We market Coconut Oil all over Dakshina Kannada district for edible use. In order to prevent unhealthy competition that erodes everyone’s profits, an association is formed among all oil millers. The Minimum Price is set weekly, and all oil millers are expected to follow it in the selling price of their respective brands. Cocoguru started with its Price at 1 Re premium when the association started 2 months back. Now, we will increase the premium by one more Rupee and then set a premium of 2 rupees on a product that is valued at about 150.
The following are our thoughts on the price increase.

• Increase Brand Value – Brand Value is measured as Price Premium x Increase in sales because of use of brand name compared to an unbranded one. We invest in increasing our brand value and then look to encash it.
• Signal of Quality – It is otherwise very difficult to communicate the value of our product w.r.t. that of competition. One of the easiest and sure-shot ways is to increase Price. While comparing two shirts that are seemingly similar, we tend to think that shirt that is higher priced as one that is better. Food served in a star hotel is supposed to be better than one served in an ordinary hotel because one gets a higher bill there.
• Reason for Purchase/Sale – People should buy our product because they want it and badly want it, not because it is available at a lesser price.
• Increase Responsibility – By increasing the price, in order to maintain and increase sales, one must back it up by improving the quality, service, and marketing, as well as being consistent and responsible. This will again be good for the brand.
• Satisfaction – Company employees, suppliers, salesforce, distributors, retailers and consumers all feel very satisfied, have prestige in being associated with the brand.
• Insulate from competitor moves – Lower priced brands are always under threat from new entrants and competitive price moves. Whereas premium brands are harder to topple by competitors. Competitors must work very hard to build their brand in order to acquire our customers.
• Prevent Bargains – When our selling point is lower Price, customer always tend to bargain. Transaction then happens only when we yield to the bargain. If we yield to those who bargain, then the one who doesn’t bargain suffers, eventually he too starts bargaining. For a routine FMCG sale, bargaining with the same customer every week is not a smooth way to deal.
• Futile Price Wars – Price as a competitive advantage is never permanent and not worthy. We can gain a temporary sale by selling at a lower price. But competitor will immediately react by selling his at an even lower price. This will end in a price war with no winners but all badly wounded losers.

Going forward we like to increase the price gap and eventually not lend Cocoguru to price comparision with another brand. Every aspect of our business is undergoing continuous improvement, Price will also undergo improvement accordingly.

From the company, we organized a one-day trip to Mullaiyanagiri for employees on Sunday, 8th June. Twenty-five out of our 38 employees have been able to make it for the trip. Ten ladies and 15 gentlemen, their ages ranging from 20 years to 55 years. Here, I would like to summarize the facts and share my opinion on the trip.

After a hectic season ending this summer, we wanted to have a break from routine and have a relaxing session. The group otherwise formally organized with hierarchy, powers and responsibility, will now be informally organized with personal friendships and similar interests.

Usually, in business operations, it is me who makes final decisions or takes tough calls where the buck finally stops. But for this trip, I delegated the responsibility of organizing the trip to my younger colleagues and future leaders, Nanda Kishore, Vinod and Shiva Kumar. They are trekking freaks themselves, too. I only briefed them about the duration of the time, which was 1 day. i. e. Sunday without affecting our regular work on Saturday and Monday, people – our employees only and not their families, place – a scenic place nearby and budget – 800 per head. They went ahead, selected the place, went there one month in advance to understand the place, booked the bus, arranged for lodging and food, and arranged to pick up and drop employees from far away places.

Though a few of us visit other places almost every weekend, for a few, it was a once-in-lifetime, once-in-a-blue-moon kind of opportunity. One colleague remarked, for the first time since my college 10 years back, I am freaking out like this. For me, it was otherwise; I didn’t go out till I completed college as I was not allowed. The company management is very happy to provide them with that opportunity and their gratitude in return.
Many of us know each other professionally, but we don’t know each other personally. Those who are working in our branches at Mangalore and Sullia may not know those working at our factory at Puttur. This was a great chance to get to know each other personally. I am surprised at how each of them has different personalities at work and outside work. Some of them, who meekly obey orders from superiors at work, now participate freely.

