As India increases its customer base for Basmati rice to 150 countries globally, appropriate and meaningful branding has now become more essential than ever to stay ahead of the competition and strategically enter and develop market presence.

Written by Guest.

By Anshul Garg

As one of the world’s largest agri-economy, reducing trade deficits with era-appropriate measures has recently been one of India’s driving principles. With the objective of presenting India as one of the world’s food baskets, ensuring food security and penetrating new markets to sustain the push to profitability — the country has witnessed increasing private sector participation and policy manoeuvres. With its role as the world’s largest and one of the only two producers of Basmati rice, India’s unique role in the Basmati rice export space has not been stagnant. With a long-term overview of enhancing the global appeal of Indian Basmati rice, industry stakeholders have adopted a proactive stance to penetrate new international markets.

One major reason behind this shift has been the emergence of branding as a comprehensive marketing tool. While Basmati rice can historically find its roots in the Indian subcontinent, modern-day geographies have separated this staple food with boundaries. With Indian Basmati rice and its competitors on the opposite end, the bid to secure orders through quality and substance has been significant. While Basmati rice has been sold with recommendations from trusted vendors since the last century, the emergence of branding tools as a catalyst of growth has essentially transformed how businesses operate in terms of outreach — an aspect that has the potential to comprehensively transform the Basmati rice export space. Furthermore, as India increases its customer base for Basmati rice to 150 countries globally, appropriate and meaningful branding has now become more essential than ever to stay ahead of the competition and strategically enter and develop market presence.

Shifting preferences

The emergence of branding as a comprehensive tool to attract customers has been an era-appropriate move. While the popularity of Basmati rice, especially from India, has risen significantly in the last few years — the vast majority of this paradigm change has been powered by meaningful and interactive branding campaigns that have captured the attention of customers. This unprecedented aspect has largely focused on positioning Basmati rice as not only a healthy alternative for staple foods but also highlighting its premium characteristics and extensive benefits. While all these aspects remain truthful, the increasingly health-conscious customers, especially internationally, have used them as benchmarks — contributing to the rising sales figures associated with Indian Basmati rice.

Furthermore, the subsequent robust branding campaigns have also assisted in positioning Indian Basmati rice in a favourable outlook to end-consumers, leading Indian brands to overcome the challenges posed by brands operating in other geographies. Branding efforts have been designed and carried out that have not only promoted a particular brand’s products, but a holistic one, offering useful insights into enhancing the global appeal of this staple food for all. As a result, India’s Basmati rice has been able to create a distinct identity for itself across international markets, not just because of India’s status as the world’s largest producer of grain, but through highlighting its distinctive benefits.

Impact of company-specific branding

Adapting to multidimensional marketing strategies has become imperative in international trading. For example, Basmati rice is cultivated in India and its neighbouring country. However, India produces the vast majority of Basmati rice in the world, however, it still does not hold the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for its significant contribution in Basmati cultivation. Coupled with international buyers’ preference on sourcing India’s distinct Basmati rice, Made in India tags helps companies to penetrate strategic markets internationally — directly translating to enhanced growth and scalability prospects.

Additionally, engaging with distinct personal branding helps traders to establish a unique positioning among consumers in strategic international geographies. Supported by the Make in India branding, personal branding ensures companies stay ahead of their competition — leading to growth and creating a distinct footprint. This also helps the Indian economy passively, helping Indian brands to contribute in the country’s bid to acquire foreign currencies and reduce trade deficits both actively and passively.

Overcoming challenges

To begin with, branding has been a significant contributor towards enhancing the comprehensive global appeal of Basmati rice. In the past, despite having an invaluable export product, exporters were unable to penetrate certain strategic markets which were not aligned with the benefits of Basmati rice. The reason behind this stemmed largely from a cultural point of view, with the grains having a limited presence across the world, it meant limited entries into households and kitchenettes. However, the holistic overview of branding has solved this challenge by leveraging mass appeal and setting predetermined narratives, leading to the rise of Basmati rice as one of the most sought-after agricultural producers in India.

The impact of branding efforts does not stop there. The usage of strategic branding efforts has positioned India and the country’s Basmati rice brands in a unique position in relation to GI indications. This has enabled India to act accordingly in international forums to defend its claim to Basmati rice. Furthermore, branding has enabled Indian Basmati rice exporters to create a distinct profile of themselves in key international markets, leading them to monopolize the sale of Basmati rice while staying ahead of the curve in relation to competition. 

Future outlook

As Indian Basmati rice exports register unprecedented figures and profitability in subsequent years, effective branding strategies have played a key role in making this happen. With the global Basmati rice market estimated to grow at a CAGR of 2.6% by 2030 and generate a revenue of approximately $356 billion by 2030, branding is once again being considered the catalyst to profitability among industry constituents. This growth is further aligned with the emergence of digital mediums, where Basmati rice exporters are creating an effective sales funnel through 360-degree community outreach programs — essentially contributing to the market growth estimates by creating value along similar lines.

(Anshul Garg is the Director and CEO of Aroma AAT Basmati Rice.)

Published Date: February 17, 2025