In August 2023, Kurma Vedic Village, located in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, India, was steeped in Vedic culture. The 70 residents in the village embraced minimalistic life and achieved self-sufficiency through land, cattle, and Krsna consciousness. They renounced modern conveniences such as electricity, internet access, and cooking gas in favour of traditional agricultural methods, village technologies, clothes made from handloom, and barter systems for transactions, which led to a simple life of sustainability and self-sufficiency. Kurma Vedic Village relied on funding from devotees and guests to the village for its continuing service. It also provided traditional Vedic education to students in Vedic Mathematics, Mahabharata, English, Telugu, Sanskrit, and life skills such as carpentry, animal husbandry, weaving, and traditional constructions. However, it was facing various challenges related to funding, scaling, and geographic expansion. How could Kurma Vedic Village overcome the challenges and promote Vedic culture and lifestyle across India?
The bindi brand Pearl Eyeflax was marketed by micro organization Payal Novelty Private Limited (PNPL), based in Bhubaneshwar, India. A bindi had rich traditional importance and was historically a critical part of the attire worn by women in India. However, over time the bindi had evolved to become more of a fashion accessory. With the rise of fusion fashion and growing international popularity of the bindi as a fashion accessory, the director of PNPL had to consider how best to showcase the bindi and devise possible branding and segmentation strategies to help the company reach an ambitious sales target of ₹25 million by 2023. What new segments and positioning strategies could PNPL focus on? What kind of branding strategies would spur growth? And should PNPL position the bindi as a cultural product or a fashion accessory?
The international Vishwa Foundation (Vishwa), based in India, was started four decades ago to promote holistic healing and wellness based on the tenets of swaasthya and ancient Ayurvedic texts. Vishwa had revived the Vedic tradition of Agnihotra, or fire-offering, a daily ritual performed at the auspicious hours of dawn and dusk. The organization offered spiritual products that used Agnihotra ash as a key ingredient, offering a unique and traditional approach to personal care and wellness, and had some success. In July 2022, the president of Vishwa wanted to expand the product market by promoting Vishwa’s products as natural, eco-friendly, and holistic solutions for consumers' health and wellness needs. He was aware that Vishwa faced several challenges, including a weak distribution network and a lack of branding compared to its competitors, and he needed to explore alternatives for the company’s growth and implement the changes soon.
Since its inception as an organization dedicated to promoting women’s entrepreneurship through coordinated activities, the Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of Andhra Pradesh (ALEAP) has gone through different phases, acquiring distinct competencies and resources to offer an integrated approach to helping women entrepreneurs. In the two decades of its operations, ALEAP had established two industrial estates. There was scope to establish more industrial estates for women but ALEAP was contending with severe financial and manpower constraints that would make it difficult to pursue the manufacturing route to develop women entrepreneurs. ALEAP’s president believed that it was time to scale up operations and explore new opportunities. However, several questions had to be addressed: What growth strategy should ALEAP adopt? Was it time to look for a new model? Should ALEAP look beyond manufacturing for its growth? Should ALEAP look for innovative approaches to set up incubation centres? Whose support should it seek?