As a Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company in emerging economies such as India, one faces two key problems.
The first problem is product visibility. In India, small retail stores (often referred to as kirana stores) are concerned about how their products are shown to and thus perceived by customers. This is important for an FMCG company since 90% of the retail market is captured by kirana stores.
The second problem is obtaining accurate product information in these kirana stores. In particular, having a constant stream of information on how products are performing in the stores real-time will allow these FMCG companies to make more informed decisions.
Snapbizz co-founder Prem Kumar with the owner of a kirana store. (Photo by Rahul Sachitanand/The Economic Times)
During IEV’s last visit in Bangalore, we visited Snapbizz Cloudtech Private Limited. Founded by Prem Kumar and Yashwant Prakash in 2013, it aims to revolutionize the working relationship between FMCG companies and retail stores.
Notably, this Indian startup has 2,000 stores and 20 brands engaging its services. These brands include P&G, Kellogg’s, Rekitt and Benckiser. Qualcomm and Microsoft work with the startup as tech partners.
The Mission and Vision of Snapbizz
The vision of Snapbizz Cloudtech Private Limited is
To develop a mobile technology platform to connect the various stakeholders of a fragmented retail market ecosystem while adding value to individual stakeholders.
By connecting kirana stores, Snapbizz is able to provide accurate data on consumer behaviour and product information to FMCG companies. This allows for its clients to market their products more efficiently in these retail stores.
How Snapbizz Works with FMCG Companies and Kirana Stores
The process is simple. Snapbizz sells a television set, scanner, internet connection and a tablet to the kirana store for about Rs 35,000 or US$518.
Hosted on a secure cloud platform, Snapbizz’s product was designed based on extensive research into retail stores. It aims to benefit both FMCG companies and kirana stores.
FMCG companies engage Snapbizz to show advertisements on the televisions installed in the stores. Moreover, they have an access to a dashboard that handles product data and information.
The dashboard of the Snapbizz app for kirana stores. (Photo from Google Play)
In a similar manner, kirana stores benefit by retailing these companies’ products. Stores that use this technology can bill multiple customers at the same time, charge loyal customers at a later time and provide product recommendations. In addition, they can push offers, greetings and reminders to customers through mobile messaging.
FMCG companies and kirana stores can communicate through Snapbizz app SnapOrder. Clients can browse products, create shopping lists and track orders online.
The Future for Snapbizz
Snapbizz has currently raised US$7.2 million from Jungle Ventures and Taurus Value Creation in addition to its previous seed funding of US$1.9 million. The startup also claimed to have received funding from CEO of Tata Group Ratan Tata.
The startup plans to expand beyond India with stronger support from its clients. It is currently headquartered in Singapore and covers kirana stores in Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Snapbizz intends to expand its coverage of kirana stores with recent funding. (Photo by J Vignesh/ Brand Equity)