Epigamia: A Sweet Proposition
Q] Please tell us about the significance of the recent additions to Epigamia’s dessert portfolio - the ready-to-eat puddings and rice kheer. Q] How would you define the Epigamia consumer and market? Q] Could you tell us more about how the market for non-dairy-based milk products has grown since you started in 2015? Q] While you have a very well-defined audience, the dairy space in India is dominated by giant cooperatives. What’s your approach to competition like? Q] When we talk of contemporizing dairy, surely a lot of consumer research goes into it. Q] Can you share more details about your offline and online distribution strategy? You are an offline-first brand but was it the pandemic that propelled you to step up your online efforts? Q] What’s the brand doing on the ad-marketing front? Q] Last year the brand categorically stated that it is going to focus on profitability and sustainability going ahead. How has that changed your overall approach to the business?
The idea behind launching ready-to-eat puddings was to expand on the equity that we have already built in the dessert category with our Mishti Doi. It started with the observation that a lot of our consumers were consuming the Epigamia Greek Yogurt as a post-meal dessert. So, to build upon that equity, we wanted to offer them more decadent, great-tasting, and convenient dessert options, and with that, expand into the category in a big way. It opens up a whole new consumption window for us.
Rice Kheer marks our next foray into the Indian desserts category. Epigamia is always pushing boundaries and has contemporized traditional dairy, like changing basic dahi into Greek Yogurt or basic lassi into a smoothie. Similarly, the ready-to-eat Rice Kheer is a fusion of convenience and tradition. It is the perfect after-meal or on-the-go treat to satisfy those sweet cravings instantly. In fact, realizing the value that our consumers place on convenience, we are also planning to launch drinkable yogurt which will be another on-the-go product.
We started with the five metros - Mumbai, NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai - and gradually expanded beyond them into cities like Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Pune, Cochin, Jaipur, Lucknow, etc. Our products were well-received in all these markets. As for the consumer, we primarily target the age group of 28 to 35. However, through our journey, we have seen that consumers across age groups love our products. These are people who understand and value quality, better-for-you, and clean-label products. They have been associated with us for a long time and continue to do so. There’s a niche segment that understands the value of nutrition, for instance, the importance of protein in what they consume. That’s the TG for our plant-based products.
It’s a high-growth segment. People are becoming increasingly conscious about their lifestyle choices. Those with pronounced issues such as lactose intolerance are exploring dairy alternatives which is where our plant-based oats and almond beverages come into the picture. We have a very loyal consumer base for our lactose-free curd as well. So, our products are being appreciated and accepted. However, it’s still early days for this segment in India. The concept started in the west and is slowly becoming popular here as well. As we move forward, we expect it to evolve and expand to include more value-added products.
We’ve been clear about Epigamia’s mission right from the start. It is to contemporize traditional dairy with our signature take on value-added products. Getting into the traditional dairy space, which still forms the bulk of business for the giant cooperatives in India was never our intention. Our market is different, our consumers are different, and our products and consumption occasions are all very different from them.
Yes, ultimately, it’s all about the trends. What are the consumers’ preferences and what more do they want from us? We interact with our consumers regularly and directly through our D2C channel. There’s a dedicated team for this task. We not only take feedback there but also find sampling opportunities. That’s how we pick up trends which then help us to either improve our existing products or decide on the new launches. Everything is highly consumer-driven.
Yes, it gave us the tailwinds. We are an offline-first brand, but in that situation when supplies had become extremely erratic, we had to immediately start our direct-to-consumer channel. Back then the segment was very small for us, and even today, while we’ve seen massive growth in online distribution across q-commerce, e-commerce, and our D2C channel, it’s still 35% of our business. 65% of our business still comes from offline. Within the online space again, D2C is a very small part. We use it primarily as a channel for consumer interaction.
On the brand side, we only do digital because that’s where our consumers are spending most of their time. However, the bulk of our marketing is product-driven. We have absolute faith in the quality of our products, and hence, we believe that the ‘moment of truth’ for our consumers is when they try them out. So we over-index on sampling as a means to connect with them and to attract new consumers. We follow our consumers wherever they are. For example, if they are staying in a hotel, they can try our products as part of the breakfast menu. If they are travelling or shopping, we are there at the airports and malls for them. If they are running a marathon, we make sure we are present at the venue. We also do a lot of sampling in offices.
It was about a year-and-a-half ago when we decided to prioritize sustainable growth. Since then, the business mantra for us has been ‘margin-first’. We have started bucketing everything as profitable and unprofitable channels, products, etc. We went deep into our P&L to understand all the levers; how we could optimise our supply chain, transportation, marketing and distribution, and other aspects of the business. The outcome has been extremely positive. The approach has helped us significantly move the needle in our journey towards profitability.
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