Making in India for homes across the world

‘Make In India’ will likely bring employment to the country as well as healthy inflows into the exchequer. But are we forgetting that India already has manufacturing capacity spread across the country? And how are we supporting existing Indian ‘makers’ better than in years past?

India isn’t known the world over for its own brands. Here, we zoom in on Bonita India, a start-up that deals in home utility products. Bonita India mostly makes in India and sells to over 30 countries.

Home utility products – ironing boards, microwaveable utensils, organiser racks – come from the unorganised sector in India. Bonita offers a range in laundry, storage, kitchen and organising segments, even as the company pursues patents for some of them. “When we started business in 2012, we realised we were dealing in product segments that had no respected brands making them. We also knew that middle and upper income segments want quality and prefer spending on branded products than cheap ones,” explains Umang Srivastava, Joint Managing Director, Bonita India.

Bonita India’s 250 SKUs are now distributed through 40-50 distributors that serve independent crockery, electrical and other utility stores. In the modern retail channel, it has partners in Shoppers Stop, Home Town, Viveks, Spencers, and BestPrice (Walmart). Srivastava claims Bonita is the first Indian brand to enter Bed Bath & Beyond in the US. But commitments are coming in from other geographies as well.

“Our growth in Europe has been fast thanks to our products being sold mostly online. We’ve just received commitments from a 100-store retail brand in Slovenia and a chain store and catalogue brand in Croatia. In a year or two, we’d like to get to ₹100 crore revenues,” Srivastava says.

Notably, 20 per cent of Bonita’s goods are made in its 10,000 sq ft factory in Ghaziabad and the remaining products are made in a few other manufacturing units.

“These manufacturing facilities may already be specialising in a few products. But we ask them to set up units for us, and we buy 100 per cent of the capacity in those units dedicated to us. For them, it was a good way to expand their manufacturing portfolio. For us, it meant our energies could go into product creation and market development. This ensures steady supply,” Srivastava says. Thus, ‘Make in India’ can encourage local manufacturing and woo the world.

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