Planes, Trains & Auto-rickshaws

I have just come back from India and what can only be described as the most exhausting holiday of my life!  Fascinating and interesting, but also very tiring.  I would love to tell you that I was sourcing new products over there, but I wasn’t.  It was a holiday, so I was putting into practice the lessons from the last blog about going away and leaving our businesses to others who will grow with the additional responsibility.  It was great – I hardly thought about the business whilst I was away.

It was, however, a culinary adventure as well.  The thought of curry for two weeks before I went away filled me with glee, but it got to the point where even after a shower the curry smell seemed to be coming out of every pore of my body, so I made some adjustments to the diet.  The inevitable Delhi-belly did, of course, help in this direction!  As I am sure many of you know, most curries over there are vegetarian, and I was pining for some decent meat after a while as well.  The cheapest meal (with a soft drink and seconds and thirds) came to a total of 60p each, which was a little extreme, but generally food was very cheap–and on the whole–absolutely delicious!

Apart from the very obvious poverty in what is now the fastest growing economy in the world, the main thing that strikes you about India is the extreme busy-ness and frenetic pace of everything combined with the noise and the smells.  Many people are, in effect, working for themselves and have a high motivation and determination to do well.  This makes life for a westerner tiring, as you are continuously the target of their sales efforts, whether they be the chai-wallahs on the train, the rickshaw drivers or the innumerable saree-shop owners.  I didn’t even think I would suit a saree!

During the flight On the plane on the way home, my thoughts turned to the Speciality and Fine Food Fair this weekend – the main annual jamboree for our industry.  I began to picture Olympia as an Indian Bazaar.  Slightly bizarre, I know, but I began to compare the determination in India to that of exhibitors at Olympia. How much more would we sell if we knew our next meal depended on it?  I wonder sometimes whether half the people exhibiting at these shows actually want to be there.  Some of them look so disinterested and bored they may as well go home.  Come on, we have some great businesses in this sector and some fantastic products – let’s sell them with enthusiasm.  I would rather my sales team be accused of being slightly pushy sometimes than disinterested any day!

Have a good show!