By Dr. Deepak Jain, Founder, The Fragrance People

The E-commerce industry is currently Dr. Deepak Jain, Founder, The Fragrance Peopleone of the fastest-growing industries in the world. The field is ever-changing with rapidly evolving technologies, trends, and competitive environments- resulting in both positive and negative effects for all. The digital revolution has completely changed consumer behaviour, and brands need to respond accordingly. Consumers completely altered their method of buying items during the lockdown, forcing companies to invest aggressively in digital marketing and other growth strategies.

Here are some suggestions to be mindful of while starting your entrepreneurial e-commerce journey.

1. Product quality matters to a great extent

The quality metric also applies to any tangible you’d sell online. The price must meet the consumer expectation for quality, or your business will suffer from rampant returns, lack of loyalty and an exceptionally low retention rate. Greatly inflating the price of the product against its actual market value, thus denigrating the expected quality to the consumer, can cause distrust in your business.

2. Simplifying Helps You And Your Customers

Simplifying checkout instead can boost your order rate and give you a better chance of creating repeat customers. Adding carts to every sales or product page and providing fast payment and guest checkout options empower visitors to buy as well. And making your returns policy less complicated helps people trust your business more. These steps and other universalization efforts can also improve your operations. Standardizing your product packaging and box sizes, for example, can make it easier to control shipping costs.

3. Determine if you’re targeting the right customers

Many businesses find it difficult to understand who their target market is online and convert them even if they have a well-optimized website. Even if you promote your website through various social media channels or through paid advertisements, you won’t reach your target ROI if you’re not talking to the right people about your business. Figure out your target market and check if you’re indeed serving the right people for your products. Once you know which type of audiences you should serve, it’ll be easier to create a strategy that will increase your conversion rates.

4. Choosing the right e-commerce  the platform for your needs

An e-commerce platform is your “physical store” online. This is where you operate your business, and this is where you work on your business. There are different e-commerce platforms designed to suit different needs. By eliminating ineffective ads and scaling those platforms that perform well, the budget can be optimized, and the best advertising price for customers can be achieved.

5. Treat your online store the same way as if it’s an offline store

Selling online may be quite easy than selling offline, but the efforts in maintaining it should be the same. Entrepreneurs need to look at it as a big investment requiring copious amounts of effort. Every missed comment, every positive review left unheard, is a missed opportunity for your website. A simple response can make a difference when it comes to customer engagement. Hence businesses should put the same amount of effort into the website to make it profitable in the long run.

Exotic India Art, a platform for Indian arts and crafts, announced their partnership with Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation (TNHDC). The Government of Tamil Nadu enterprise nominated Exotic India Art as their official channel partner for promoting states’ Handicrafts.

TNHDC helps the local artists’ various products reach more audiences through Exotic India, eventually moving them towards sustainable living standards. Moreover, the brand ensures to write about the artists on the website against their art pieces, giving them their well-deserved credit for their craftsmanship.

A team of experts handpicks the products after a detailed inspection and study and then lists them for sale, ensuring the best and premium quality products for the customers.

Exotic India also allows select artists to upload their catalogues directly on the website onboarding 1,000 artisans and aims to add 2,000 more.

Mr Kapil Goel, the founder of Exotic India Art, said, “We celebrate our association with Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation (TNHDC) as their official channel partner. Through this association, Exotic India can offer various handicrafts under their umbrella through its own sales channels. In addition, we will also be able to have customized artworks created by the 1000s of highly skilled artists in the Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Corporations network per customer’s specifications.”

Exotic India Art passionately works towards promoting the cultural heritage and the legacy of intrinsic Indian craftsmanship on world forums. The brand serves a customer base of nearly three lakh people worldwide, having shipped orders to 160 countries.

For years, the brand has been serving art lovers by providing them with a plethora of art and handcrafted masterpieces from all the corners of India that depict the rich cultural heritage of India. The motive of this association is to bring quality products with a world-class experience to the audience who cherish Indian art and culture.

Exotic India Art is the leading platform for art lovers. The global brand presence with targeted and gender-neutral audiences makes it an ideal partner choice.

Women are known to be multitaskers, right from managing their household chores to their careers. They are responsible for taking care of their children and family while balancing their personal and professional goals. In this hustle-bustle, most women tend to overlook their health.

