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Godrej's Chotukool, the 45-litre plastic container that can cool food to around 8 to 10 degrees on a 12 volt battery, has donned a fresh coat of paint.
While an earlier straw poll of 600 women in the village of Osmanabad, Maharashtra, had voted to make the product red, the colour of harmony and bliss, the company has now decided to revive a dying art form.
Similar to the Kalamkari technique practised in South India, Gujarat’s traditional Mata Ni Pachedi design, which is vivid, graphical and has animated images of gods and goddesses, devotees and followers, flora and fauna, has been incorporated on to the company’s mini refrigerator, a disruptive innovation product.
“Mata Ni Pachedi is a rare art form of Gujarat, and only about 11 or 12 artists are still around who understand its value,” said G Sunderraman, Executive Vice President, Innovation Centre, Godrej and Boyce. “It is a dying art form which we decided to revive,” he added.
As a first step, the company has decided to incorporate the different art forms of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bengal, Kashmir and Kerala on its Chotukool.
Showcasing a beautiful Mata Ni Pachedi print on a red Chotukool, Sunderraman added: “It is an actual painting. It can either be block printing, textile print, or digital print, and can even be personalised, as in personal photographs, to suit customer preference.”
Four years ago, in a bid to reinvigorate growth in its household appliance business, Godrej and Boyce ideated on Chotukool. It was disruptive innovation that permeated into the Godrej system.
“More than 80 per cent of our households lack basic appliances such as a refrigerator. Chotukool turned out to be an example of the power of frugal innovation,” said Sunderraman, speaking to Business Line.
Though targeted initially for those at the bottom of the pyramid, at a price of ₹3,000, Godrej relaunched Chotukool as a major consumer brand, with expanded distribution.
The company has now decided to go with an online offering.
Sunderraman added that by making the product available online, the company did not just want to reach out to a larger market.
“The styling and the looks have been made aspirational. The product has evolved. We need to have contemporary thoughts and designs to make a product aspirational. We realised that the aspirations of the poor people are coming from richer people, and unless the rich buy, the poor won’t. We are now targeting a mid level buyer,” he added.
The company wants to help customers connect with ideas.
“The method for growth in India is how to connect consumption and production in a rural area. It is not going to create a business for us, but we hope it generates a momentum of its own,” he said, adding: “To encourage a dying art form onto a innovative product, that is the marriage. The artist gets paid even if a digital print is bought.”
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