Rich’s, an avant-garde maker of non-dairy whip topping has always been aiming to evolve the bakery segment by introducing actionable insights to its customers. A report on Rich’s Bakery Show organised in Hyderabad.
Rich’s is not only the pioneer but also a market leader in nondairy whip topping segment across the world. Rich’s has always worked towards the growth of the segment and their go-to-market strategy is reflective of their commitment to evolve the segment. To achieve this, Rich’s has been introducing new-to-market products and also helping their customers with applications and ideas through its dedicated Culinary Application Team.
Rich’s has been a customer focussed company since its inception and its latest program, Rich’s Bakery Show, gives the company an opportunity to reach out to customers in specific cities and share actionable insights with them. Rich’s has so far completed 7 bakery shows in different parts of the country like Delhi, Pune, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Nagpur & Hyderabad. All the shows received an overwhelming response from both new as well as existing customers. “The event was very good. Rich’s has always been very concerned and helpful towards its customers,” said Kaladhar Rao, owner of Country Oven, a 21-yearold bakery operating from Ameerpet.
Hyderabad Calling
As many as 230 customers came together to brush up on the latest products & its applications in Hyderabad recently. Chef Harsha Bhagwat and Chef Azharuddin Khadri, virtuoso in the field of everything from baking cake to cooking pasta, demonstrated new products and their use in new applications.
The 3 most distinct features of the day were; insights on international trends, an astonishing application display that showcased more than 200 varieties of cakes and live demonstrations. All linked at directly helping the customers grow their business.
“Such events will help us introduce new products at our outlets. Rich’s is one notch up in innovating products,” said Syed Irfan, partner at Subhan Bakery, a 67-year-old bakery located at Nampally Market in the city. For the past 15 years, Irfan has not used any brand other than Rich’s in the categories where the company is present.
After a short welcome note, Chef Harsha Bhagwat got the session under way by explaining in depth about all the concepts showcased in the application display. This was followed by a session on fusion in desserts. Chef Harsha Bhagwat’s cake with rasagullas as topping was a star attraction at the event.
“Fusion is present in every art, be it music or fashion. In culinary arts, fusion is all the more possible,” said Chef Harsha. He added that this concept is ideal for Indian festivals such as Diwali, Holi, Rakshabandhan, Eid, etc. International days like Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day can also be celebrated with fusion cakes.
Chef Harsha also gave tips to the customers – that cakes and desserts can be best marketed by creating special days like chocolate mousse day, dessert day, whip cream day, etc.
Learning Time
“Such events help us. We get to learn more from seasoned chefs who are always experimenting,” said Sandip, owner of King & Cardinal located at Himayatnagar, which specialises in burgers. The bakery, which makes homemade mayonnaise, has been using Rich’s ingredients since its inception. “We would like to participate in more such events,” said Sandip.
“Rich’s is a forward thinking company and we always attend such programs conducted by Rich’s because they add value. We will definitely introduce these concepts to our customers,” said Muhammad Wajid from Pista House, Charminar. “What I like about Rich’s is their service. It is really very good,” said Wajid.
Chef Azharuddin Khadri’s showpiece smoothies was an eyeopener to the bakers who had assembled at the venue, which was decorated beautifully with an array of products created using Rich’s ingredients made by chefs over three days.
“Smoothies are usually served at restaurants. They will however be well received at bakeries too,” said Chef Azharuddin Khadri as the participants tasted the mango smoothie prepared by him.
“The smoothies concept is really good. Bakeries would love to serve it,” said Ashwin Singh, owner of Swiss Castle, a 23-year-old bakery that uses Rich’s ingredients at its outlets.
“We have pure vegetarian outlets. We like such ideas,” added the head honcho of Swiss Castle.
It’s HOT!
Chef Azharuddin Khadri’s next item, creamy mushroom pasta, was a testament to the versatility of Rich’s product and its portfolio. “Internationally, with the increase in all day snacking behaviour the bakery trend is moving towards cafe. Pasta’s and smoothies give operators an option to leverage this trend” added Ashutosh Goel, GM – Marketing.
“It takes just 12 minutes to prepare this pasta,” said Chef Azharuddin Khadri while making pasta with Rich’s Cooking Rich – hot kitchen application. “Plus it can be stored in a refrigerator in a microwavable container and served hot to customers on demand”. “We get to know about new products at such events. It is helpful for our business. We would definitely try these applications,” said Ushakar Reddy from Hazelnut, a seven-year-old organisation based in Kukatpally, which runs 20 counters at the campuses of blue-chip IT firms such as Microsoft, Dell, IBM and Wipro besides financial service providers such as HSBC. “We are keen to know about newer ways of usage,” said Reddy.
Applications were created using, Rich’s Niagara Farm, which was used for smoothies since it has a blend of dairy, Rich’s Cooking Rich – Hot Kitchen, a product popular amongst the food service segment was used for preparing pasta’s. Apart from these, 2 new products were also showcased Rich’s Whip Topping-Gold and Cremagic.
“Rich’s Whip Topping – Gold & Cremagic are the newest addition to our formidable portfolio of products in India. Both the products are very versatile and offer best-in-class flavour and taste. It will definitely give chefs more than their expectation,” said Pankaj Jain, General Manager – Sales & Culinary.
Care For Customer
The wide range of customers who gathered at the ball room spelt out nothing but Rich’s commitment to ‘Caring For Customers Like Only a Family Can,’ a trademarked tag line it truly lives up to.
Towards the end of the session, HV Raman, Deputy General Manager – Sales (South), added a tinge of jovialness to the event in his vote of thanks. He also introduced the team Rich’s who drove the entire show.
“It is good to have spent some time here. We get knowledge from participating in such events,” said Saleem Azzan from the 22-year-old Nimrah Bakery located at Jahanuma. “The variety of applications we could see here was amazing,” said his colleague Khaled Aboo.
The customers were filled with a sense of contentment. “The market has grown a lot and we need good ideas. The show was excellent. It was really needed in Hyderabad,” said Ashwin Singh who believes that customisation is the future. “Customer is at the centre of whatever we do. Rich’s Bakery Show gives us a tool to reach out to our existing and new customers, understand their needs and provide them customised solutions,” said Pankaj Chaturvedi, Executive Director and CEO of the company.
