These Chennai engineers started a kulfi brand and made Rs 24 lakh sales in just 1 year
Green Castle Food & Beverages and its ice cream brand ‘Boozo kulfi’ sell in public spaces in Chennai and also directly to retail stores. Here’s how the four engineering batchmates started the business and aim to list it publically.
In 2017, four friends from Chennai wanted to launch a business together and become entrepreneurs. But they didn’t know which industry to venture into.
Naveen Kumar, Karthick Sukumaaran, Karthikeyan E, and Mitlesh Kumar, all 25-years-old, did their engineering together and were working in different sectors.
“While our work background varied from marketing and finance to human resources, we wanted to bring all our experiences together under a single business,” Naveen says.
As they brainstormed, they noticed kulfis were becoming popular in the city.
“People in Chennai loved kulfi and it wasn’t selling only because of the hot climate. We saw customers went out to eat kulfi even at nights and on rainy days. It sold well anytime and anywhere in Chennai,” Naveen says.
They also saw new kulfi outlets cropping up in the city to meet the demand.
The Green Castle founders
The friends approached the MSME department for advice, where the assistant director for a local branch showed them the various government opportunities and schemes available for upcoming entrepreneurs.
“With this information, we each contributed Rs 10,000, and took up a small, 80 square feet space for manufacturing. Armed with technical know-how as well, we began making kulfi and selling it in public spaces such as parks and beaches,” Naveen says.
The company, registered as Green Castle Food and Beverages, started selling under the brand ‘Boozo Kulfi’.
The kulfis were a big hit. In just one year, the engineers sold kulfi worth Rs 24 lakh.
A booming market
Between 2011 and 2018, the ice cream market in India size grew at a CAGR of 16.9 percent, owing to India’s hot and humid climate and a shift in consumers’ food preferences. The market is expected to reach Rs 375.8 billion by 2024, according to an IMARC report.
Further, India is the largest producer of milk and dairy products, making it a driving factor in the ice cream market.
Kulfi emerged as a popular option in this market, and several variants such as rabri, faluda and matka kulfi have become common.
This bode well for the Green Castle founders, who later invested Rs 1 lakh each to keep pace with the booming market. They also moved to a bigger, 1,000 square feet factory.
“Another major win has been getting an approval for a business loan, which was easier as we included our Udyog Aadhaar certificate in the loan application. After explaining our vision, mission, and goals, we got a business loan of Rs 26 lakh from Canara Bank,” Naveen says.
Business strategy
The Boozo brand is still new, and the founders are attempting to set it apart by supplying products directly to retail shops. Naveen says the competitors usually sell through their own outlets.
“By selling to retail shops, we are able to reach more customers at their doorsteps. Our pricing is also very affordable compared to our competitors,” he adds.
Naveen and his team focus on customer acquisition through direct relationships in order to build brand recognition and value. They set up stalls in densely-populated areas, carnivals, and trade centres.
They also utilise digital media to promote brand activities and build relationships on social media.
A Boozo kulfi store in Chennai
But adopting this strategy was not easy. The founders initially struggled in understanding how the world of business works.
“As first generation businessmen, we took time to understand negotiation, financial literacy, taxes, etc. We feel that upcoming entrepreneurs like us would benefit a lot from workshops and training about entrepreneurship skills (leadership, sales, marketing and decision making) and financial literacy (accounting, tax, personal finance and insurance),” Naveen says.
Business with integrity
The core value that the founders conduct business with is not something that can be taught at workshops.
“In all our dealings with our suppliers, we do everything with integrity. We do what we say and that develops a relationship based upon trust, which is the fundamental building block of a business relationship. Through our trust, they get to know how we do business and prioritise our transactions,” Naveen says.
The founders say they have disciplined themselves into keeping aside a certain percentage of profits as a backup fund. They try to avoid selling products on credit. They also deposit cash in banks on a daily basis, as they feel this serves a token of trust with their bankers.
Naveen says he derives joy from seeing customers’ happy faces when they taste Boozo kulfi. This goes for people from all income ranges.
“On a large scale, we see that a huge potential in market translates to job employment for a large number of people from our end. Further, the tax that we pay makes us feel contented because we know we are part of making India a developed nation,” he adds.
He urges budding and new entrepreneurs to work with integrity and be positive, persistent, and constantly strive for progress.
“Make clear and measurable goals and focus all energies to attain it. Never let fear stop you. It is also important to allocate time, energy, and resources for personal development,” he says.
By growing the Boozo brand, Green Castle and its founders aim to become a major player in the dairy products industry and contribute to the nation’s growth. The business aims to set up a dairy plant by 2023, list its stock, and make all its customers shareholders.
(Edited by: Palak Agarwal)
(This story is published in partnership with the MSME Ministry to showcase success stories of SMEs)