With International Women’s Day around the corner, it is essential for women to know why they must take care of their health with the right nutrition and indulge in an active lifestyle. This will help them keep moving, enabling them to continue and enjoy the simple everyday life. Dr. Irfan Shaikh, Head, Medical & Scientific Affairs at Abbott’s Nutrition Business shares 6 essential nutrients that should be present in every woman’s plate:

Calcium: Calcium helps to strengthen bones at every stage of life. Not many are aware that bones are constantly remodeling within the body. This replacement process often involves removing small amounts of calcium from the bones which are exchanged with new calcium. Therefore, it is necessary to consume adequate calcium to preserve bone density during this process. Products like lentils, beans, soybeans, and fatty fish along with fruits such as orange, guava, and papaya will help increase calcium levels in the body.

Iron: Iron is an essential micronutrient required as a component for a number of proteins, including enzymes and hemoglobin. The latter is important for the transport of oxygen to tissues throughout the body for metabolism. It is also required for many critical functions in the human body such as – energy metabolism, mixed-function oxidase systems, neurodevelopment, connective tissue synthesis, and hormone synthesis. Iron deficiency is the most common mineral deficiency seen in Indian women. Foods like nuts, dried fruit, legumes (mixed beans, baked beans, lentils, chickpeas), dark leafy green vegetables (spinach, broccoli), fish, red meat, etc can be good sources of iron.

Vitamin D: A vital mineral, vitamin D improves calcium and phosphate absorption, which is important for maintaining strong, healthy bones and better immune system regulation. Most people normally obtain Vitamin D through sunlight, but other sources include foods like mushrooms, soy milk, eggs, shrimp, and fatty fish[i]

Fibre: Soluble Fibre is the most effective nutrient to reduce cholesterol and sugar levels in the blood. Obtaining enough fibre in meals becomes crucial to achieve adequate nutrition since it aids in digestion and absorption. Foods high in fibre include oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, peas, fruits, and vegetables. Also, drinking a lot of water helps you utilize the fibre in your meal to the fullest.

Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 helps in the functioning and development of red blood cells, the nervous system, and the brain. Fatigue and anemia can arise from a vitamin B12 deficiency, and as you become older, your body may become less prone to using B12. Blood samples should be thoroughly examined to develop a strategy for preventing illnesses. Foods such as meat, eggs, and dairy products can provide key vitamin B12.

Protein: A moderately high protein intake is required to maintain a positive nitrogen balance. It is also needed to offset lower energy intake, impaired insulin function and decrease in protein synthesis, all of which occur with ageing. Protein-rich foods constitute a balanced diet that maximizes energy and strength. Foods such as eggs, meat, fish, pulses, and legumes provide the required am

6th March, India: Chingari, the world’s fastest-growing on-chain social app, has announced two days of paid menstruation leave per month for its female employees. The move of offering a 2 day paid leave per month is intended to recognize the difficulties that women face during menstruation and to empower them to prioritize their health.

The new policy, which goes into effect immediately, allows Chingari’s women employees to take two days of paid leave per month for menstrual-related issues. It is also an effort to combat the long-standing stigma associated with menstruation. This policy reflects Chingari’s commitment to creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace in which every employee is valued and treated with respect.

The decision by Chingari to implement menstrual leave is part of its larger initiative to support women’s health and well-being. The company has been promoting #GARI4NARI, a social impact initiative aimed at empowering women in India by providing financial assistance to those in need. The initiative, which was announced in 2022, has been a huge success, with thousands of women benefiting from the platform’s initiative.

Chingari’s women influencers and creators on average earn anywhere from INR 5,000 to 50,000 worth of GARI Social Tokens per month on the app by taking advantage of its popular LIVE and Audio streaming features.

Aside from in-app activities, team Chingari also enables its female creators by providing them with regular grooming and educational sessions that help them grow on the app. The app has also assisted housewives in earning money from the app, particularly in Tier 2, 3, and 4 regions.

The initiative has assisted thousands of women all over India in gaining access to education, starting their own businesses, and achieving financial independence through the GARI Mining Program. The #GARI4NARI ambassadors have also been promoting this initiative in their network and group, attempting to assist as many women as possible to become financially independent.

Sumit Ghosh, Co-founder & CEO of Chingari, commented on the new policy, saying, “We understand the importance of empowering women in the workplace and are dedicated to creating an inclusive and supportive work environment. We believe that this policy will assist our female employees in managing their health and well-being.”

“We are committed to making a positive difference in the lives of women across India by providing them with a platform that can help them become financially independent,” Ghosh said about the #GARI4NARI initiative.

