Seeba Group: Delivering happiness to customers

For over 35 years, Seeba Group had been an established name in international kitchenware space. The family business is known for its contract manufacturing capabilities, focussing on metal-based flatware and prep-ware products. Seeba™ thinKitchen™ is the family’s venture into the Indian market, and offers an assortment of high-quality, premium range of international kitchenware and tableware brands in India. Through the hospitality vertical of Seeba™ | thinKitchen™, the company services premium four- and five-star HoReCa customers on a pan-India basis.

For the hospitality sector, shares Anand Baldawa, CEO and Director, Seeba Group, thinKitchen™ is a one-stop-shop for all table-top (both specialty dining and all-day dining) banquet and in-room requirements of any premium hotel in India. “We have over a dozen global, leading hospitality-focussed kitchen brands ranging from tableware, kitchenware, cookware, glassware, and barware. We are perfect partners for any hospitality business who prefer entire solutions under one roof,” he says.

COUNTERING COMPETITION

Talking about its competitors, Baldawa says, “We offer the same backing and support provided at a global level as we partner with some of the best brands in the world. We provide the same globally available services by adding incremental support to our local hospitality customers who are appreciative about receiving it. Our goal is to ‘deliver happiness to our customers’.” 

Sharing details on key differentiators, he says that generally, players in this segment are focussed on one or two categories, brands or ranges which makes their one-stop-shop offering a huge differentiator. “We carry one of the most extensive assortments which is either in stock with us or with brand partners. Our centralised warehousing adds to the improved stockholding and the delivery time,” he says.

The hospitality customers of Seeba Group don’t have to worry about the product if bought it from them. “We offer the same ‘international warranty’ on our products as anywhere around the globe. We provide a ‘buffer stock” support for some of our premium clients wherein we hold additional inventory for breakages, shortages, replacement, refurbishment, or even demand spikes.  At the end of the day, no hospitality chef or customer wants two ‘glassware’ styles in the same restaurant! We regularly innovate and/or introduce new patterns and/or designs alongside our brand partners while keeping in mind the Indian market and the Indian consumer. Just as importantly, the exclusivity granted to us by our brands to represent them in India is one of our differentiators. From thinKitchen™, our customers will always get the best product at the best price. Without any hidden costs!” Baldawa shares.

PLANS FOR 2022

“We are very optimistic about the opportunity we see in the market. As the hospitality business picks up, there are almost 270-300 properties expected to be launched in India over the next three-four years. These are by just the top 13 hotel brands with whom we are already in talks with. So investments in hospitality in India are being made and specific to us, the potential demand for quality kitchenware and tableware in the premium hospitality space is likely to be large. Hence we do intend to capture this opportunity, hoping to rapidly scale up the month on month growth that we are presently experiencing,” he says. 

In 2022, the Group plans to continue to add to its range of award-winning, premium international ranges and brands. Some of the new brands and offerings in the pipeline include eco-friendly options in storage space, porcelain and bone china in the dinnerware space and more brands in the glassware space etc. “In addition, we continue to focus on relationship building in the hospitality segment by offering the incremental support that players require at the local level,” he avers.