Below is an excerpt of the conversations with the founder of Intercon Impex, Mr Vinod Jhunjhunwala to give you answers for the most frequently asked questions.
1. What is the inspiration that has led you to the formation of Intercon Impex? What has helped you to develop throughout your journey to become one of the most renowned exporters of dried flowers and dried plant products?
~ Intercon was started in the year 1992 with a vision to strive to offer the finest selection of quality natural products at the right prices and a high level of service to our esteemed clientele. Our love for natural products & decorative have always been a driving force in the journey. We constantly want to innovate and come up with new ideas & designs for our customers. Since our inception we have moved step by step further to reach our vision and we still believe, every day we learn something new about the industry and our customers. We have had an excellent team to support us through this journey. The coming year we will complete 25 years in the industry and we plan to introduce some major developments by end of next year.
2. You are one of the most experienced and well-known exporters of dried flowers in India, how do you think the dried flower export industry has evolved?
~ The industry is much more competitive now, when we started 25 years ago the products and competition were limited. The industry on the whole has evolved in terms of designs, packaging and customization. In our organization, our product range has evolved through the time. Our product range now includes exclusive dried flower bouquets, wreaths, potpourri mixes, candles, aluminium vases, iron baskets, jute bags, accessories etc. all available in customized packing as per the requirement of the customer. There are much more color options that we provide now than we did some years back, we are also trying some unique customized color shades. Packaging is the future and now customers usually are wanting all items in custom packing solutions with branding etc.
3. In today’s world, when machines are used to do almost everything, you are changing the scene with adding human touch to the process. Why do you prefer that?
~ Each product we offer has a human touch to it. We believe this adds a personal aspect to the product. Every bouquet/wreath made is handmade by carefully picked elements by each of our skilled designers. Our designers understand the international standards and tastes to implement on the various products. We provide a variety of 2000 plus items of Indian origin, gathering raw materials locally from all over India. Our product categories include: Dried flowers, potpourris & bouquets, parts of plants, floral accessories, LED Candles, Iron Products, Picture frames, jute products and terra-cotta products. We work closely with our selected team of growers to supervise quality control. Our in-house bleaching, coloring, and bouquet production team takes special care to meet superior quality requirements. We have a reputation for outstanding customer service, competitive pricing and timely delivery. Packing is of good quality and can be customized.
4. Which countries are the major importers of your product?
~ Intercon currently exports majorly in the North American & European Markets. We are currently exporting to over 20 countries across the globe including USA, Netherlands, Spain, UK & more. We plan to expand our customers across 30 countries by end of next year to sell our product range of over 2000 products.
5. What are the new developments that are coming up?
~ There’s a lot happening on the field and we are working on new ideas for our customers. Firstly, we have begun our production & shipment from South India early this year to cater to our increase in production capacity and product line up. Secondly, we are increasing our products line up to finished products like bouquets, wreaths etc. and various accessories for décor like vases, candles etc. You will soon be able to see these products on our company website. Most orders ship within 2 to 4 weeks subject to seasonal availability. We plan and carry sufficient inventory to avoid disruption in service that may occur due to poor weather and crop failures.We are expanding rapidly with new designs of Sola Flowers, which is one of our largest segments of business.
6. So, you have started operations from South India. Why you have chosen that location?
~ Intercon Impex has grown its production capacity in the last 4 years. There are a couple
of reasons for us to start operations in south India. Firstly, We have many products in our mix that are essentially products of South India. Hence, it gives us the localisation advantage to start production in South India which help save us costs & decrease the turnaround time. Secondly, the weather conditions in south India are very favorable for our line of products. A combination of these advantages and our increasing need for capacity makes it ideal for us and our customers that we operate over 40% operations & productions from South India. This would enable us to reduce production time, improve quality, reduce costs and complete our shipments faster.
7.What can your clients expect from the new developments?
~ We believe in building long term relationships with our client & we understand that
the need of the hour post the corona pandemic is availability of products at the right time & right price. Our clients will very soon have a host of new products that we can offer them in customized options. Faster shipments will now be possible as a result of our team working on making seamless operations. Our clients from the USA & Canada can also now directly call us on our dedicated local United States number +1 213 814 322. It will surely improve our communication with them.