As part of the Women’s Day celebration, Chingari has also partnered as an Associate Sponsor for a local Women’s Bike Rally on March 8th, which will attract over 1500 women. The Thane event is organized by Ms. Namrata Jadhav Bhosale, who is from Shivsena – Eknath Shinde Ghat. The rally will begin with women riding bikes from Point A:Swargya Dada Kondake Amphitheatre to Point B: Tip Top Plaza. Mrs. Lata Eknath Shinde, Meena Tai Mahapor, and a few ex-corporators are among those expected to attend.

India  06th March 2023: Paree Sanitary Pads, a homegrown brand by Soothe Healthcare has been actively working with real life women champions toward prioritizing menstrual health for women in India. This International Women’s Day, Paree Sanitary Pads extends its support to young female Indian athletes under #ChampionForChampions campaign. With this initiative, the brand celebrates and supports the sportsmanship of these young athletes who are passionate and poised to make it big in their respective sports.

With an aim to celebrate womanhood and open conversation around menstrual hygiene, Paree has created a digital film with an electrifying anthem with the female athletes and actress & brand ambassador Janhvi Kapoor.

Through this association with Sporting Ethos the brand supports female athletes across different sports through this sponsorship program. Under this, the brand stands with five very talented and young female athletes: Narmada Nithin, who recently won Gold in ISSF Shooting World Cup in Cairo 2023, Shikha Yadav, a member of the Indian Senior Women’s Rugby Team, Ruchi Yadav & Raziya Khan, represent Delhi in Sub Junior National Football Championship & Dolly Gola who is a Para athlete and has won 2 golds in Discus Throw.

The brand has been actively working with real life champions toward prioritizing menstrual health for women in India. Last year, the brand joined hands with Dr. Kiran Bedi and female police force to make a positive impact by raising menstrual hygiene awareness. Year on year, Paree has been bringing together the real champions from different walks of life to open dialogue on making menstrual hygiene a priority for every woman.

On this association, Sahil Dharia, Founder & CEO, Soothe Healthcare commented, “As a proud, young Indian brand we want to positively impact the lives of young aspiring women having one common goal to ‘Reach for the Sky’. Sometimes all a champion needs to fly high is the right support. Through this association, we are not just helping these champions but also aim to encourage other girls and tell them that once you decide there’s nothing that can stop you from achieving your goals.”

Talking more on the campaign #ChampionforChampions, Shruti Kapoor, Senior Manager – Marketing, Soothe Healthcare said, “The campaign ‘Champion for Champions’ has been very close to our hearts. It goes back to 2020, when we introduced this initiative for women police officers during the covid phase. This year, we have come forward to support the budding female athletes who are poised to make a mark in their respective sports. The film features a powerful anthem that highlights the zeal of these young athletes to achieve something big. Our brand ambassador Janhvi Kapoor has also stepped up to wish the best to the girls.”

Under the #ChampionForChampions initiative, Paree Sanitary Pads last year associated with Women Police Force Pan India to add voice and power to dialogue on the importance of menstrual hygiene. The brand reached out to approximately 20,000 female police officers across 75 cities to not only provide them with the right menstrual protection but also promote the importance of menstrual health.

Bangalore, 6th March 2023 – Jana Small Finance Bank, one of the leading small finance banks in India, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year on March 28, 2023. Over the past five years, the bank has been dedicated to serving underserved segments of society by providing them with a broad range of financial services. In celebration of this milestone, Jana Small Finance Bank has announced special fixed deposit rates for a limited period until March 31, 2023.

Under the new fixed deposit rates, customers can benefit from a special anniversary FD rate of 8.85% for senior citizen customers and 8.15% for regular customers, with a tenure of 500 days.

Fixed Deposit Rate Table effective from 1st March’2023:

The special fixed deposit rates offer is available to both new and existing customers of Jana Small Finance Bank, and customers can easily book or invest in FDs from the comfort of their homes or offices through internet banking.

Jana Small Finance Bank continues to serve the underserved in all segments and supports the potential of Rural India through digitization across the customer life-cycle. The bank remains committed to serving its customers with excellent service and innovative financial solutions.

Chennai, 06 March 2023: Fostering a culture of safe riding habits and responsible driving, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) and Greater Chennai Corporation celebrated the 4th year anniversary of its Children’s Road Safety & Traffic Park at Napier Bridge Kamarajar Salai, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

The celebration was held in the august presence of Sh. Kasiviswanathan (Assistant Executive Engineer, Greater Chennai Corporation, Tamil Nadu) and representatives from Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India.

