Rohit Kalro: Leveraging The Power Of Storytelling For Impactful Marketing
Rohit Kalro
CMO
Experts who have the technical knowledge along with the needed experience in the field are only able to successfully execute difficult projects with ease. Rohit Kalro, CMO, The Alt Company is an individual with a combined knowledge of technology and creativity and is specialized in building successful brands. The CEO Insights magazine engaged in a conversation with him in order to know more about his career and his views on marketing.
Throw some light on your professional background and experiences. What drives you today?
I loved storytelling from an early age, but little did I know that it would become a part of my career. Back in college, when we had to pick between Finance or Marketing, I was clear that I was never opting for the former. But my real passion for marketing came to life during my stint at BIRA-91, and as a franchise
partner for Keventers. That is when I really saw the power that great marketing had with regards to building successful brands in the Indian ecosystem. To witness the disruption they caused and how they were giving some of the biggest brands a run for their money was amazing to me!
Marketing has always been something that comes naturally to me. Even with Alt, when we decided to take on the mammoth task of introducing oat milk to consumers in India, we wanted to create a brand that would stand out from the usual design that most Indian brands follow, that is, adding a basic image around some text. We wanted to be more than that and hence, we leveraged the beauty of illustrations plus informative text along with a beautifully designed logo that stands out. Today I have successfully worked with 5 startups across the various industries and it is safe to say that I love being a part of the brand building ecosystem and I am very passionate when it comes to turning a soft board idea into a successful startup.
How would you define The Alt Company as an organization and its current position in the market?
Today it is safe to say that we are one of the key players in this category that are growing and introducing the plant based lifestyle to consumers across 6 cities and available at more than 800+ touch points in India. With a world that’s constantly evolving we tend to switch to alternatives – ones that are healthier and sustainable. We are an alt dairy brand that is better tasting, better for you and better for the planet. Be it procuring first rate oat grain, or packaging in a way that it reaches you, and then back to the earth, Alt believes in settling for no compromise when it comes to quality. We want to help you orche
We are an alt dairy brand that is better tasting, better for you and better for the planet
Marketing has always been something that comes naturally to me. Even with Alt, when we decided to take on the mammoth task of introducing oat milk to consumers in India, we wanted to create a brand that would stand out from the usual design that most Indian brands follow, that is, adding a basic image around some text. We wanted to be more than that and hence, we leveraged the beauty of illustrations plus informative text along with a beautifully designed logo that stands out. Today I have successfully worked with 5 startups across the various industries and it is safe to say that I love being a part of the brand building ecosystem and I am very passionate when it comes to turning a soft board idea into a successful startup.
How would you define The Alt Company as an organization and its current position in the market?
Today it is safe to say that we are one of the key players in this category that are growing and introducing the plant based lifestyle to consumers across 6 cities and available at more than 800+ touch points in India. With a world that’s constantly evolving we tend to switch to alternatives – ones that are healthier and sustainable. We are an alt dairy brand that is better tasting, better for you and better for the planet. Be it procuring first rate oat grain, or packaging in a way that it reaches you, and then back to the earth, Alt believes in settling for no compromise when it comes to quality. We want to help you orche
strate the changes you’ve been wanting to make, and make each day for you better.
As the CMO, what are the latest strategic plans you have adopted to expand/optimize operations and to engage new audiences in the market?
The key here is to find unique & engaging methods to get people to try our products, most of our clients tend to turn into repeat customers once they’ve tried it out. Also showcasing the multiple uses of the products is something we have done right from day one. Highlighting the various ways in which it can be used is important as this is a new category of consumer products across the country and driving people to make the switch to this alternative lifestyle will take its course of time. It’s a collective mix of online and offline marketing and consumer sampling on regular basis across various events, advertisements, offers that come into play while deriving strategies.
Could you reflect on some of the toughest challenges you have encountered in your journey so far? How did you overcome them and what did you learn from them?
One of the biggest challenges we faced was to get new audiences to react and adopt this. New lifestyle of plant based products and how they are better for the planet and our bodies. Over the last 2 years we’ve learnt that Indians are open to trying new products but are also very smart in terms of what they consume and the post covid consumer era has seen a significant rise in the education of product composition and its effects on the body.
Based on your experiences, what would be your advice to entrepreneurs starting anew in this domain?
The only advice I would like to give youngs ters today is that there will be a lot of hurdles and difficulties in whatever field you are. The only way is to keep your heads down, brush aside the egos and aim at reaching the ultimate goal and working hard to achieve it as a collective unit.
As the CMO, what are the latest strategic plans you have adopted to expand/optimize operations and to engage new audiences in the market?
The key here is to find unique & engaging methods to get people to try our products, most of our clients tend to turn into repeat customers once they’ve tried it out. Also showcasing the multiple uses of the products is something we have done right from day one. Highlighting the various ways in which it can be used is important as this is a new category of consumer products across the country and driving people to make the switch to this alternative lifestyle will take its course of time. It’s a collective mix of online and offline marketing and consumer sampling on regular basis across various events, advertisements, offers that come into play while deriving strategies.
Could you reflect on some of the toughest challenges you have encountered in your journey so far? How did you overcome them and what did you learn from them?
One of the biggest challenges we faced was to get new audiences to react and adopt this. New lifestyle of plant based products and how they are better for the planet and our bodies. Over the last 2 years we’ve learnt that Indians are open to trying new products but are also very smart in terms of what they consume and the post covid consumer era has seen a significant rise in the education of product composition and its effects on the body.
Based on your experiences, what would be your advice to entrepreneurs starting anew in this domain?
The only advice I would like to give youngs ters today is that there will be a lot of hurdles and difficulties in whatever field you are. The only way is to keep your heads down, brush aside the egos and aim at reaching the ultimate goal and working hard to achieve it as a collective unit.