Chairman
Rajhans Nutriments (Schmitten luxury chocolates)
A first-generation entrepreneur, Jayesh B Desai is the group chairman for Rajhans. A firm believer in the mantra of quality and creating products for ‘customer delight’, Desai is both a dreamer as well as a downright executioner with a clear mission to grow Rajhans Group into one of India’s top business houses.
The group has to its credit an early business venture into the edible oil sector back in the late nineties followed by setting up of an oil refinery and exploring avenues in the retail trade for cooking oil. The group also has a hospitality arm, with a firm growth plan for its ‘Enjoy’ chain of restaurants.
“I enjoy being in retail; it’s exciting, widespread and challenging. Understanding consumer psyches is complex and exacting, but I enjoy doing it time and again,” Desai says.
The genesis of Schmitten luxury chocolates is an outcome of Desai’s enduring commitment for targetted consumer products. The brand is targetted at India’s youth, with variants, prices and pack sizes displaying a unique strategy to make the consumer feel special, whatever the cost to the wallet.
Brand ambassador Priyanka Chopra was also selected to connect with the Indian youth, Desai explains. “Priyanka brings in a sense of freshness. An international youth icon, she has a chic style that represents luxury. Brand Schmitten is all this and more.”
“Brand Schmitten is a dream and a cherished desire come true, for all of us in Rajhans Group. As a Group, we have experience across various business verticals, including Oils, Textiles, Hospitality, Entertainment and Realty. But there was always a passion and an intense wish to create something larger than life that has a niche expanse and is also an enabler to leave behind an explicit imprint,” he elaborates.
“To us, that is Schmitten.”
Innovation is key for Indian retailers and brands to create a special place for themselves, Desai notes. “To achieve full potential, Indian retailers must keep up with the latest research in respective fields and constantly endeavor to deliver better.”
Desai believes his professional accomplishments are several, but his latest project — the launch of Schmitten chocolates — is special.”The biggest one is the current Schmitten project, my dream project. And it’s a great feeling!”
Going forward, through Schmitten, Desai hopes to make luxury chocolates come to age in the Indian market. “We will continue to produce the best chocolates, in the most efficient manner with the best of packaging and consistently to international standards.”
Plans are set to penetrate international markets and these are already under execution, Desai informs. “Schmitten has recently been launched in Nepal and the brand has a lot more in store in terms of the variants and new product constructs.”
