques, you can create demand for a product and turn it into a brand. Having bounced back from many slippages, today they have gained customers across Tamil Nadu and have maintained an indispensable place in most households. Chowbagya, which started as a grinder manufacturer, has grown to become a kitchen appliance manufacturer today thanks to the efforts of successive generations.
The beginning of this company is interesting. KP Venkatnarayanan, a native of Erode district, bought a grinder for his family in 1960. When the grinder was repaired, he spent a lot of money to repair it. At one point the grinder broke down frequently, so he took apart the grinder parts and fixed them himself. Then he also learned the technique of running the grinder. Following this he thought what if we make a grinder ourselves. He succeeded in that effort. He thought of making more number of grinders and selling them. He and his three sons entered the field in an attempt to sell the grinders they manufactured.
By 1960 their goal was to produce and sell two grinders a month. They marketed their wares from town to town and formed a company in 1980 under the name Chaubhagya. Balasubramaniam and Praveen Kumar, Co-Directors of Chaubhagya Company, started telling us about the company’s success story.
“Our grandfather, great-grandfather, father and stepfather are our inspiration in business. Periyappa Rajendran looked after the financial functions, father Adi Kesavan took care of the production functions and Siddappa Varadarajan looked after the marketing functions. In the next generation, even though my younger brother and I studied abroad, we learned how to run a business successfully through the hands-on experience of the generations before us. Even now we act according to the guidance of our elders.
Before taking any business related decision we take it after consultation as a family. It can be said that it is our generation’s success.
Our grandfather is the master of our profession. The main lesson we learned from Grandpa was to try. When my grandfather started his business, our people had never seen a single product called a grinder. The situation is that the manufactured product can be sold only if people are made to understand the need for the grinder. Thus, Grinder will be demoed at exhibitions, theaters etc. in every city. There is a large crowd of people who can see the ‘goat stone self-healing’ for fun. It is customary to prepare two grinders at the end of one month and sell them from town to town at the beginning of the next month. One grinder was sold in one month. Another grounder could not be sold even by the end of the month.
Father lost hope and asked grandfather, ‘What can we do?’ He asked that. Dadhao said, ‘There are three more days left for this month. He sold the grinder and got an order from a matrimonial house for the next month.
So we are not worried about the market volatility or a drop in sales for a month. If we have quality products, customers will definitely come to us,” continues Praveen, concluding Bala Subramaniam.
“Marketing is as important as quality in business. Dad and stepdad taught us that.
In the early days when people didn’t have any understanding about grinders, big men in that town would sell grinders at home. Fathers and grandfathers used to talk a lot about grinders to housewives to forget about the idea of a grinder as a luxury and instead as a convenience. That is how they increased the number of customers.
We have three generations of customers just as we have been in business for three generations. To sustain them, we started manufacturing not only grinders, but also various items used in the kitchen.
We use a lot of techniques like freebies and offers. Similarly, by giving continuous advertisements in newspapers, periodicals, radio, television, etc., we increase the business by reminding people that we are in this business.
A grinder alone is not enough; It was my father who proposed the idea that only by introducing various items used in the kitchen can we continue to increase the Vya Bara. In the year 2005, under his guidance, we started manufacturing kitchen essentials.
We have our own dedicated designing team. Once they have finished designing the product, we will give it to our staff for testing. After that we solve the defects in it and prepare it for business.
We cannot expect immediate customers for any of our products. But the reality is that a product gets a good response within a year of its launch. But it is necessary to make people understand that our new products are in the market” Bala Subramaniam started talking about business tricks Praveen concluded about advertising strategy.
“During my grandfather’s time, members of our family used to make grinders and sell them. Since grinders were sold in one or two numbers then, there was no need to pay much attention to the production work. But after the number of customers started increasing, we started a factory of our own and started manufacturing grinders. Siddappa Varadarajan came to Chennai in the 1980s after many struggles from Erode. His only goal is to become a big brand. Dad introduced our product to home appliance stores across Tamil Nadu through dealers.
After that, we started making many things beyond the grinder. With subsequent efforts like online sales and new showrooms, we have occupied an inevitable place in the homes of Tamil people today. Our products have found a place in Tamil restaurants not only in India but also abroad. Next, we have embarked on an effort to bring our kitchen appliances to foreign countries. The company has gone through ups and downs in its 62-year journey. Balasubramaniam concluded that we are moving forward with new new customers.
A company that changes and innovates with the times will last forever!
(Generation continues)