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Friends buy you food, best friends eat your phone but even better friends start a food business with you! Just like Sagar Daryani and Binod Homagai started WOW! Momos. They had initially started the business with a mere investment of Rs. 30,000 back in the year 2008 today their business values up to Rs. ₹1000 crore. Astonishing, right ? a thousand-crore valuation by just selling momos. Behind every successful business, there is a well-planned and thought marketing strategy and these two friends had a very scrutinized marketing structure which is very simple but effective.
The first outlet they ever set up was a kiosk and due to lack of investment, the only marketing strategy they had was to sell momos wearing t-shirts with their brand name printed on them. It would come to you as yet another surprising fact but the first day sales totaled up to 2200 only but their first-month sales totaled to 53,000! WOW, Momos have come a long way from kiosks to quality service restaurants (QSR). Even today they own kiosks of 7*7 feet to restaurants stretching over ₹1,000 sq ft.
The success of this food brand stands on the 5 pillars of their marketing strategies that have been explained below. These marketing strategies can be broadly classified as Value proposition, target consumer, short/long term strategy, competitors, and revenue generation strategy.
The Value proposition, in other words, the goods and services a business offers and the value it provides to its consumers that also gives them a competitive edge. Though WOW! Momos only sell momos. Its exclusive proposition is its variety in momos which also includes quality, taste, and a wide range of different types of momos and in various flavors. Coming to the second pillar, target consumer base. Gen Y and Gen Z are the major target customers of this food brand, work professionals and students found Wow!
Momos are their hangout place for a quick retreat and refreshment. The strategic
marketing plan was divided into two broad categories, early-stage marketing, and long-term (current) marketing plan. The former structure used tools such as the psychological impact of colors, hence associating yellow with Wow! Momos. Digital marketing on various social media platforms, branding, and public relation are also a few key tools.
Apart from this, they emphasized their Unique Selling Proposition i.e., innovative and different flavored hygienic, fresh momos, especially Pan fried momos. It is very well known that what is available is what sells the most, and to make sure people could avail their brand, Sagar and Binod decided to have 4 different outlet formats consisting of kiosk, food courts, high-street restaurant and high-street shops.
The shops have a capacity of 20 people and restaurants have a space of ₹1000 sq ft. They have drafted their strategy as such that even the smallest kiosk is generating revenue worth Rs. 12 lakhs monthly. Different formats of their outlets allow them to choose the right location according to the shop size and market demand. this was not all, they had innovations with their product and also for their product.
These entrepreneurs had future marketing plans structured for expanding their business that was kick-started with the introduction Wow! China, chilled momos for supermarkets, gluten-free momos, etc also gained a high demand in the market. They had plans to expand globally, especially in the middle east. The fourth pillar of their success is a competitive edge, fortunately, the only competition they have are the street stalls that sell momos but that has been proven lucky for them in terms of hygiene and quality.
The last pillar being revenue generation strategy is the most simple of all, with their effective marketing and quality product they have made Wow! Momos is a ₹1000 crore worth food brand. We should learn and understand how dedication, passion, belief, and structured efforts can lead us to success.
--- Kashika