Billionaire Harsh Mariwala Reveals Why He Visits Supermarkets Regularly

Gaining reliable consumer insight is crucial for the growth of every brand. What the target audience is thinking, feeling and behaving can help companies make relevant changes to their products. There are many ways of gauging consumer insights such as conducting surveys, studying online reviews, understanding sales patterns, etc. However, many business veterans swear by having direct conversations with their consumers and distributors to understand how their products are doing. Harsh Mariwala, the chairperson of Marico Limited, is one of them.

The 73-year-old business mogul recently took to X to share how he continues visiting Mumbai stores to meet with retailers and distributors. He shared a photo from a Mumbai shore and wrote, “One thing I like to do is regularly go on visits to stores and meet with the retailers and distributors. It gives me a clear insight into the consumer mind and the emerging trends. Here I am at Shivraj Super Market in Parel, Mumbai.” He also asked people to share how they like to do consumer insights.

In the comments, many people lauded Harsh Mariwala for still going on regular store visits even at an old age. A user commented on his post, “Great. Consumer insight is the only way to meet people physically. That is the only way to get depth on quality, packing, service, etc.”

Another person wrote, “There is no replacement for retail audit and shopping trips.”

Someone else remarked, “Data, excel, system generated reports on one side and floor knowledge beats all of these hands down, anytime.”

An X user shared, “I like to observe products, brands and popular trends when in areas with large groups of people like airports, sports events and concerts, and also look for patterns across different age groups.”

Some of Marico’s most famous products are Saffola cooking oil, Parachute coconut hair oil, hair serum Livon and anti-lice treatment shampoo Mediker. This multinational consumer goods company sells in 25 countries, which accounts for 22% of its revenue.

According to Forbes, Harsh Mariwala has a net worth of 3.2 billion dollars as of June 5, 2024. In 2014, he stepped down as the managing director of Marico Limited but continued to work as the chairman. In the same year, he founded Mariwala Health Initiative, a funding agency for mental health initiatives.