But,think of Dabbawaals earning revenue out of their delivery-based food.Lots of companies have cached in on Dabbawalas to market their products and to build their brand among the consumers.The tremendous network as well as the reach that Dabbawalas have is the reason why many companies have roped in Dabbawalas as a potential source of positioning their products.
The first promotional activity of that kind was of confectionery company, Perfetti Van Melle India (PVMI). The company distributed its newly launched liquid-filled, mango-flavoured candy, Mangofillz with each dabba sent out. This was the first fruit candy offering from PVM, as the other products wer milk-based, or breath-fresheners and gums.
In all, Perfetti distributed over two lakh Mangofillz candies through the dabbawalas, thus reaching a large consumer base of about two lakh people.
Reckitt Benckiser's Dettol recently partnered with Mumbai Dabbawalas to reach out to more than 10,000 homes in the city, spreading awareness on kitchen hygiene.
The brand had put a small packet of Dettol kitchen gel in each box (dabba) while it was delivered back to the housewives, who found the packet once they opened the box, drawing their attention to cleanliness.
The brand had put a small packet of Dettol kitchen gel in each box (dabba) while it was delivered back to the housewives, who found the packet once they opened the box, drawing their attention to cleanliness.
According to a study conducted by The Global Hygiene Council in India revealed several facts such as 44 per cent mothers clean and disinfected their child's lunch box daily, 92 per cent of chopping boards and knifes were found contaminated, 100 per cent of kitchen cloths were heavily contaminated and the dirtiest item in the households, 46 per cent of fridge interiors were unsatisfactory or heavily contaminated due to high levels of bacteria and 95 per cent of kitchen taps failed the hygiene test, making it the second dirtiest item in Indian households.
The activation was carried out on December 12 by IndiaOne.
Speaking on the thought behind the activation, Akhil Chandra, MD, Reckitt Benckiser India, says, "Through this activation, we wanted to highlight the need and importance of hygiene in our kitchen to the mothers. We also wanted to give them an opportunity to experience an expert kitchen disinfectant cleaner - Dettol Kitchen Gel."
Even telecom companies like Siemens have taken help of Dabbawalas to explain their efficient rail solutions.
The narrative takes a viewer along with the dabbawala through cycles, trains and to the end customer’s offices, while explaining the now popular coding (a combination of colours, numbers and alphabets) distribution process and work principles of the dabbawalas. The film ends with the role that Siemens plays in providing for an efficient, smooth and on-time rail system to Mumbai.
Even Bollywood personalities are looking up to Dabbawalas to promote their movies.Irrfan Khan,an eminent film personality planned to spend some quality time with Mumbai’s much-loved dabbawallas to promote his upcoming release, The LunchBox
Mumbai’s dabbawalas were a prominent part of the movie as they were the ones responsible for delivering the dabbas and, in turn, the letters. This is why Irrfan was keen on exploring a special engagement with them."
The insider revealed that in addition to meeting them, Irrfan (co-producer of the film) also spoke to the Mumbai Dabbawalas Association to have special handwritten notes hidden and transported around the city in dabbas. He wanted the messages to reach the audience like the notes reach him in the movie. He signed the notes himself, which had the film’s name and release date etched at the bottom.
The insider revealed that in addition to meeting them, Irrfan (co-producer of the film) also spoke to the Mumbai Dabbawalas Association to have special handwritten notes hidden and transported around the city in dabbas. He wanted the messages to reach the audience like the notes reach him in the movie. He signed the notes himself, which had the film’s name and release date etched at the bottom.
Recently a yesteryear actor, Karishma Kapoor joined hands with Dabbawalas and unveiled a food campaign named 'Tempo Smart Foodie Campaign'.She was looking quite ravishing in her appearance and grabbed the eyeballs with her charming appearance and vowed the shutterbugs
Online E-commerce e-bay has also had a tie-up recently with Dabbawalas which will focus on its '9 hour Delivery' service in Mumbai to cover popular lifestyles as well as technology products including laptops,mobiles,perfumes etc.The iconic Mumbai Dabbawalas will wear eBay India T-Shirts to distribute leaflets along with their lunchbox deliveries from February 7 - 11, 2014. Additionally, eBay India has also partnered with Meru Cabs to provide free cab rides from 12 noon to 9 pm for passengers across select locations in the city including the Kalaghoda Festival on February 9. Meru cabs with eBay India branding will ply passengers from locations in South Bombay and western suburbs (CST, Bandra, Lower Parel, Andheri & Malad.) between 12 noon and 9:00pm on February 09, 10 & 11, 2014. This activity will be amplified through live contests on Radio and eBay social platforms namely Twitter and Facebook.
Besides this,McDonald's India has used them both in his current assignment and in an earlier stint with Colors. He recalls the many promotions done with dabbawalas that include the launch of the channel which had them deliver Jai Sri Krishna tags on the big day and when they sportingly wore masks with Amitabh Bachchan's face, all along their travel path, to launch Bigg Boss 3.
They're ubiquitous, visible and have the privilege sometimes of a momentary interaction with audiences across spectrums. By definition they're a great marketing medium." They can also be a great reminder medium. To launch its show, MasterChef Kitchen Ke Superstar, Star Plus pasted every individual dabba with a tag announcing that 'your own MasterChef prepared this delicious meal for you.' The channel also branded all the dabba-delivery crates to reinforce the connect.
Besides this,McDonald's India has used them both in his current assignment and in an earlier stint with Colors. He recalls the many promotions done with dabbawalas that include the launch of the channel which had them deliver Jai Sri Krishna tags on the big day and when they sportingly wore masks with Amitabh Bachchan's face, all along their travel path, to launch Bigg Boss 3.
They're ubiquitous, visible and have the privilege sometimes of a momentary interaction with audiences across spectrums. By definition they're a great marketing medium." They can also be a great reminder medium. To launch its show, MasterChef Kitchen Ke Superstar, Star Plus pasted every individual dabba with a tag announcing that 'your own MasterChef prepared this delicious meal for you.' The channel also branded all the dabba-delivery crates to reinforce the connect.
So,therefore to sum it up,there is only one core learning that The Dabbwalas are excellent when it comes to operational excellence. With a six sigma - less than 3 errors in a million deliveries - they provide quality in logistics.They are the lifeline of Mumbai. Also they are a rich medium of advertising through which they can garner revenues
