Inside the age-old companies adapting to the ever-evolving markets and other top stories of the week
This week, SMBStory spoke to MTR Foods and Steelbird International to understand how these age-old businesses are ramping up to keep up with the new-age dynamic business ecosystem.
Innovation is an integral part of any business's success. With an ever-evolving and dynamic business ecosystem, age-old businesses are ramping up to keep up with the technology and digital advancements.
This week, SMBStory spoke to MTR Foods and Steelbird International to understand how they are scaling up their business operations in the modern business world. Here are their stories:
MTR Foods
, founded by food entrepreneur Sadananda Maiya in 1976, produces packaged foods in different ranges such as spices, instant mixes, masalas, ready-to-eat foods, beverages, pickles, snacks, etc. It offers over 100 products, including readymade idli and dosa batter.
The Bengaluru-based company, acquired by Norwegian Conglomerate Orkla in 2007, clocked Rs 980 crore in revenue in FY22. Today, it is ramping up its digital initiatives to have a stronger online presence, besides having one lakh outlets across the country.
In an interaction with SMBStory, Sunay Bhasin, Chief Commercial Officer, MTR Foods, decodes the last two years of the company, the ready-to-eat category, and plans ahead, as he says,
“We forayed into the ready-to-eat category in 2000. However, the aspect of hyper convenience, when it comes to providing food solutions, compelled us to look for deeper solutions in 2017. There is a fair amount of migration in India, and when people move, the support system is not available. We saw this becoming a mainstream trend in 2016. These people were looking for solutions from food companies that would help them fill the gap of lack of desire for cooking or lack of time. So, the need for convenience drove us to form this segment—MTR Minute Range which included the three-minute breakfast range of products.”
The biggest disruption came in March 2020 when the pandemic was first announced, he adds.
In the coming times, MTR Foods is planning to focus on establishing the products it has just launched. The ready-to-eat category is still under-penetrated, so the company is optimistic about the scope of its growth.
Steelbird International
Seamlessly connected vehicles are considered to be the future of the automobile industry. However, this connectivity is also expected to make them vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Steelbird International, one of the leading players in the automobile component industry in India, is eyeing automotive cybersecurity to chart its next phase of growth.
Started as a two-wheeler filter manufacturing company in 1964 under the License Raj, Steelbird International has come a long way to become one of the leaders in the after-market of automobile industry by bringing rubbers, bearings, and lubricants into its product portfolio.
Speaking to SMBStory, third-generation entrepreneur Manav Kapur, Executive Director at the 55-year-old Steelbird International, says, “At present, a very small percentage of vehicles, both Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs) and Electronic Vehicles (EVs), are protected by cybersecurity solutions while the others, with their vulnerabilities, are open to attacks via a connected network. This is the place where we are focussed on giving solutions.”
In 2022, Steelbird partnered with Cybellum Technologies Ltd, a provider of the product security platform to enable Indian auto parts components OEM (original equipment manufacturers) to access solutions to detect, manage, and remediate cyber threats and vulnerabilities.
Talking about the future prospects, Manav says Steelbird International is looking to collaborate with a partner with a strong R&D presence and explore new avenues in the auto sector to foray into just like its latest bet on cybersecurity.
Other top picks of the week:
How social commerce has enabled Indian MSMEs to reimagine growth
Social commerce has gained enormous popularity in India. Due to the ever-rising number of smartphones and increasing internet penetration—social media and internet users have grown exponentially, especially in rural areas.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, ecommerce was a boon for many and enabled people to shop from the comfort and safety of their homes. The number of people buying products and services online is increasing daily—a trend that precedes the pandemic.
This, combined with the increasing spirit of entrepreneurship and the advent of social commerce and reselling platforms in India, is helping individuals turn entrepreneurs and leverage interactions happening on social media platforms to influence customers for purchases.
Social commerce has evolved into a significant phenomenon, especially in smaller markets, helping micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) reimagine growth.
With around 6.3 million MSMEs in India, contributing about 29 percent of the country's GDP through internal and international trade, the MSME sector is a highly dynamic and important element of the Indian economy.
For many years, digitisation has been a key growth driver of MSMEs, and the pandemic resulted in the massive onboarding of MSMEs on ecommerce platforms.
Edited by Suman Singh
