Vishal Chordia, whose family, better known as the Pravin group, has been in the food products like pickles masalas and chutneys, who spent a short stint in the US explored the markets there.

He realised that the company products were usually buried amongst the lot of similar products offered by competitors. What's more, customers usually failed to take notice unless there was an eye-catching display - which was negligible in most stores.

Vishal hit upon a new concept. He had seen many small chains in the US which had focussed on a particular company products. And the concept of `Pravin Point' took root as the first step to firmly establish the company identity in the market. ``We realised that incurring additional expenditure on infrastructure was not a very good idea. Instead, we approached shop-owners and convinced them to offer a special rack with an attractive display which could be called Pravin Point,'' he explained. This special rack would display all the Pravin products with the promise of better taste, better quality and better pricing for customers. In turn, retailers were given targets on a turnover basis. The first Pravin Point came up at Bajirao Road on April 6. And sure enough, the separate display caught the attention of customers. ``Customers had never realised that our product range was so vast. In fact, we were only known for our pickles and Kanda Lasun Masala.

But we are also into spice pastes, instant food mixes, savory snacks and different varieties of papads. So curious consumers began sampling the other varieties on offer,'' he said. Sales soon picked up slow moving products like spice pastes, ketchups and chundas.

Two more Pravin Points came up at Deccan Gymkhana and Shivaji Market in Pune Camp. The group recorded a 10 per cent growth in its sales during the last two months. Three new points have been planned in the city and more in Lonavala, Baramati and Deccan Gymkhana. Seven points have come up in the last three months. Vishal Chordia has targeted 25 points in different parts of Maharashtra and 200 points in the next few years.

Enthused by the growth in sales, the Pravin Group has also planned to tap other cities like Aurangabad, Ahmedabad and London by the end of this financial year.