Aiming to raise road safety awareness among the citizens, HMSI in collaboration with Greater Chennai Corporation inaugurated traffic training park in Chennai in February 2019. Based on the mini-city concept, the traffic park simulates real road conditions like traffic signals, zebra crossings and speed breakers etc.

Since its inception, HMSI’s road safety instructors have successfully educated nearly 58,000 people of Chennai – nearly 48,000 kids and more than 10,000 new and existing riders (including both male and females) through its daily trainings for all age groups.

Speaking on the initiative, Mr. Prabhu Nagaraj – Operating Officer, Brand & Communication, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India said, “Being a socially responsible corporate, HMSI constantly encourages safe riding practices to bring a positive change. Realizing the sensitivity of Chennai traffic, we inaugurated traffic training park in the city in association with Greater Chennai Corporation. Today, we are delighted to announce that the traffic training park has educated 58,000 people of the city. Road user behavioral changes are necessary to help reduce and prevent road collisions. With our training programs that caters to participants across all age groups, we will continue to instill more discipline among the citizens of Coimbatore to make them responsible road users.”

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India’s CSR commitment towards Road Safety:

For Honda globally, road safety comes first. As announced in April 2021, “Honda will strive for zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles globally by 2050”. Fulfilling its corporate social responsibility (CSR), HMSI has been promoting road safety in India since its start in 2001. Working towards the realisation of Honda’s global safety vision, today HMSI’s road safety awareness initiative has already spread to more than 50 lac Indians. Its team of skilled safety instructors conduct daily programmes at its 10 adopted traffic parks across India and 7 Safety Driving Education Centres (SDEC).

Not only this, all HMSI’s 1000+ dealerships across India spread road safety awareness. HMSI’s proprietary virtual riding simulator increases the risk-prediction ability of riders; while new customers too are given predelivery safety advise (PDSA) before they start riding at every dealership across India.

Additionally, ensuring that learning doesn’t stop in the new normal, HMSI started the digital road safety education initiative – Honda Road Safety E-Gurukul. Since its start in May’20, this initiative has sensitized more than 8 Lac Indians on importance of being aware & responsible road users.

06 March 2023 The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, has arrived in Goa, India for her keynote speech at the Commonwealth Law Conference (CLC) which will mark 20 years since the adoption of the Commonwealth’s Latimer House Principles.

Organised by the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), the 23rd CLC is being held in Goa, India from 5-9 March 2023 on the theme of ‘Common Challenges in Uncommon Times’.

The Secretary-General’s speech will emphasize the importance of the Commonwealth’s Latimer House principles and the progress made over the past 20 years. The Principles provide an effective framework for governments, parliaments and judiciaries to implement the Commonwealth’s fundamental values.

On arrival in Goa, Secretary-General Scotland said:

“I am here at the invitation of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, an organisation with a rich history which has espoused and worked to transmit our Commonwealth values: Belief in democracy and the rule of law, good governance and human rights. It’s a great pleasure to be back in India and Goa and marking the milestone of 20 years since the establishment of the Latimer House Principles. The values in the Commonwealth Charter, and the principles that bind our family of 56 nations are all underpinned by the rule of law.”

The Latimer House Principles were spearheaded by four Commonwealth partner organisations – the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, the Commonwealth Legal Education Association, the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

The Commonwealth Lawyers Association is an accredited organisation of the Commonwealth Secretariat and a partner organisation of the Commonwealth’s Rule of Law Section.

Whilst at the 23rd Commonwealth Law Conference, the Commonwealth Secretary-General will conduct bilateral meetings with senior lawmakers and government officials from across the Commonwealth on matters of shared importance.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General will be in Goa on Sunday 5th and Monday 6th of March 2023.

6th March 2023, Gurgaon: DeHaat, India’s largest full stack AgriTech platform offering end-to-end agricultural services to farmers in India, today announced it has successfully onboarded more than 500 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) across 12 Indian states, directly impacting livelihood of over 30,000 associated member farmers. Currently, 503 FPOs are actively engaged with DeHaat through its full stack agri value chain offerings. DeHaat recently raises $60 million in Series E round co-led by Sofina, Temasek.

