Mr. Raunak Agarwal, Managing Director, Raunak Coirs Ltd
Kolkata-based RAUNAK Group has been into sleep product manufacturing since the year 1997. Speaking to Comfort Times, Mr Raunak Agarwal, Managing Director, Raunak Coirs Ltd says that he wishes to be in the consumer-focused products rather than ‘Jack of All Trades but Master of None’. Excerpts
Q How did Raunak Coir fight the pandemic?
When the pandemic suddenly struck India in March 2020, like most of the country and industry, we also stood unprepared to tackle such an unforeseen event of this magnitude. However, the real fight started about two to three days after the National Lockdown was imposed. Suddenly there was a plethora of orders which came in from the State and Central Government agencies in the healthcare segment followed by various NGOs and CSR activities of large corporations to fight this situation with medical infrastructure. Being a part of this industry now for more than two decades, our brand recall and existing relations with these institutions helped us secure vital permissions to operate our facilities and vehicle movement during those times of restrictions and deliver the requirements in a timely fashion.
Q What are your plans for 2022 and beyond?
Our plan for fiscal 2022 is to consolidate our position in this largely fragmented industry where geography decides the dominating player in the market for the consumer. The current fiscal is more about cementing our position in existing geographies and commencing our journey in the newer ones. We feel that as a brand as of now, we don’t envision ourselves as being a player offering a large number of products since we do not wish to be a “Jack of All Trades but Master of None” and that is the reason why we are centric on growing our brand as a consumer brand focussed razor sharp on sleep solution products only.
Q What changes are expected in the Coir mattress industry?
I cannot comment on what innovation is possible further in the production of Rubberised Coir since an industry which is already 60+ years old is already considered to be extremely mature. I do hope, that in the future with global warming becoming a reality and urban jungles creeping across India, the consumers will understand the importance of using eco-friendly sleep solutions and make their buying decision in favour of it.
Q How does signing up as Brand Ambassador help you in marketing product?
When in the year 2021 certain brands in our industry chose to bring in prominent Bollywood brand ambassadors in the industry, we were extremely motivated and impressed by the move. We felt that the mattress industry is also gaining the lost glamour and trying to establish its importance in the consumer mind which already perceives our product as having nominal relevance despite the vital role it plays in their lives.