A summer internship project on

“Comparative analysis of Farmse organic and 24 Mantra with reference to

social media marketing”
AT

Submitted to
Institute code:768

Chimanbhai Patel Institute of Management & Research

Under The Guidance Of

Dr.Vaidehi Shukla
In partial Fulfillment of the Requirement of the award of the degree of Master of
Business Administration(MBA)
Offered by
Gujarat Technical University(GTU)
Prepared by
Jishnu.Ashokan
(197680592165)
MBA SEM-2
 Declaration

I undersigned Jishnu.Ashokan a student of Chimanbhai Patel institute of Management,declare the titled”Role

of social media in new age startups” was carried on by me on a partial Fulfillment of my MBA program under
Gujarat Technical University.

The project was undertaken as a part of academic curriculum according to university rules and norms and it
has no commercial interest and motive .It has been submitted under faculty guidance of Prof.Vaidehi Shukla
and is my original work.

Enrollment No. Name Signature

197680592165 Jishnu Ashokan
Institute Certificate
 Certificate of Examiner
This is to certify that project work embodied in this report entitled”Role of social media in new age startups”
was carried out by Jishnu Ashokan – (197680592165) of Chimanbhai Patel Institute of Management and
Research.

The report is approved/not approved

Comments of external examiner

This report is for the partial fulfillment of the requirement of the award of the degree of Masters of Business
Administration offered by Gujarat Technical University.

---------

(Examiner’s sign)

Name of Examiner:

External Examiner’s Institute code:

External Examiner’s Institute name:

Date: Place:
Company Certificate
 Acknowledgement

I have taken sincere efforts in the project.However,it would not have been possible without the kind support
and help of many individuals and organizations.I would like to extend my sincere thanks to one and all. Iam
highly indebted to Prof.Vaidehi Shukla for providing vital informations regarding the project and also for the
support in completing the project.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my parents and beloved faculty members for their kind co-
operation and motivation which helped me in completion of this project.
 Index
Sr.no Topics Page no.
1 History
2 Introduction
3 Company Introduction
4 Literature Review
5 Conclusions
6 Research Methodology
7 Theoretical Model
8 Findings
9 Future Scope
10 Bibliography
 Chapter 1

HISTORY OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND ORGANIC FARMING

Facebook are the natural outcome of many centuries The roots of social media has stretch far deeper than you
might imagine. Although it looks like a new trend in sites of social media development.

The primitive techniques of communicating across larger distances used handwritten records delivered by
hand form from one person to another. In other words, letters. The earliest form of postal service dates back
to 550 B.C., and this oldest delivery system would become more widespread and streamlined in coming future
.

In 1792, telegraph was invented. This allowed messages to be delivered over a long distance more quicker
than a bikeracer and rider would carry them. Although telegraph messages were very short, they used to be a
revolutionary way to convey news,information and messages.

Although without any time popular outside of drive-through banking, the pneumatic post, developed in the
year 1865 and created a different way for letters to be delivered quickly between the recipients. A pneumatic
post utilizes a underground pressurized air tubes to carry capsules from one place to the other.

Two important discoveries happened in the late decade of the 1800s:The telephone in the year 1890 and the
radio in the year1891.Telephone was invented by Alexander Grahambell and the radio was invented by
Guglielmo Marconi.

Both technologies are still in use today, although the latest versions are much more advanced than their
predecessors. Telephone lines and radio signals helped people to communicate across distances instantanly
and quickly, something that mankind had never experienced before in the past.

Technology began to evolve very quickly day by day and the supercomputers were created in the 1940s,
scientists and the engineers began to develop new techniques to create networks between those computers,
and this would later go on and lead to the birth of the internet.

The earliest versions of the internet, such as CompuServe, were developed in the 1960s. Older forms of email
were also introduced during this time. By the 70s networking technology had advanced like never before , and
in 1979s UseNet allowed users to communicate through a virtual newsletter.This was very new to the people
during that time, this helped the communication to bloom in a much faster pace.

