From the Editor
Till less than two years ago, every single french fry sold at McDonald's restaurants in India was imported. Reason: Indian potatoes didn't have enough solid content-the proportion of water is high- to produce the crispy MacFries.
Till less than two years ago, every single french fry sold at McDonald's restaurants in India was imported. Reason: Indian potatoes didn't have enough solid content-the proportion of water is high- to produce the crispy MacFries. Crores of rupees and several years of persistent efforts by McDonald's and its partners have changed things. About 70 per cent of MacFries sold today are made from domestically grown potatoes. In a year this number will go up to 100 per cent, and then more-we could even export fries. Major beneficiaries of this initiative have been the 100-odd farmers of Gujarat, who grow special potatoes for MacFries. This is one small example of how corporate India and rural India can work together to transform each other's fortunes. By investing in farmers' ability to grow more and grow better, companies not only get a better product for their business, they also make farmers prosperous, which in the long run, creates new rural consumers for all products.
India Inc. has been flirting with rural consumers and agri-business on and off. In recent months, the lure of the countryside seems to have become stronger. That's what our package of cover stories explores and explains. There are companies reaching out to the rural consumers because urban demand has stagnated and export demand has all but disappeared. They are being helped by a relatively resilient rural demand-fuelled by rising agriculture produce and rural largesse like loan waivers, employment guarantees and generous hikes in support prices of foodgrains. Ironically, it took a downturn, and not the spending frenzy of the UPA government, to turn companies towards rural consumers in a big way. Then, there are a whole lot of agri-business firms that are either up-scaling or finding new opportunities in the changing food habits of Indians. It's not as if rural markets have suddenly become free from their chronic problems; it's just that more companies are finding ways to turn challenges into opportunities.
A similar trend is visible in exactly the opposite end of the consumer market. Sellers and makers of luxury goods are devising ways to survive-and even thrive- in the downturn. In the present cash-strapped environment, some companies are faced with a strange problem: what to do with thousands of crores of rupees raised through IPOs just before the meltdown struck? Know how much of public money has not been invested for the purpose it was raised by the companies. Then, there is a WoW moment-quite literally.
India Inc. has been flirting with rural consumers and agri-business on and off. In recent months, the lure of the countryside seems to have become stronger. That's what our package of cover stories explores and explains. There are companies reaching out to the rural consumers because urban demand has stagnated and export demand has all but disappeared. They are being helped by a relatively resilient rural demand-fuelled by rising agriculture produce and rural largesse like loan waivers, employment guarantees and generous hikes in support prices of foodgrains. Ironically, it took a downturn, and not the spending frenzy of the UPA government, to turn companies towards rural consumers in a big way. Then, there are a whole lot of agri-business firms that are either up-scaling or finding new opportunities in the changing food habits of Indians. It's not as if rural markets have suddenly become free from their chronic problems; it's just that more companies are finding ways to turn challenges into opportunities.
A similar trend is visible in exactly the opposite end of the consumer market. Sellers and makers of luxury goods are devising ways to survive-and even thrive- in the downturn. In the present cash-strapped environment, some companies are faced with a strange problem: what to do with thousands of crores of rupees raised through IPOs just before the meltdown struck? Know how much of public money has not been invested for the purpose it was raised by the companies. Then, there is a WoW moment-quite literally.
