Organic Food Business Challenges - A Conversation With Mr. Dawinder Pal Singh

The organic food industry is experiencing explosive growth. Consumer demand for healthy, sustainable options is driving this surge, with sales reaching record highs and showing no signs of slowing down. This shift in consumer behavior presents both exciting opportunities and unique challenges for new entrants. In this Insightful interview, wherein we speak with Mr. Dawinder Pal Singh, a seasoned industry leader, Business Head - House of Veda & Marketing Head for Bonn Group who sheds light on these dynamics and shares his insights on navigating the ever-evolving organic food landscape and how, the brand House of Veda is Capitalizing onto the same.

Q: Mr. Pal, Can you tell us about your journey so far? Some of the major highlights of your career that can lay down the context for the various achievements and accolades you have achieved?

A: I have been fortunate to have a diverse and enriching career spanning over 17 years in various business categories. Prior to joining Bonn, I had the opportunity to work with many industry leaders in the FMCG sector in various categories. From heading marketing for Bikano to serving as a Category Head in companies like Dharampal Satyapal Group, Catch Salts & Spices, Shriram Group, Mawana Sugars Ltd, and OZONE Group.

I have also been fortunate to play a significant role in changing the consumer outlook and habits by spearheading the revamping of the NOMARKS brand from a Problem Solution to Daily Regime brand. Working at Bonn and House of Veda now has been an extension of the cumulative experiences, especially in my second stint here. Considering the milestones of my career, I thoroughly believe that the best is still yet to come with all the developments and hard work that’s been put in these brands now, which is visible in the successful trajectory they have been heading into.

Q: Can you tell us a little more about your current professional background and the companies you are associated with?

A: Serving as the Business Head for House of Veda and Group Marketing Head at Bonn Group of Industries has been a pleasant and rewarding journey for me, and the brands as well. Bonn Group of Industries is a leading FMCG major, known for its wide range of food varieties like Bread, Biscuits, Cake, Rusk & Cookies while also encompassing our subsidiary brand under the umbrella like La Americana Gourmet which deals in the premium category for all of the quoted product lines.

On the other hand, House of Veda is our health and wellness brand that takes pride in bringing innovation through wisdom accumulated over a millennium by deriving knowledge, expertise, and potent products from the study of Ayurveda and organic product development. Our premium products are created using authentic, natural, and traditional processes as prescribed by the Ancient texts, and are made 100% organic to deliver the very best to our customers.

Q: Organic Products and brands have been on the rise for a while now, especially since after the Pandemic. How do you see the growing demand for organic products in India and generally going forward with all that’s been achieved in this space?

A: The demand for organic products has seen a significant rise. After the Pandemic, health and wellness have really come to the forefront for the modern Indian consumer who is now actively concerned about what impact their items of daily consumption have on it for them, which then dictates with which Organic brand they are then choosing to stick their trust and ultimately their sale.

This demand for Organic is therefore completely natural and a potent catalyst for the key and emerging players in the sector to take note of it and be prepared to cater to this rapidly growing demand. To put this to context, In India, organic crop production reached 3.2 million metric tons (MMT) in 2020/2021, up 36 percent compared to 2019/2020.

At Present, the Indian Organic Food Market is estimated to be of about 64 billion INR and growing rapidly. The total area that has been dedicated to organic farming is also ever increasing and spans over 9.12 million hectares in India alone.

Recent projections will also tell you that this sector will see growth at a 22%CAGR from 2024-2032 which allows us to be highly optimistic about the potential that we can capture on with our brands over the next few years.

Q: What are the common challenges faced by organic businesses?

A: Organic businesses face several challenges as this industry continues to grow and is still fresh to be molded into a set structure for businesses to replicate or be inspired by. Growing but limited awareness, majority consumer bias to making choices for a lower-priced product, non-friendly retail market, traditional farming habits, and administrative support are some of the major challenges faced by the Indian organic food market presently.

Additionally, organic food supply chains face risks from pests and other crop-destroying factors because they cannot be treated with preservatives and/or any other chemicals that do not originate naturally to help increase the viability of these products in a more flexible manner as traditionally has been the case with general FMCG in the past.

However, since the demand and the size of the industry is growing, this also allows for potentially disruptions in revolutionizing the systems and practices of old to give way for newer, more sustainable systems to form.

Q: Can you talk about the future trends and potential disruptions in the organic market?

A: The future of the organic market looks very promising to me with several emerging trends that are not only good for society but also businesses and our environment, such as Plant-based Foods, Immunity-boosting Ingredients, Tastes of Home, and Transparency, Safety, and Sustainability. However, potential disruptions could arise from geopolitical conflicts, rising food prices, and supply chain disruptions. To take a few examples, we know that local demand is only going to increase with awareness around health and wellness which is only going to drive the need for authentic and organic products stronger with a few research indications pointing it to reach over 10.1 billion USD by 2026 in market size. Export markets as well will be significant contributors as Indian Organic products steadily but surely have been gaining credibility and satisfaction globally in terms of quality and cost which will not only elevate India’s position globally in this sector, but also help Indian businesses gain global recognition and visibility. Talking about disruptions, the credibility factor is a two edged sword and therefore will require Indian brands to be really on their best game, including us to not fall prey to any such unfortunate incident wherein the quality of the end product is compromised in any way.

This then also brings us back to the supply chain challenges that we talked about earlier which will require to be addressed when going global.

Overall, our position as Bonn and House of Veda is of optimism towards this growing sector both domestically and globally and we are on track to meet and deliver our internal targets as well as keeping our promise of providing the best, and safest products of consumption to our end consumers.