After the introduction of blogging to the world of internet the social media began to gain too much of
popularity among the people. Sites like MySpace, LinkedIn gained prominence in early 2000s.Youtube was
introduced in the year 2005, creating an entirely new medium for the people to communicate and share with
each other across far and much greater distances.
By the year 2006, Facebook and Twitter both became available to people throughout the entire world. These
sites till date remain some of the most popular social networks on the internet. Today there are lots and lots of
varieties of social networking sites and many of them can be linked to allow cross-posting.This creates an
environment where the people can reach out to the maximum number of people without giving up the intimacy
of person to person communication. We can only imagine or speculate about what the future of social
networking may look like in the next decade or even 100 years from now, but it looks very clear that it will
exist in some or the other form for as long as humans exists.

History of organic farming

Till the year of 1920s, farmers used to produce foods using the natural means that is by pest controlling
naturally and by feeding the soil using traditional methods of farming which conserved and regenerated the
lamnd.The method of farming changed dramatically after world war-2.The “organic culture” concept was
first coined in 1900s by Sir.Albert Howard, Rudolf Steiner, F.H King and others who used to believe strongly
that use of animal manures, crop rotation , cover vrops and biologically based pest controls gave much better
results in the field of farming . Sir.Albert Howard used to work in India as an agricultural researcher and he
gained inspiration from the traditional methods of farming. The sales of organic food began to rise consistently
by the late 20th century. There was great environmental awareness and concerns related to health impacts due
to pesticide residues and consumption of GMO crops( Genetically modified crops), this helped the growth of
organic sector . The price of the organic food is high compared to that of conventionally grown food.
Depending on the season and the product and by unexpected changes in supply and demand , the price of
organically grown food can be placed anywhere between less than 10% below to more than 100% more than
that of conventionally grown food products.Moreover, Sir.Albert Howard is known to be the father of organic
farming.
 History of organic farming in India

In India the organic farming has been in practice since many years. The Indian culture thrived upon the practice
of organic farming and India was amongst the most prosperous countries during those times, to be precise till
the Britishers came to India. In India the traditional way of farming was done using the natural fertilizers like
plant and animal products. The bullocks were also used for farming and their dunk was used as fertilizers.The
shift to chemical farming happened during the 1960’s, during the time of 50’s and 60’s India had growing
problems like population explosions and many natural calamities took place during those time due to that the
government of India was forced to import food grains from other countries . In order to increase the security
if food the government of India decided to increase the production of food. The Green Revolution was taken
place under the leadership of M.S Swaminathan sir , this revolution became an important program during the
1960’s. Acres and acres of land was bought under the civilization. The “hybrid seeds” were introduced to the
people and the natural and organic fertilizers and pesticides were replaced by the chemical fertilizers and
pesticides.
 Chapter 2

Introduction to social media and application of social media in promotion of

organic products
Social media has gained importance and acceptance at a very short span of time. It has become a platform or
a medium to share one’s personal and professional life .The usage of social media as a marketing tool is already
implemented today in many businesses across the globe in todays era.The reports and reporters have analyzed
how social media can be used as a marketing tool and to reach out to a larger audience. The comparison of
social media versus traditional media for marketing was studied and the advantages and disadvantages of both
are compiled.It is also analyzed how small business startups can benefit from the growing social media
industry.

It is easy to get access to the Internet and low cost of using social media for marketing cause ICT(Information
and communication Technologies) have become an effective tool for communication and marketing,it can be
used to build good relations between industries or companies and the customers.They also allow to create the
image of startups and their brands by introducing it to the fingertips of the potential people who might have
intrest in the product sold by the companies .It seems that the role of social media and content media to promote
company and branding is very significant and particularly now,in a unstable and unpredictable economy
,where the creation of real customer value is so important.This helps the company to build good goodwill.

Social media has changed the way people approached business .Brands use social media to achieve multiple
business objectives from brand awareness to customer acquisition, building strong relationships and
measuring customer satisfaction.From interacting with target market and raising awareness to business growth
and customer service,the role of social media is very crucial and it plays a very vital role in achieving the
objectives of the enterprise.However,the way Indian businesses use social media is still in its fresh or primitive
stage there are much to adapt.While large scale businesses are still adopting,startups somehow have grabbed
the opportunity well to connect with their targeted audience with the help of social media platforms . Social
media platforms helps the company or enterprise to connect with the targeted audience in masses in minimal
amount of money and in a shorter span of time.

As an owner of the startup, one must use various social media platforms to build good relationships with the
audience by answering the questions or problems faced by the buyers or the doubts regarding the product,
offering free or discounted items, and making them more knowledgeable about your brand and products.

