Lijjat Papad (lijjat is a Gujarati word meaning 'tasty’ in ), is one of the oldest organisation manufacturing products, from papads, masalas, wheat flour, chapatis, to detergent powder, detergent cake and liquid detergent.Started in 1959, with just seven women employees it now employees over 43K women all over India with 81 branches and a turnover of Rs 800 crore. The main objective of this company was women empowerment.
Shri Mahila Griha Udyog, the makers of the famous Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad Papad, is an organisation, which symbolises the strength of a woman. Only women can become the members of the organisation. All members are also the owners of the organisation and are fondly referred to as 'sisters'. There is a central managing committee of 21 members to manage the affairs of the organisation. To aid the management, there are also Sanchalikas to look after the day-to-day affairs of the individual centers and also of that of the Udyog as a whole. The organisation functions on the basis of consensus and each member has 'veto' powers.
Lijjat Papad was born when a group of 7 Gujarati women had an idea of starting a franchise using their skill in cooking so that they could make a living. The seven women were Jayaben V. Vithalani, Parvatiben Ramdas Thodani, Jaswantiben Jamnadas Popat.These seven women then took a Rs. 80 loan from Chhaganlal Karamsi Parekh that they used to take over a loss-making papad business owned by Laxmidasbhai. They then bought the necessary paraphernalia required to make papads.
From their own building, they started with a production of 4 packets of papad. Chaganbapa becomes their advisor who told them to never comprise on the quality when they first produced cheap quality papads to sell at a low price. As we shall later see Lijjat became a household name known for quality but affordable papads.
Their first customers were neighbours from surrounding homes. During the first year the cooperative had to stop production for 4 months due to rains. In spite of this, they still made Rs. 6196 in sales revenue. Thanks to a wide publicity on newspapers and through word of mouth the cooperative trebled its member to 100.
This figure later increased to 300 by the end of the third year. At this point, it became a challenge for the seven founders to accommodate all of them. So the kneaded dough was distributed to members who used their homes for making papads. The papads were then sent back for the package.
It was not all going smoothly during the first years of operation. Besides stopping production for four months due to rains(which they later resolved by buying a cot and a stove) their quest of starting a branch in Sangli town and Malad, Mumbai hit a brick wall.The franchise which was simply known Lijjat(Tasty of Gujarati) later become Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad. Where Mahila stands for Women, Griha stands for home and Udyog stands for industry. After enjoying unparalleled success in the production of papads, Lijjat Papad diversified its production to include masala, khakhra, wheat atta and bakery products.
To help boost its sales Lijjat Papad took part in trade fairs and exhibitions which made their brand popular in India. The franchise also sponsored TV shows and gave away giftsto lucky winners. Due to its tremendous success and fast growing popularity Lijjat Papad started attracting global interest includeing former Uganda Vice President Dr. Speciosa Wandira-Kazibwe.
Lijjat is a company made by women for women. It is one of the world’s oldest co-operatives to support women by providing employment. The company runs on 3 basic core values of business-
To provide quality products at reasonable prices
Keeping an emotional connection with customers.
Having a strong distribution network
The USP of Lijjat is having the strength of women workers. The rabbit mascot of Lijjat still holds a place in Indians who were lucky to watch Lijjat Papd advertisements on Doordarshan. While word of mouth has worked best for this brand, magazines and TV ads have also contributed to Lijjat’s success.
To avoid duplication, the workers make packaging bags themselves and this ensures proper quality and rechecking of products.
As a business enterprise, the declining sales figure for three consecutive years Rs 298 crore (1999-2000), Rs 288 crore (2000-2001) and Rs 281 crore (2001-2002) is a matter of concern for Lijjat management. Some of its home turf in Maharashtra and Gujarat has been captured by a growing competitive local market. But Lijjat has also expanded to the North Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and, with the latest branch in Jammu, to the Kashmir market as well.
Though each branch is responsible for the marketing of its products in the areas allotted to it, the new centralised marketing offices now procure surplus production from different branches and market it at an all-India level. This coupled with a healthy upward trend in the export of Lijjat papad positions Lijjat as the strongest brand in the papad industry. The other big brands in the papad market are Bikaner, MDH and Saktibhog, but none seem to be able to make any dent in Lijjats share of the industry as their core business is not papad.
Lijjat markets its products through a wide network of dealers and distributors all across the country, and has never chosen to sell or push its products directly through the vast network of its offices and sister-members even during the initial years. Rather, over the years, Lijjat has developed cordial and mutually beneficial relationships with its dealers. Sisters (employees) claim they believe in doing the business wisely and on sound business ethics. Dealers are given a set commission of seven per cent and retailers earnings are fixed between Rs 25 and Rs 26 on the investment of Rs 14 for 200 grams and Rs 150 for 2.5 kilogram packs respectively.
Lijjat makes almost equal money for all its people and makes just enough money. No one would become a millionaire by setting up another Lijjat. If this aspect of Lijjats operations is not very good news for machine and money-driven corporates owned by tycoons, the essential message that Lijjats success conveys has definitely fired the imagination of women and rural folks. In many parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat, locally manufactured and marketed eatables are catching on. There is hardly any NGO or voluntary organization nowadays which does not try to create employment and funds, small or big, along Lijjats line.
As a business house, Lijjat itself has been trying to rewrite its own success with another product with varying degree of success. Grounded spices, khakhra, black pepper powder, detergent powder and cake, vadi, bakery products, wheat filthier are on Lijjats menu but papad with a sales figure of Rs 288 crore remains at the top. Among similar ventures which came a cropper are incense sticks, leather bags, tiffin boxes and matchsticks.
But most promising among them is the chapati division with six branches in Mumbai. Here, the women come in to work at around seven in the morning and make chapatis as they are prepared in homes. Packed Lijjat chapati, ftheir for Rs five, are available at retail shops in Mumbai. These centers also procure orders from hotels, office canteens, etc. and the clientele in Mumbai includes some big names from the hotel and catering industry. As the pace of life increases, little time is available to most people in metros like Mumbai to cook their own food. There are good prospects for women forming small groups and catering to the local demand for homemade chapatti or similar products, says Ashok Bhagat, a leading social worker engaged in tribal welfare activities in the Gumla district of Jharkhand.
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