We started from our factory at Puttur on Saturday night at 10 p.m. and picked up people along the way. Travelled through Charmadi ghats to reach Chikmagalur at 3 a.m. We checked into a lodge only to get fresh and complete our morning activities. They charged 100 per head for the same. Get ready by 6 a.m. I travelled to the base of Mullayanagiri Hill while enjoying hills, valleys, sunrise, and a panoramic view of Chikmagalur city. We had breakfast at a small canteen at the base and started trekking to the Mullayanagiri peak 4 kilometres away. Everybody enthusiastically marched along, playing many pranks along the way.

We saw many tourists like us that day since it was a Sunday. Being the highest point in Karnataka, it should certainly attract many visitors. We could see lush green mountains, green either with grass or trees. I observe that the ghats on the western side of Malnad have more trees, and the ghats on the eastern side of Malnad have more grass.

Mullayanagiri peak has a small temple on top. It also has a couple of caves where one go a decent length inside the hole of hardly 1 metro diameter. Such a cave experience was first time for me, for a claustrophobic, it can be quite an experience. Once can reach the top through well laid out steps, instead we climbed form the back side of the hill to reach the top to enjoy a full 360 degree view of other landscapes visible from top.

We started descending down at 10 a.m. Reached the base at 11 a.m. We had ordered for lunch at the same place where we had breakfast. Since we had to go to Bababudanagiri next and had nothing to do here, we had an early lunch at 12 p.m.

The mobile tower on top of Bababudganagiri is clearly visible and just a 2-hour trek from Mullayanagiri, but along the road, one has to travel 20 km. The road is still under construction, so we had to park our bus well before Duttapeeta and go by public Jeep. He also took us to another place 4 km away with a small lake and viewpoint. I finished that part of the site by 3 p.m., and it was time to come back.

The weather was excellent for sightseeing. It was bright and sunny; there were no clouds, so far-off places were visible. There was no rain, so cameras could be taken out without fear. The rainy season is yet to arrive formally, so all the streams and rivers have no water. At that altitude, the humidity was low, so unlike in Puttur/Mangalore, where we would sweat profusely without doing anything, there we were not sweating at all. It made it so much easier that we were trekking easily, even under the midday sun. But when we were heading back after Mudigere along Charmadi ghat, the rain came, and it stopped us from enjoying the breathtaking views of the ghats. While going up the ghats, we couldn’t see because it was night, while coming back, it was raining. I can’t complain about it when we choose to travel in the rainy season.

Dinner was ordered at Suprabha’s uncle’s place at Somanthadka off Ujire. Thanks to their family for arranging it. After dinner at 8 p.m. we reached Puttur at 9.30. People were dropped to their respective places by 10.30. A satisfying and pleasurable trip comes to an end. Bad thing being, People had to come back to work on Monday as usual after this

Thanks to the organizers who made the trip a jolly ride without hiccups. I would like to highlight their responsibility and sacrifices. After such a tiring journey, they dropped people off at their homes in their personal vehicles. They gave us the best opportunities while they took away what was left. On a 22-seater bus, they sat near the driver and didn’t sleep for a moment in their entire night journey. They freshened themselves up at the bus stand while the rest of us did it at the lodge to save time for us. They came first and went back last. Not many appreciate them for the good things they have done, but any shortcomings are immediately observed and mentioned. It is not easy to hold 25 people together throughout the journey and make everybody happy, but they did it. This will give them a good experience of how to lead in their organizational duties in times to come.

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“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Confucius

I have chosen a job that I love, that of building a business. I am marketing a product that I deeply love myself. I am living my own life and not someone else. Coconut oil manufacturing has been a family business that was started by my father. I didn’t get into it as part of his succession planning, I got into it out of my own interest. Rather, he didn’t want me to join it as he didn’t want me to face the hardships that he faced. But I forced myself in, and building Cocoguru has been my dream.

Here, I would like to discuss my personal preference for Coconut Oil and my experiences with it.

My father started a Coconut Oil mill in Puttur in 1988, and I was in 1st standard class then; it was right next to our home in the same compound. So, I have physically been very close to Coconut Oil Mill. But mentally, I wasn’t at all involved in it. Even my younger brother used to get involved in it, but I didn’t show any interest in it. My parents used to force me to go there. I used to take the tools to repair my cycle. As I was interested in Physics and Mechanics, I used to observe how motors rotate and how power is transmitted from the motor to the oil extraction machine. As I showed an inclination to studies and my brother towards business, it was planned in the family that my brother would continue the business, and I would have a white-collar job outside.

