We often wonder what’s on the table; as a nation with the very distinct flavors of Bengali foods. Whether it’s a fish curry, a simple vegetable fry or a hearty helping of lentil, we are a population that eats with our eyes first. And since 1984, Monno Ceramic has established itself as the household name that makes our tableware look just as aesthetically pleasing as our cuisine.
Over the course of three decades, Monno has effectively established itself as a well-known household brand, delivering all your tableware needs from breakfast to dinner. The plate pioneers are now going beyond the table to expand that unparalleled quality to the rest of your home. ICE Business Times converses with Rasheed Mymunul Islam, Deputy Managing Director of Monno Group, on their future as a lifestyle brand.
How did Monno Ceramics start its journey?
My grandfather started with a printing press and then he expanded to jute mills accessories. He attained success in these industries but he strived to bring something new to the country. Upon his visits to Japan to buy machinery, he realized the country’s desire for ceramic and had decided to bring that same luxury to Bangladesh. We became the first producers of export quality ceramic tableware in the country. Today the ceramic industry is worth Tk. 3 billion and our company markets 40% of it. Bangladesh also exports $50 million worth of ceramic products which highlights the potential of the industry. We currently produce 1.5 million pieces of Bone China and Porcelain; we want to increase this production by at least 66% next year.
Lifestyle brands are known for creating the following: unique experience, authentic storytelling, and an emotional connection or sense of care. How are you implementing each? What are the challenges and how do you want to mitigate them?
There are many different local and foreign manufacturers of ceramic tableware in the market, so why should a customer pick our product for their home; it is because our product has the perfect blend of functionality and aesthetic beauty. We are always working with famous designers from around the world to bring unique products and designs to our market. For example, we are now launching a line of Italian designer tableware with the most fantastic floral decorations. Our customers have an affinity for floral decorations on their ceramic tableware. So, I’ve commissioned a designer from Florence, Italy to produce the most detailed and animated floral designs that our market has ever seen!
We always try to build on what the customer desires and then give them something better, something that no one else can. We have a very strong R&D team in our factory who is continuously working with new types of body and glaze materials to create new and exciting products. For instance, our latest Silk Porcelain collection, targeted toward middle and upper-middle class demographics is a result of this development process. Our penetration strategy remains the same for all our products- unique products with exclusive packaging targeted toward the right consumer with unparalleled pricing.
The biggest challenge for us is introducing the new products into the market. The majority of our products are bought by wholesalers who then distribute to high street retailers. The wholesalers and distributors will only take products that they know will sell i.e. legacy designs. They are afraid to buy anything unique or bold as they are unsure whether they will be able to sell it. This is the reason we will soon launch “Monno Home”, our own chain of home stores. Monno Home will establish its own retail network where the product on display will be completely under our control. Each store will be decorated and furnished in the same way and the product will have a fixed MRP. For instance, our Silk Porcelain products retail for Tk. 6,000 for a 32 Pcs Dinner set and Bone China Tk. 20,900 for a 52 Pcs Dinner Set. These prices will remain fixed in all of our in-store and online sales. This will create the perfect experience for the customer to appreciate our product variety and style.
As lifestyle trends becoming faster paced, what products are you introducing to the market?
In our home, we don’t use ceramic tableware just on its own. In every household, you need a lot of items for your daily dining and living needs. When you sit down for a meal, together with your dinnerware you also need cutlery for serving the food and glassware for your drinks. Monno Home will be a one-stop solution for all your homeware needs. We will have all the products that are required at home to complement our ceramic dinnerware. Our major product categories will be cutlery, glassware, table linens, food containers, serving wares and also some decorative pieces and artificial flowers.
Could you detail the initial investment and product expansion trend as you become a lifestyle brand?
For the last eight to ten years we have observed the local market on an extensive basis to understand the homeware needs of our country. For Monno Home, our expansion trend will follow all the basic expansion trends and more. The demographics will include newlyweds, young parents, and young executives with the middle, upper-middle, and high-income levels. Also, women will be the main target market for this product range. Altogether, everyone aspires to have a high-end lifestyle will be included in our demographic for Monno Home. We will penetrate the new domestic market by introducing new product lines like- glassware, cutlery, decorative pieces etc. complementing our trademark ceramic products. Through diversifying Monno’s products by introducing Monno Home, we will expand our demographics to new segments, greatly impacting the “Monno” brand and changing its image from a ceramic market leader to a prominent all-in-all homeware brand of the country.
Social media plays a big role in lifestyle branding. How do you want to reach out to your consumer base?
We are already very actively marketing our brand through Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. The response has been phenomenal, and we are already seeing a steady stream of online orders. Social networks are the perfect platform to inexpensively promote your products and assess the customer’s reaction even before we have gone into mass production. Our Facebook followers are more than 130,000 with a post-engagement of 126,625 as of March 2018. We post product content along with contextual and other relatable contents on all our social media platforms regularly. Now, we will soon launch an e-commerce website for Monno Home that will include all our ceramic dinnerware and other dining products. As I’ve already mentioned that I want “Monno Home” to be your one-stop home ware solution, so our approach to social media strategies will follow that same 360-degree approach.
