Successful business idea – A simple brain wave?

By
Junaid M
MBA (Semester III)
Institute of Managemet in Kerala, University of Kerala
Trivandrum
E-mail: junaidnavas@gmail.com
 

Marico industries, a synonym with the house holds of Kerala or rather  to be precise, the blue bottle with the parachute logo has been ingrained in the minds of throngs of customers in the coconut land. For me, a native of Kerala living besides the blue bottle has been a second habit.

There are many insights, which the marico business can lead us to. Marico from being a player in the FMCG goods has moved onto provide health services with its already blooming "kaya skin clinics". Where Harsh Mariwalla, CEO of Marico got a brain wave to start Kaya skin care clinic, was from a business proposal from a New York based company to market laser hair removers. Even though Mariwalla avoided the proposal, he seized on another opportunity , which was novel by nature and almost a blue ocean strategy with respect to his company. Budding managers like me and still people who are in the business can learn from this case that insights for a new business or still a revolutionary industry grows from being observant to all the information flows coming to us every day. By information flows, I mean not only just the useful TV documentaries, news or magazines but also the reflections on meaningful sentences by colleagues, superiors , juniors . Ideas can come from anywhere, that's how God built them… they don't segregate between any entity. Still bewildering a fact is that big industrial success are usually born of a single, simple and silly idea. The skill is identifying and seizing the opportune one and to overcome our own skepticism. As some one said, the biggest enemy of yours is your mind discouraging you. 

Having an analytical mind which can sift through a big picture of facts and then quantifying into simple ideas is a great skill which can create golden opportunities or even for an entirely new industry. Going back to  Marico's case, the skill to picturise the simple fact that Marico's FMCG product is a 'hair oil' and the product by itself has certain limitations . Cultural barriers poses the first hindrance. That means, Marico has its target countries where oiling the hair is a practice and that  would include Middle east and Asia. Further through the Atlas to the west would be futile to be discussed as a business opportunity for Marico. But now think how Marico's new blue ocean product – ' The Kaya skin care clinic' can help it expand its revenues. Health services can be offered a in any country surpassing cultural barriers and hence Kaya clinics can be extended behind the hair oiling countries an thus new frontiers captured. That further opens a big door of opportunities for Marico to bring some specific market products as Marico is now closer to the customer tan it is close to the retailer who sells its parachute oils.

A film by the name The Mighty" encapsulates this brain wave almost accurately. A small but brilliant boy who has severe physical disabilities teams up with a physically great , but mentally retarded boy to enjoy the life and world. Thus Marico's hair clinic has become the brains to move forward where its oil business had a physical disability. The business and changes pervading them and changes which revolutionize ideas and the results which again revolutionize themselves are to be nurtured and organizations nurturing this thinking attitude will succeed its rivals.
 

Junaid M
MBA (Semester III)
Institute of Managemet in Kerala, University of Kerala
Trivandrum
E-mail: junaidnavas@gmail.com
 

Source : E-mail October 4, 2005

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