The announcement comes at a time when the Indian government has outlined plans in the Union Budget to form and promote 10,000+ FPOs across country & expand digital technologies to boost the country’s agricultural sector, including doubling down on its efforts to enable agritech startups to drive farmer centric solutions through initiation of Agricultural Accelerator Fund, and creation of Digital Public Infrastructure for the sector. Being a market leader in AgriTech, DeHaat has its strong association with FPO related nodal agencies like SFAC & NABARD.

Commenting on the milestone, Shashank Kumar, Co-founder & CEO, DeHaat said ‘DeHaat’s affiliation with 503 FPOs in 12 states aligns with our ‘Farmer’s First’ vision of putting farmers first in all we do. Our tech enabled 360-degree agri value chain interventions have resulted in 50-70% income enhancement for the associated farmers & at the same time have enabled FPOs to get complete institutional support for their overall sustainability.’

DeHaat, a business-to-farmers (B2F) platform offers end-to-end agricultural services to over 1.8Mn farmers through an expansive network of 11,000+ DeHaat Centers across 12 prominent Indian agricultural states. DeHaat’s association with FPOs has enabled seamless access of 360 degree agricultural offerings throughout the crop life cycle including personalized transfer of critical knowledge to farmers, last mile availability of high quality input products, increased adoption of digital capabilities, smooth access to credit & insurance and ease of market access, driving enhanced yields and better price realization for over 30,000 farmers.

Shashi Bhushan, Director, Agrimeo Nalanda Kisan Producer Company Ltd, an independent FPO based in Bihar with a member base of 700 farmers said ‘We started our association with DeHaat 8 months ago and are extremely satisfied with the way our relationship has grown. Our limited agri input demand & farm produce scale prevented us from reaching out to competitive channels resulting in us not being able to offer complete set of agri services to our member farmers. DeHaat gave us access to best source of agri input as well as much better farm gate price of Paddy for our FPO. Besides, we get complete logistic support for input delivery at our centre as well as aggregation of the agri produce. We are also in discussion to activate financial services through the DeHaat platform. In last 8 months, we could provide overall agri value chain services worth INR 71 Lakhs to our member farmers through association across input & output verticals and we are confident to grow our business to INR 1.5 Cr in FY 2023-24.’

Bengaluru March 2023: Goeld ( part of Shri Bajraj Alliance Ltd a listed company), a renowned frozen food company, has announced the launch new products which will be exclusively available at Reliance Retail across the country. The new range of products include Pizza Pocket, Paneer Pakoda, and Idli. This new range of frozen foods by GOELD is specially designed to cater to the needs of Indian consumers who are always on the go and looking for quick and tasty snack options.

The Pizza Pocket is a delicious snack that combines the flavours of pizza and samosas, making it a unique and mouth-watering treat for pizza lovers. The Paneer Pakoda is a crispy and crunchy snack that is made with fresh paneer and a blend of Indian spices, making it a perfect tea-time snack. The Idli is a classic South Indian dish that is loved by people across India, and Goeld has made it easier than ever to enjoy this traditional dish at home. The ingredients are freshly picked from company-owned farms.

Speaking at the launch of GOELD products at Reliance Retail, Archit Goel, Executive Director and CFO of Shri Bajrang Alliance Ltd. shared, “ We are thrilled to launch our new range of frozen foods exclusively at Reliance Retail across the country. Our frozen Pizza Pocket, Paneer Pakoda, and Idli are perfect for all across age groups who want to enjoy delicious snacks without compromising on taste or quality. We are confident that our new range of frozen foods will be a hit with customers, and we look forward to hearing their feedback.”

All three frozen food products are made using high-quality ingredients and have undergone stringent quality checks to ensure that customers get the best possible product. They are easy to cook and can be enjoyed at any time of the day, making them an ideal snack option for individuals of all ages.

GOELD range of Products comprises of Indian bread like Garlic Naan and Aloo Paratha, to drooly snacks like Paneer Cheese Samosa, Mac & Cheese Pops and Veg Seekh Kebab; they also provide curries like Paneer Butter Masala, Dal Makahani, Pindi Chhole, as well as an array of vegan treats like Quinoa Patty, Soya Shami Kebab and Lachha Paratha (Made from Whole Wheat Flour).

The new range of frozen foods from Goeld is now available exclusively at Reliance Retail across India. Customers can also order these products online through the Reliance website or app. So, go ahead and indulge in these delicious frozen snacks from Goeld and experience the perfect blend of taste and convenience.

The last thing we want to do when we have friends and family over is be unable to spend time with them. So don’t slave away in the kitchen, let GOELD snacks come to your rescue!