Marico billionaire Harsh Mariwala visits Mumbai supermarket: ‘I do it regularly’

Marico chairman Harsh Mariwala recently visited a general store in Mumbai to meet with retailers and distributors and gauge consumer insights.

Published on: Jul 5, 2024, 09:59:58 IST

Edited by Sanya Jain

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At the age of 73, Harsh Mariwala still plays a very active role in the business he set up more than four decades ago. The Indian billionaire behind consumer goods company Marico recently visited a general store in Mumbai to meet with retailers and distributors and gauge consumer insights. In fact, visiting supermarkets and general stores is something that Mariwala does regularly to keep on top of fast-changing consumer trends.

Harsh Mariwala photographed at a Mumbai supermarket. (X/@hcmariwala)

His company Marico is best known for its Saffola cooking oil and Parachute hair oil. It is also represented by popular brands like Set Wet, Nihar, Livon and Mediker.

With an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion (as per Forbes), Mariwala could easily delegate the ground work, but the chairman of Marico recently shared a photograph which shows him at a supermarket in Mumbai.

“One thing I like to do is regularly go on visits to stores and meet with the retailers and distributors,” Harsh Mariwala wrote on X while sharing the picture. “It gives me a clear insight into the consumer mind and the emerging trends. Here I am at Shivraj Super Market in Parel, Mumbai.”

“How do you like to do consumer insighting for your business?” he asked.

Take a look at the post below:

People in the comments section praised Mariwala but also offered suggestions for improvement.

“Personal interaction is priceless!” wrote one X user. “Amazing. First hand ground insights and then aligning it with boardroom discussions,” another said.

“Sir, your prime customers (who use coconut oil) are in tier 3 cities and villages. Please engage with them also so understand their aspirations and changing needs,” an X user named Sourabh Agarwal suggested.

And when a distributor from Jhansi complained in the comments section about the change in the composition of Saffola oil, Mariwala responded to him with an assurance that someone from the Consumer Services Cell team would reach out to him.

(Also read: Marico chairman Harsh Mariwala disagrees with Narayana Murthy’s 70-hour work week remark, says ‘hard work is…’)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More