Inspite, of being a new entrant in the market, Golden Hen is showing impressive growth. Says the food and grocery store owner Surender Sahni, “We have coined the store name Golden Hen because we wanted to make the name synonymous with best quality, along with best price, so that the shopping experience for our customers could be truly ‘golden’.
Sahni, a commerce graduate, entered the busines of food retailing through sheer love and enjoyment of food. “Being a foodie myself, I have a great love for different types of cuisines. So, when I thought of venturing into a new business I felt the most appropriate would be to follow my passion. But, I had some inhibitions since India is one such country where fresh food is preferred to frozen food, but the the trend is changing as awareness amongst consumers is increasing.”
Located in one of the largest central markets of Dwarka, the shop provides easy and convenient access to home meal solutions with its range of veg and non-veg fresh frozen products. Not surprising then that it caters to a large segment of working couples, college students, working parents – all of whom visit the story for their daily purchases. “The idea behind the outlet is to provide the consumers convenient, easy to prepare, nutritious and delicious frozen foods,” adds Sahni.
But besides these customers, the store’s strategic and easily accessible location has helped it to grow its business manifold as its clients also include the nearby hotels, restaurants, and pubs, nearby paying guest owners.While the hotels,restaurants, pubs opt for chicken,meat,salami ,ham,pork ,the individual buyers looks for daily use items like French fries,cheese balls, frozen vegetables,drinks and more more.
Says Sahni, “We cater to all segments of buyers be it restaurants, bars, and hotels for frozen food and our super quality non-veg category. Largely, we are selling to the direct consumers.The footfalls and their timings indicate that the working couples are our biggest segment of buyers. Our half-cooked meals and ready to eat food packs offer them the original taste, and gives them the happiness of saying “I am late, but dinner won’t be!”
The store is equipped with seven freezers that accommodate a wide range of items such as frozen snacks, concentrated juices, chocolates, dairy products, marinated veg and non veg delicacies, and a complete range of fresh produce, and ready to eat meals that offer enough choices to consumers.
Golden Hen has in fact introduced the convenience of the complete meal in a quick and easy to prepare frozen form, that retains its freshness when thawed and cooked months later. “Our USP is convenience, consistency and freshness. The mission of our store is to provide the customer with fresh frozen foods all the year round. We have a wide range of products to choose from ready to eat, to frozen veg and non veg, juices, health drinks, etc,” says Sahni.
To become a household name, it is necessary to understand the demographics, which includes customer profile, food preference and demand, and availability of products in the markets. “Other than this, the trick lies in evolving,” he adds. It took Sahni almost a year to decide the location for Golden Hen, and a budget of Rs 30 to 35 lakhs to set up the store.
Encouraged by the response, Sahni is planning to open another, but not until he has established his first store. He admits that operational challenges are setting up a strong back end support, supply chain and logistics, all of which are vital for the smooth and easy functioning of his retail business, especially ones that offers fresh and frozen products.
“We definitely plan to make Golden Hen into a chain of outlets with our USP of convenience and accessibility always working as our strength. Our main focus is on improving customer service at the front end. Our staff also attends grooming and etiquette management before going on the shop floor.”
The next store(s) would open in 2015, for which Sahni is even considering taking the franchise route. The plan is to introduce a store in Delhi/NCR every year. He also dreams of taking the business of frozen food retail to a new level where “every household would stock frozen foods of every variety and choice for every meal and member of the family “.
