Animesh Singh Rao and Hitesh Rao co-founded the RR Group, which began with the packaging business model and soon diversified to other verticals, including hospitality and lifestyle. While Hitesh is known for driving the company’s growth, Animesh is the calculated risk taker with deep investment knowledge, and has led the diversification into multiple industries. Animesh speaks to The Daily Guardian about the effects of the pandemic on multi-faceted Indian businesses like RR Consulting.
Q. Please tell us about the journey of RR Consulting from its inception.
A. Started by a group of pioneers, visionaries, designers, artists, engineers, and business managers in the year 2004, with the aim of giving their clients new and innovative packaging ideas, RR Consulting is the one-stop-shop for all packaging needs related to any kind of business or service.
Since its inception, RR Consulting has been fortunate to entertain some of the finest clients, who enthusiastically supported the company’s growth at an energetic pace. The underlying foundation of our group had always been to grow and over time, RR Consulting expanded to include different industries under its main umbrella, such as hospitality, pharmaceuticals, fashion, education, IT, personal care, liquor and more. Our clients include The Taj Group of Hotels, Foodhall, Vistara, Maruti Suzuki, Haldiram’s and SBI, among a host of others.
Expansion and growth also led to numerous difficulties, which I firmly believe have only helped us grow and mature into a position of providing unique solutions to aid our customers, whilst complying with tight deadlines. One thing that has kept the company going strong has been the confidence that our customers have shown in us.
Q. When and how did RR group diversify to hospitality, beauty and other verticals?
A. Diversification was always on the cards — it was just about deciding the right time and having the right amount of cash flow. In 2018, the company started its journey of expansion, with a range of salons that have been doing well, and we intend to expand in this space soon.
As far as hospitality is concerned, it comes from a very special place in our hearts — operating quirky and eccentric restaurants and hotels has always been a dream, and The House of Celeste was our first step in achieving this dream. In times to come, I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about us in this domain. We have it all mapped out and we are just raring to go!
Q. Is diversification of business models the secret to long-term and sustained success?
A. Yes, I believe so! If it weren’t for diversification, the pandemic would have been even more difficult for us than it already was. In our opinion, diversity is a necessity to avoid redundancy. Heterogeneity, more often than not, stimulates, inspires and drives one to survive. Further, diverse businesses help each other grow by increasing one’s reach and clientele. It helps us cross-promote amongst our products and companies.
Q. How has the pandemic affected your businesses?
A. Our strategy amidst the pandemic was one of survival; however, we witnessed an unexpected growth from the packaging industry because of promptly shifting our efforts to focus on clients who were providing essential items during the lockdown. The trick was to look at the market from a consumer’s perspective and drive the focus of the business in that direction. The packaging industry in India has been growing rapidly since 2016, with an approximate CAGR of over 15% during this period. It is expected to reach $84 Billion by 2022, which is still dwarfed in comparison to most Western countries.
Although Covid has derailed prospective economic growth, some industries have been only nominally affected during this period, such as the pharma industry, as well as some FMCG sectors. In my view, the pandemic will lead to an opportunistic impact in the longer run, as the demand for packaged products is only going to grow from this point onward, given that 95% household items sold in India are unpackaged.
As far as other industries are concerned, 2020 has been a trying time and it would be very difficult for us to comment on what our future will look like. Our hospitality business had great expectations from 2020, with plans to expand by opening 2 more restaurants as well as a hotel; however, these plans were disrupted. Until the markets stabilise, we are going to be steering clear of this.
Q. For a multi-faceted business like yours, has it been easier to get back on your feet by restructuring or re-focusing on certain verticals over others?
A. It has been an arduous and demanding effort to scrap all plans for 2020 and develop new ones to suit the situation. We were lucky to have realised early on, the scale of what was happening and were able to move quickly and do something about it. Now we are RR 2.0 — restructured, fearless and ready to take on anything.
Q. Where is the future of the packaging industry headed, now that everything is digital?
A.The demand for packaging has grown faster than India’s economy. While the trend is not going to change, the pattern of buying will observe drastic changes over the next few years. Today most smaller companies source materials from local vendors at a premium, due to lack of proper knowledge or purchase power. With Jio reorganising the Internet landscape by ensuring India has the second highest number of Internet users, I hope to see everyone educated so they may not be trifled with, the way they are today. At RR Consulting, we are working to create a marketplace model to acquire the maximum number of SKUs under our belt, in order to increase the traction necessary to operate a digital business.
The interviewer is a lifestyle columnist and blogger at www.nooranandchawla.com. She can be found on Instagram @nooranandchawla.