Hair Oil
Till I was 25, I never used to apply hair oil. Once, I felt that my hair was dry and needed hair oil. I bought a Parachute. It smelled so nice and different from coconut oil manufactured at our mill. I didn’t know why, even though it was Pure Coconut Oil, it smelled like that. Then, I assumed it must be perfumed. Also, the oil is used to retain the quality for a longer time. Then, I developed the habit of applying coconut oil to my scalp. One is to moisturise hair and scalp, and two is to experience the fragrance of coconut oil while applying it. I continue the habit today, but this is how my liking towards coconut oil started.

Cooling Effect
When I was in the hostel, I used to wash clothes on my own. I was famous for that as I used to wash clothes more frequently than others. I had to wash more frequently, probably because I used to wear one pair only for one day  After washing, due to detergents, my hands used to feel hot and dry. To moisturise and cool, I applied coconut oil on my hands and the remaining oil on my hands and legs. Now, I see coconut oil being used for the same reason, even in commercial establishments like Cement plants. Today, I get bulk orders from cement plants just to cool and moisturise my hands after handling cement.

Oil Pulling
My mother is very health conscious, and she used to do oil pulling. She also advised me to do oil pulling to have good oral health. Since I love coconut oil and am looking for new ways to experience it. I started oil pulling, and my dental health surely improved. Tooth sensitivity and swollen gums were gone. It is a great way for me to test the quality of our product. While oil pulling is rinsing oil inside the mouth, I wouldn’t mind if I swallowed some bit.

Instant Energy
I am someone who likes to eat regularly; I like to have my breakfast, lunch and dinner early and at the same time every day. But when I travel, I cannot stick to these routines. I don’t like eating junk food outside. When I feel hungry, my energy levels come down. Then, I drink about 5 ml of coconut oil. Coconut oil is different from other edible oils in that it is easily digestible and hence provides instant energy. Also, it leaves a very good taste in the mouth.

Sales Pitch
I sometimes go with our sales van to develop new business or get feedback from customers. When I approach a new customer to develop a business, he is normally reluctant. Then I pour some drops of oil on his hand to smell it. Since ours is roasted coconut oil it smells more then conventional coconut oil. He now gets interested. He enquires about price and business terms and business starts.
Many times customers have raised doubts about the purity of our product and claim that it is perfumed and not natural. I pour a few drops of oil on my mouth in front of them and swallow it. It convinces them and I get satisfied too.

Oil Smell
A lot of smell comes out of our factory during oil extraction. It reaches the road that is a good 150 metres away all nearby residents. For me to sit in the factory and experience it the whole day is blissful. My clothes retain that smell, when I go out, people ask and I feel good about it. It happens only with Coconut Oil.

On the contrary, my experience with other oils, especially Sunflower Oil, is different. At my hostel at Mysore, the Kitchen was on the ground floor, and the Dining Hall was right above it on 1st floor. This meant that the kitchen smell, especially that of cooking oil (Sunflower Oil), would be felt in the dining hall. I was slow at eating, which meant I had to experience the smell for a longer time. If you don’t like the smell, the time spent feels that much longer. The clothes would retain the smell, so I had to feel it for a long time, even after I had left the hostel mess. So, I used to wear a different set of clothes to mess up, take it off and wear a different set once I came back. At a lodging in Erode, the restaurant was right below the room, and I had to endure the smell the whole night. There are a lot of restaurants with poor kitchen ventilation where Oil vapours circulate around our eating tables. I avoid such hotels.

Oily Food
I avoid eating all oily foods when I eat out. Because they mostly use cheaper oils like Sunflower Oil, Palmolein Oil or Vanaspati. A good oil can add a lot of taste and juiciness to food. I particularly like oily foods prepared by the Goud Saraswat Brahmin community. At our home, oil usage is very low, and food tastes bland. A close relative used Cocoguru coconut oil to prepare all the items for their function. I tasted all the items there, including Poori and Jilebi, that I hadn’t tasted in recent memory. At our factory canteen, we prepare one deep-fried dish a week to test the quality of our oil. For Diwali, we prepare Boondi Ladu using our coconut oil and distribute it to employees and customers. There are a few local foods like Charmuri, Omlet, Pathrode, Fish Fry and Banana Chips that must use Coconut Oil to taste good.

Overall, I use coconut oil to appeal to my 3 senses smell, taste and touch. Only a poet can explain well how good it feels rest of us have to experience it to understand it.