India’s exporters have big plans for the global holiday season

Thousands of Indian exporters are prepping up for greater demand this festive season from shoppers across North America, UK, Europe, Australia, Japan and Singapore. That’s because millions of ‘Made in India’ products will be featured (many for the first time) on Amazon’s global websites between Thursday, November 24 and Monday, November 28, as part of the annual Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) sale. Sellers such as tea major VAHDAM India, confectionery venture Go DESi, learning aids venture Imagimake, Better Alt parent Azuretale and sustainable lifestyle brand EcoRight—all part of the Amazon Global Selling program—expect a massive jump in sales, with many projecting 2-5-fold growth.

First launched in 2015, Amazon Global Selling is a flagship program that helps lower the entry barrier for Indian MSMEs to start or expand their exports business using ecommerce. In the BFCM sale event held in 2021, Indian exporters witnessed a nearly 2X surge in demand across North America, Europe, Middle East and North Africa. This year, Amazon customers globally will be able to discover and order a range of products by Indian exporter across categories such as Home and Kitchen, STEM Toys, Apparel, Health and Personal Care, Office Products, Jewelry, Beauty and Furniture.

Bhupen Wakankar, Director, Global Trade, Amazon India said, “The BFCM sale marks the beginning of the global holiday season. Coming right after the festive season in India, it has traditionally been a key growth period for our sellers. With more and more people relying on ecommerce for products globally, we believe that the 2022 BFCM sale period will help accelerate the exports business for our sellers.”

VAHDAM India, a maker of teas, spices and superfoods, has been selling through BFCM for the last four years. The company typically reports 170% higher sales during BFCM as compared to regular days, Bala Sarda, founder and CEO, says. “During the previous sales, we have been able to achieve 3X growth in sales, improvement in organic ranking of products, higher conversion rates and greater exposure to our entire catalogue of products,” Sarda adds. This year, VAHDAM India is focusing on various in-Amazon advertisement channels along with lightning deals and promotions, while “also ensuring we have our top-sellers live on Amazon Prime.” In the recently concluded Prime Early Access Sale on October 11 and 12, Indian exporters registered over 70% growth in business compared to regular days with categories such a Toys, Home, Kitchen, Apparel and Grocery recording the highest growth.

Sellers receive wholesome validation for their products through customer feedback. Take for instance, Azuretale Inc, which sells sustainable supplements and coffees under the Better Alt brand. “We have received a lot of customer love for our products like Moringa Powder, Millet, Greens Powder and Beet Root powder. A lot of customers have told us how it helped them lower their blood pressure and how their crucial health metrics have improved by adding these simple things into their lifestyle,” say Akash Shah and Akash Dhoot of Azuretale Inc. The founders expect demand for Better Alt products to grow by at least 3x for the next 3 months. “In this holiday season we have observed that a set of customers look to gift wellness to their loved ones. Which is exactly why we have launched a gift box as well. In January, we see the demand rising even more as more people try to become fitter in the new year,” Dhoot and Shah added.

GO DESi, which sells tangies such as Imli Popz and Meetha Kaju Kishmish Coconut Barfi, is among the hundreds of Indian businesses that will be participating in the BFCM sale for the first time. Vinay Kothari, Founder, GO DESi is “super excited’ about the opportunity to launch new products in the US and UK. “Our mission at GO DESi is to make desi products popular. We aim to unearth regional treats across the country, making them relevant and accessible to the world,” says Kothari. The company—a Season 2 winner of the Amazon Global Selling Propel Accelerator program—is expecting a 5X sales jump in our sales from the BFCM sale event.

EcoRight, which works to make sustainable fashion mainstream, hopes to achieve 3-4X growth in sales during the upcoming holiday season. “We create products from organic cotton and recycled plastic bottles that are high on design aesthetic and usability. The effects of global warming and plastic pollution are felt worldwide and is one of the reasons why our products resonate with consumers across the world,” said Udit Sood, co-founder of EcoRight, also a Season 2 winner of the Amazon Global Selling Propel Accelerator program. Since 2017, EcoRight has leveraged Amazon to launch products not just in India, but also in the US, UK, the EU and Canada.

Ravi Jalan, co-founder of Imagimake says that BFCM offers startups a great opportunity to scale their business to international shores. “We have been associated with Amazon’s Global Selling program for the last three years and it has been a rewarding journey in more ways than one. We have been able to reach more than 10 countries and have got great reviews from our customers,” Jalan says. The three-year old Imagimake offers educational toys, art & craft kits and learning aids for children.

This year, Amazon launched SEND, a logistics solution to simplify international shipping for Indian exporters. For a limited period, Amazon has also slashed the subscription fee for new exporters joining its Global Selling program for the first three months from $120 (39.99 per month) to just $1.

“The launch of SEND and the special subscription fee offer is part of our endeavour to make exports easier and accessible for businesses of all sizes. We will continue to take steps to expand the ecommerce exports opportunity to lakhs of entrepreneurs across the country as we work towards our goal of enabling $20 billion in cumulative exports from India by 2025,” said Wakankar of Amazon.