When Vaishnavi approached her father, M Krishnan, Managing Director of Sri Krishna Sweets, eight years ago about selling the company's products online, he brushed the idea aside, stating “You don't know the business”.
She had just then graduated and could therefore not argue much with her father, a veteran in the business of sweets.
His young daughters – Vaishnavi and Harita – Business Management Graduates and now Directors of the company, however, did not give up the idea. They persisted, waited for an opportune time to launch the portal
Hardly two days have gone by since the launch of this online portal, and the two young Directors of Sri Krishna Sweets are overwhelmed by the response from consumers in as far as Delhi in the North to those in Theni and Tirunelveli in the South.
“Orders started flowing in even before the launch, as we had it in our Facebook page," says Vaishnavi. But the hits on this site within the first 10 minutes of launch was "amazing", she says , recalling the initial moments.
The directors of the company are now focused on ensuring that the orders are delivered within 27 hours of placing the same.
Though we are not the first in this business of online sale of sweets, timing it ahead of Diwali was a planned effort. The biggest challenge has been in identifying a like-minded logistics service provider, says Haritha Krishnan.
Pointing out that sweets and savouries have to be consumed within a specified period to retain their freshness, Haritha says: ''We waited for assurance from our logistics provider that they would have the packets delivered intact in 24 to 27 hours. Incidentally, we club orders and make the sweets in the morning hours and ship it afresh. The orders are packed in tamper-proof boxes and sealed.''
Taking the combination of sweets and price points into consideration, the company has classified the products under different heads such as Legendary edition, Festivity, Aura, Relish and Delicacy series.
Says Haritha: 'We have introduced a range of Lebanese sweets including Baklava, which is popular in Dubai. This is included in the Legendary edition pack.''
Besides sweets, the company is also offering four varieties of karas in pouches of Rs 50 and Rs 100.
“Online orders are mixed at this point in time. We are seeing a gifting culture in online purchases with buyers placing orders to be delivered elsewhere,” observes Vaishnavi.