Salebhai.com is an Indian e-commerce portal that enables people living away from home order a range of specialties directly from their hometowns. It is also a one-stop solution for those who want to discover regional products from across India. People can pick from a wide variety of delicious consumable items like sweets, namkeen, chocolates, bakery, spices, dry fruits, beverages, and pickles. Other products offered include handicrafts, paintings, puja items, handloom goods, and herbal items etc.

Launched  2015 by Vishwa Vijay Singh, Purba Kalita, and Pramod Rao, who identified  market gaps and studied migration trends among Indian citizens and observed that most people moved to fast growing cities like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai either due to employment opportunities, education, or marriage.

Driven by back-to-roots philosophy, the E-commerce marketplace focuses on requirements of over 17 diaspora communities living in big Indian cities as well as those who live abroad. With 8500 products sourced from over 100 cities and 300 select vendors, the company provides people with an opportunity to buy products in various categories from sellers across India as well as discover new items from different communities and cultures.

The products available on Salebhai.com are priced exactly as displayed on the shops and all products come with detailed description like popularity, benefits, facts, place of origin, usage, etc. Besides, all consumable products come with serving ideas from reputed chefs. The platform also lists complete information about vendors such as their history, lineage, and reputation.

The product categories in which SaleBhai operates has a market size of Rs30,000 Cr to 35,000 Cr annually. As the website keeps adding new products to new categories, market size would also keep increasing.

The company claims to attract over one lakh visitors every month on its website and services around 5000 orders every month with a 20% growth month-on-month. It has over 25000 customers, adding around 2000 new customers every month. Even though it continues to add new customers, its repeat customer base is around 22% every month. The company has probably the lowest cost of operation in the industry. Salebhai.com hopes to increase sales through web personalisation & marketing automation in the next couple of years. The company has a strong team which consists of professionals with proven expertise in IT, marketing, content development, innovation, disruptive thinking, channel management, logistics, and customer support.

SME WORLD interacts with Vishwa Vijay Singh

What is the USP of SaleBhai.com?

SaleBhai is an Indian e-commerce portal that enables people living away from home to order a range of specialties directly from their hometowns. It is also a one-stop solution for those individuals who want to discover regional products from across India.

The inception of SaleBhai was inspired by a study of migration trends among Indian citizens wherein it was observed that most people relocated to fast developing cities like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai either for employment opportunities, education, or marriage. Their separation from their hometown and its products meant that this migration created a void in their lives.

SaleBhai's USP is the authenticity and uniqueness of being able to access products from the user's native places.

What is the growth strategy?

SaleBhai I sencouraging people to download the app with free credit of Rs.100 in their e-wallet. This has generated substantial excitement amongst customers, and the application has been downloaded over 30,000 times. The number of SaleBhai users is growing as itfast approachesits target of getting another 1 lakh downloads this month. Apart from this,SaleBhaiis running a 'Buy One Get One Free'offer on select products, and especially designed combos/bundled products to incentivize customers. The company has an Offer Zone, where nearly 900 unique products starting at Rs. 124 (including shipping) are available across categories with up to 75% off, for both domestic and international delivery.

SaleBhai has also created a special Diwali page with products for the festive season, and the company has seen a lot of gift and dry fruit items being sold during this time – a trend that it believes will continue.

Who is the target audience?

SaleBhai is looking to solve a specific problem, and as such its target audience is very clear – people living away from home and seeking the comfort of products and specialties from their hometown or city. Whether these migrants are missing food, decorative, or cultural products, they are the people that Salebhai is targeting.

How it strives to meet the highly competitive e-commerce market and the players?

SaleBhai is a true e-commerce marketplace that doesn't keep inventory but lets customers connect with sellers. In this fashion, the buyers receive their purchases absolutely fresh, directly from the sellers. Sellers are free to create special offers, packages, and discounts, while the shipping cost is borne by customers. This approach allows SaleBhai to operate at a 27% margin by reducing the costs of traditional retail.Salebhai also leverages its virtual platform by providing advertising space to sellers. This encourages sellers to cross-promote their brands and products, and makes them stand out from their competitors.So far, the company has over 80,000 active users, with a repeat purchase of over 32% every month, and are adding customers at a rate of 8,000 to 10,000 per month. The company also has substantial resources – while the early stage money was contributed by theco-founders and a few customers-turned-investors, it was recently backed by Brand Capital to the tune of Rs.10crore.

Strengths

SaleBhai has a strong team of professionals with proven expertise in IT, marketing, content development, innovation, disruptive thinking, channel management, logistics, and customer support.The company has adopted a novel strategy for digital marketing, creating digital content pieces on topical issues that have had substantial engagement – the post on Delhi smog generated 26k likes, 132 shares, and 32 comments. While these are usually subjects not directly related to the core business proposition of SaleBhai, they convey the company's values through their punchlines. SaleBhai is looking to become associated with digital pieces on topical issues in the same manner that Amul is associated with advertising by lampooning current news stories and issues.

The company marked its first anniversary by launching SaleBhai Salebrations, a series of activities under the title 'Root for Roots Movement' to create awareness about valuing one's origins in a dialogue about hometown nostalgia. The company also ran a series of stories called 'Diaspora Diaries' containing humorous anecdotes about the struggles of living in new and unfamiliar cities.With a focus on social media platforms, in tune with the current marketing paradigm, Salebhai is using its engagement-driven strategy to create innovative and interactive content, along with strategic tie-ups which are being used to tap into events or occasions to drive more customers to its platform. For instance, during Ganesh Chathurti, SaleBhai collaborated with Radio Mirchi in Mumbai to promote seasonal offers during the 10 days of festivities. Daily commuters listening to their favourite radio station were eager to take up offers such as three-hour delivery of modaks, gift hampers for lucky winners, and a grand prize of a helicopter tour over Juhu beach on the day of the immersion.

SaleBhai is standing out from its competition by approaching a specific target audience with a customized solution to enhance discovery and engagement through social and local networks. Its topical digital media posts and marketing strategies have increased its visibility, which it has leveraged to gain more customers.

What are the future plans for SaleBhai?

With India's growing diaspora in various corners of the globe, SaleBhai is now providing customers access to authentic Indian food products and other regional specialities with its international delivery services. NRIs and foreign nationals can easily find regional products sourced from vendors across India and have them delivered to 195 countries, with a special focus on the US, Western and Southern Africa, the Middle East, Australia, and the UK. This initiative is still in its early stages, and SaleBhai is targeting over 1000 shipments in the next year. Based on the results at the end of the time period, the company will re-examine its focus markets, and optimize its processes to continue reducing costs to consumers looking to source authentic Indian food. As a global startup, SaleBhai has a scalable business model, and is trying to offer value to customers and generate revenues from international marketplaces. The company is looking forward to spending the next year reaching out to international communities of Indians or those individuals interested in Indian cuisine and cultural products.