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 Rain
or shine, strong economy or a slowdown, expatriate Indians still
want their ‘Made in India’ goods, observes Mohan Babu
Towards
the end of 1994, preparing to travel abroad for the first time,
along with my other apprehensions I was wondering what I should
carry with me. Among other things, my boss who was on-site suggested
that I carry with me some of my favourite music, Indian condiments
and other ingredients. At that time I did not realise that the world
was shrinking, and in the global village, one can find just about
any kind of Indian spices and ingredients! Indians living in different
corners of the world have their favourite Indian haunts from Devon
Avenue in Chicago, to Southhall in London, not to mention the ubiquitous
corner shops which exist in almost all the major cities in the US,
Canada, UK and elsewhere. And of course one can also find exclusive
Indian enclaves in Singapore, Mauritius and other parts of the globe.
Interestingly,
many of the products one finds in Indian shopping shelves are the
same ones being sold in the US and UK. Since they have to pass through
rigorous checks abroad, like those done by Food and Drug Administration
in the US, the products exported abroad are generally of a superior
quality. This works out to a win-win situation even for the manufacturers
and producers since they get a stamp of “export quality”
which they tout aggressively in their domestic marketing. Even the
ease of use and preparation of some of the ready-to-make Indian
products has improved substantially in the last few years. For instance,
rava idlis made using MTR’s mix many not be the same as the
ones you get in a Kamat or Udupi restaurant in Bangalore, but they
come close, especially if you are willing to discount the fact that
you are making it out of a tetra-pack, thousands of miles away from
Bangalore! It might surprise some to hear that Indian beer - Kingfisher
and Knockout, compete for market space in the increasingly glamorous
international beer market in the US. They are available at many
large liquor shops across the country.
 The
advent of dotcom era, when everything “e” or “dotcom”
became instantly fashionable, also saw the mushrooming of a number
of Indian retailers in the cyberspace. I remember asking the local
Indian grocer if he was threatened by the advent of the dozens of
dotcoms. At that time, he just shrugged his shoulders, but I am
sure that he is glad that his “business model” enabled
him to survive while the dot retailers vanished faster than one
could say “Parachute coconut oil”. Just to set the record
straight, I must add that a few brave (and cash-rich) Indian grocers
are still surviving in the cyberworld. Namaste.com, Rediff.com and
Eshakti.com may be down, but not out.
As
per the 2000 census, there are 1.7 million people in the US who
identify themselves as Asian Indians or Indian Americans first-
and second-generation immigrants or whose ancestors migrated to
the US from India. If even half of this population consumes Indian
food at least four or five times a week, this translates to a tremendous
market. There are a number of established importers of Indian spices,
lentils (dal’s), herbs and condiments who distribute them through
the chain of Indian shops and bazaars. The market is huge but fragmented.
Another
aspect of our “Indian culture” that people abroad love
to nurture is our love for everything ‘Bollywood’. Although
I don’t watch a lot of movies, I am in the minority. My wife
is the kind of person movie marketers’ dream of - she loves
Hindi movies and music, hence we are regular patrons at the local
India bazaar which also rents videos and DVD’s. Technical advances,
especially in the DVD technology, have made watching Indian movies
a pleasure, especially when one thinks about the shoddy quality
of some of the videos that used to circulate even a few years ago.
In many metros in the US, people have access to Indian channels
on cable. A number of movie-halls across the country also regularly
screen Indian movies. I was reading somewhere that Bollywood recovers
most of its movie production costs from “international rights”,
a fact which I can attest to, especially when if one considers the
exorbitant ticket prices one pays to watch Indian movies (as compared
to what one would pay for Hollywood flicks). There are a couple
of enterprising Indian immigrants in Denver who procure and screen
latest Hindi, Tamil and Telugu movies during weekends. Their marketing
is generally by word-of-mouth though they also maintain mailing
lists and list-servers to inform patrons of forthcoming releases.
For
those with an entrepreneurial mind reading this article and dreaming
of flying to the US and starting an import-Indian-stuff business;
I must warn you that it is a tough road, with a number of established
players to contend with. An interesting list of Indian bazaars and
grocers can be found at GaramChai.com (http://www.garamchai.com/bazaar.htm).
What this translates to be the fact that consumers like myself have
an easy access to Indian groceries, spices, music and movies! Among
the favourite shopping items on our visits to India include music,
spices and herbs, especially the harder-to-find kind, not to mention
the homemade pickles and savouries. Among the few businesses that
haven’t taken a big hit in recent times are grocers (including
Indian grocers). Rain or shine, strong economy or a slowdown, Indians
still want their spicy food (and groceries, and music, and videos...).
(Mohan
Babu is a software consultant based in Colorado Springs, USA. E-mail:mohan@indusdemographics.com)
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