By Palak Aggarwal
Raj Shamani was 16 when his father suffered a diabetic attack and his business started going downhill. The family’s financial situation was such that meeting day-to-day needs and healthcare expenses became arduous. Raj couldn’t think of anything else but help his family in some way. But it wasn’t that simple. Since childhood, Raj had a speech problem and he didn’t do so well academically.
Studying hard to get a job seemed a difficult prospect for him. Raj’s father traded in chemicals, which are used to make soaps and detergents. The best Raj could think of was to make and sell soaps. Now 24, Raj is one of the youngest entrepreneurs in India with a Rs 200-crore turnover company, after having started out with making soaps at home in two buckets and going door to door to sell them. Raj is also a speaker on money and branding matters, and a business content creator.
He talks to SMBStory about his journey so far. Humble beginnings Raj’s grandfather, father, and uncle came to Indore from Rajasthan in the early 1980s in search of work. He recalls the time his family was going through a tough time, with the only income coming from his father selling coconut on the streets. Sometime later, Raj’s grandfather and uncle started working in a soap factory, while his father sold them in the market. Eventually, they decided to make soaps at home.
They had made contacts in the business and knew from where to procure the materials. In 1990, Raj’s father launched a dishwasher brand, Jadugar. Gradually, the family became financially stable.
Raj decided to venture into the same industry as his father had. He borrowed Rs 10,000 from his father and bought the raw materials. The other thing he did was take the help of the internet. “I watched many YouTube videos to understand the soap-making process and implemented them,” says Raj. “I took help from my father on how to make foam and balance the pH level, among other things.” A little research on market trends showed Raj that liquid-based soaps were an emerging category, with Vim and Pril the top brands in Indore. He decided to focus on making a liquid dishwasher.
For any established brand, overhead costs such as branding, packaging, and logistics push up the retail price of its product. However, Raj’s focus was not so much on profit margins as he was only targeting local shop owners. He planned to take a 12-15 percent profit margin on the product. He got around 250 bottles of the product ready between March and July 2013, when he passed his intermediate exam. He sold 100 bottles to grocery stores and distributed another 100 among his friends when he joined college in July. Instead of giving free samples in sachets — as is the practice when a company wants to familiarise potential customers with a new product — Raj distributed 500 ml bottles.
After a few days, Raj sought his friends’ feedback and asked them to connect him with their mothers. He started talking to each one of them and created a customer base. “I pitched them that if they purchase five litres I’d give them a 25 percent discount. Most of them agreed. I sold the product and got the money to expand.” This sales strategy seemed to work as Raj says several housing societies in Indore started using the Jadugar product. This initial success spurred Raj to start a multi-level marketing business, as part of which he approached housewives, who wanted to become financially independent, and introduced them to entrepreneurship.
In 2015, Raj merged his father’s chemical trading company with his own business. The merged entity, Shamani Industries, posted a turnover of Rs 200 crore in FY 20. The company’s product portfolio has grown to 16, which includes dishwashing liquid, soap, detergent powder, toilet cleaner, floor cleaner, and sanitiser. It has a strong presence in Indore and nearby areas. Raw materials such as labsa, soda, salt, alpha-olefin sulfonate, and sodium laureth sulfate are sourced from companies including Tata, Nirma, and the Aditya Birla Group. Shamani Industries is also a contract manufacturer for Info Edge-backed ShopKirana and is in talks with other companies. ( Youth Story )
