Meat retailers switch to online models, see sales double during lockdown

Retailers of chicken and fish are witnessing an unprecedented spike in sales after switching to online models that lead to more orders.
 

India is one of the countries with the lowest per capita meat consumption in the world, with 5.6 kg in 2013 as compared to the global average of 33.2 kg and according to industry estimates, valued at around $40 billion a year with 20 per cent annual growth.

Nandu's Chicken, a Bengaluru-based poultry retailer which runs its own hatcheries, feed-mills, breeder farms, processing centre, cold chain was forced to shut down 26 of its 49 stores beacuse of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. "Despite that, we have doubled our sales and we are witnessing growth at doublet he pace," said Narendra Pasuparthy, Nandu's founder and cheif executive officer, adding that frozen products took off unexpectedly.

While fresh chicken, which Nandu's sells by the kilo (price on average Rs 250)  for use in biryani and chicken curry formats is also driving sales, it is the 'heat-and-eat" products that include chicken popcorn, chicken burger patties, and chicken nuggets that consumers are going for because they easy to store –– and easy to cook as well.

Nandu's Chicken has 110 employees working on ground and the company has ramped up its virtual command center with a 17-man team to support sales, delivery and order fulfilment. Pasuparthy said that he never had to ask his employees to come to work as his facilities offered housing for a susbtantial number of employees, which allowed for continuity.

The company makes 15,000 deliveries a week in Bengaluru, through their own delivery executives as well as through marketplace partners like Swiggy and Dunzo. Before the lockdown, online sales were 40,000 orders a month, and have now grown to 65,000 a month with ticket sizes of orders also increasing.

Vivek Gupta, co-founder of branded meat producer Licious, which operates across seven metros and which raised $30 million in series E funding in December last year, says that the company delivers throuh a service network of around 700 employees.

Licious has seen a jump in orders which is reflective of a 40% week on week growth from pre-lockdown levels.  "At this moment, we are seeing a 200% rise in consumer demand," Gupta said, adding that top sellers included chicken and fish options that include multiple varieties. "New customer acquisitions have doubled in recent weeks," said Gupta. He noted that on a daily basis, his company was processing 18,000 orders across locations.

Sangram Sawant, founder of Pescafresh, a Mumbai-centric fresh fish delivery service, is seeing a similar uptick in sales. His numbers have also doubled over the last few weeks with at least 1500 calls coming in to his call-center on a daily basis. "The number of fishing trawlers and boats that used to go out to sea and come back to the docks with fresh catch has reduced by at least 80 percent because of the exit of migrant labour back to their homes but local fisherman are still returning with their catch and dealing with us," he said.

Commenting on the challenges being faced by "meat-tailers", Gupta said, "We are continuously monitoring the situation and working with government and local authorities to ensure we follow the necessary guidelines  and comply with the safety norms. Backend supply chain is still not completely revived, there are challenges in navigating man-power and logistics." One possible solution is that the government might join hands with retailers for containment zones that need delivery.