How This Supplier is Offering A Comprehensive Range of Commercial Refrigeration

Recently Elanpro announced the launch of seven products at AAHAR, 2018 which included new launches like Flexi Drawer, Sushi Case, Pastry Case, Round Shape Pastry cabinet, Buffet Freezer, Counter Top Display Range and Counter Top Chiller SC 66. “The refrigeration industry is actively developing now and we are witnessing demand from different segments including end-use industries,” says Mr. Sanjay Jain, Director, Elanpro. Excerpts from the interview:

How long has been your company into this business?

We started this company in October 2009. We have almost completed nine years being into this company.

Take us through the journey of your brand.

Frankly speaking, I am not new to business and refrigeration. I have worked for refrigeration industry for long now. When we started this company, our main and only focus was to remain focused on refrigeration. We started with retail and horeca segment. We were in connections with Pepsi, Coke, Bisleri, and Amul. And on the other hand, we also were linked with chains like Easyday, Big Bazaar and more for retail format. The other area where our presence is very large is the Horeca segment. In horeca, there are about 3-4 segments which we are catering to. We have the mini bar which goes into the room followed by the other segment which is the kitchen. Cafes and bars are the other remaining segments for which we cater. Of all the segments, bar is the area where we are the market leaders at this particular time. In India, 70-80% bars are having small bit of Elanpro one way or the other. Maybe the unit could be supplied through Pepsi or Kingfisher, but Elanpro can be found in almost every bar located in India. You may not find our logos everywhere as many times they are given through companies like Pepsi and Coke but they are our product in reality. That is our dominance in the horeca segment. We started with a bang when we were working with Taj, ITC, Oberois, Subway, KFC and many more. Almost 80% of market share for draught beer is with us providing various companies with 100% equipments. Today we are working with all the leading brands across India which is marking a very large presence for us.

How are your experiences helping in taking your company forward?

Our focus has been to do more of brand awareness and creating a position where customers feel that we are a brand with a difference.  We have been providing more smiles on the face of chef and bartender. This is how I am trying to put my experiences come into play while catering to our customer hoping to take my company forward.

Tell us something about the distribution network.

Luckily we are supported very well by our channel partners having around 300 partners around the country. Right from Guwahati, Shillong, Agartala, Kanyakumari, Srinagar, Jammu etc, we are having dealers in almost every major class cities of India. We are still not that strong in North-East but we are penetrating it and are looking forward to get strong over there too.

What are the various challenges you face?

I will not say that we faced major challenges earlier between 2009 to 2015. The market has gone up and down for sure but that never came as a major challenge for us. We faced a little bit of challenge when there was a problem on the real estate sites where hotels and restaurants were not opening. Demonetization and GST were some other challenges we faced a bit but other than that the things were right at their place. But that is all past. Market is again going up and we are confident to do well despite challenges that can come across.

How the ever-changing food trends makes you work in a different way?

Food trends are something which keeps us on our toe. For coping with the changing market, we continuously upgrade our products range. We keep going to international exhibitions because that is what India is going to ultimately catch in the upcoming time. We believe in blending our utility with whatever is happening internationally. We customize the new things accordingly and then work on them so that our customer can get something which they are expecting.

What is your expansion activity?

There are two types of expansion plans which happen with us. One is geographical. So we are expanding deeper into North-East and sea type cities. The other is expanding my offering to my customers. So we are trying to provide our customers with other kind of products related to refrigeration. We even want to explore beyond the Indian boundary. Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan are some places where we are willing to expand.