Sales Reps. of Unilever, Parle, ITC are favorites among Kiranas in 2023

India’s largest Kirana Community, Kirana Club, recently undertook a survey among 4500 retailers in the country to rate their favourite FMCG Sales Representatives. HUL emerged as the most preferred company followed by Parle and ITC Limited.

Sales representatives play a big role in influencing as well as helping Kirana store owners with choices, making them aware about the special offers, and sharing feedback with the company. They are the crucial link between FMCG brands and the Kirana stores across the country. The objective of the survey was to find out the role played by the sales representatives in building a stronger relationship with the Kirana store owners.

 In an interesting finding, wafer manufacturer Balaji which is still present in selected geographies, made it to the Kirana Club’s top 10 list. In yet another finding, the survey showcased that each region had their own top 3 favourites. Example, Kirana owners in Maharashtra voted sales representatives of Unilever, Everest and Parle as their top 3 favourites, ITC, Parle and Balaji secured the top 3 spots in Rajasthan and among Kirana owners in Bihar the top 3 spot went to Unilever, Cadbury and Nestle.

 In all, kirana owners nominated 90 different brand names across the country that included a host regional and emerging brands as well, such as Suhana, Sunrise, Diamond, Rajdhani, and Ching’s among others. The survey suggests that such brands are also winning the hearts of the kiranas.

Anshul Gupta, Founder & CEO, Kirana Club, said, “Kiranas stand as the backbone for FMCG companies in India, being their largest and most crucial channel. Reaching these millions of Kiranas is no small feat, and India's top FMCG companies have invested decades in building distribution and relationships with these invaluable retailers. Our survey aims to put a spotlight on the sales representatives of these FMCG companies, the real unsung heroes, who are building strong relationships with Kirana stores thereby ensuring that products reach every corner of India”