Success in cultivating these relationships will further lead to satisfied, loyal fans who will affect buying
decisions of their friends and families, do word-of-mouth marketing for you, and will more likely to buy and
use your products in the coming future.Social media is the best place to get strong and effective feedback or
suggestions which should be taken seriously. The social media team of the enterprise should reply in a
professional manner. Social channels affect your brand image nowadays, and marketing failures and improper
responses sometimes go viral. So as an owner of the startup it becomes the responsibility to look after the
social media platforms of the company. This will help the startup to progress and to reach out to a larger
audience and increase the scale of the business.

Listening or by responding to all your fans will enable your startup to continuously evolve, as you will be
able to identify problems faced by the startup. For social media to work for your startup, you need to know
what you want to get of it. As, it may be difficult to know that pin the very beginning. It’s a relatively safe
place to try out different objectives, but there are some basic ones that will stimulate or to boost the growth of
the business.

As the creator of a startup , you either need to embrace social media or get passed by competition. Because in
this era which is very technologically advanced it becomes difficult to survive in the market without the
knowledge of social media. By taking advantage of the benefits of social media the startup can reach the
objectives in a much faster pace. Social media platforms boosts the brand name to whole new level. It would
be very difficult to survive in the market without the knowledge of social media as there is too much of
competition in the market and to survive such competitions one must have the knowledge and should have the
mentality to make use of social media platforms to increase the productivity of the firm.

To understand it much clearly one must know what is digital marketing, digital marketing means a way to
reach potential customers by the usage of Internet facilities, cellphone devices, search engines etc. There are
many experienced who considers digital marketing as an advanced marketing tactic than the traditional one.
The main and important objective of digital marketing is that it is open to a particular group of people which
makes a consumer base . Digital marketing is gradually ans steadily catching up pace in the field of marketing,
it includes things like paid promotion using celebrities , posting of ads as well as email ads.

It is not the same as Internet marketing , digital marketing can be done using mobile device or by placing an
ad between video games . It can be as simple as that .The term digital marketing was first coined in the year
1990 and it evolved in coming years . Today some of the famous and most popular sites of social media are
Youtube, Facebook, Instagram etc.

The main and important point of difference which exists between the modern and traditional means of
marketing is its medium through which it reaches the potential customers. Traditional marketing included
television, radio, magazines , newspapers etc as a medium to reach people but the modern marketing i.e the
digital marketing includes social media and websites to reach out to the potential sutomers.

Some of the main and important channels of digital marketing are listed below:-

• Social media marketing

• SMS through marketing
• Affiliate marketing
 • Content marketing
• Pay per click marketing
• Marketing through websites

These are some of the main and important channels of digital marketing.

There are many challenges too, social media faces many challenges as the aim of grabbing attention of
potential customers are getting difficult , the major challenge is the using the collected data effectively to
understand consumer behavior. Competition is also a major challenge . Some major and important challenges
faced by the digital marketing are listed below:-

• Creation of creative content which could grab consumers attention

• Quality content is seen very rarely
• Idea generation is very difficult
• Consistency is necessary
• Low budget
• Talent which is responsible for generating creative ideas etc.

Social media trends for 2020

Social media has become a very vital part of people’s daily routine and life. Some people are very much
addicted to the social media that they wake up and the first thing they do is check social media feeds. This
shows the importance of social media in lives of consumers, marketers and flock of business to social
media sites in a positive hope of connecting with the potential target customers. The content in social
media is very overloaded and hence there has been observed increase in competition. It has become very
difficult for one to stand out unless and until one has a clear strategy on social media marketing.

Staying updated on upcoming and latest social media trends will help the company to stand out of the
crowd. Below listed are the main social media trends that one startup owner need to be aware of :-

1)Content which are ephemeral will keep on gaining popularity

2) Niche social media platforms always performs well.

3) Social commerce will expand

4)There will be domination seen in video contents.

5)Adaptation of technology will be at all time high

6)There will be rise in social media communities.

7) User generated content will see a huge rise.

8) Influencing marketing will see a huge rise.

 The main ingredient while using social media as a marketing tool is strategy. It is necessary to have a good
strategy behind every social media marketing plan, without a proper strategy one might be posting feeds
on social media platforms for the sake of posting feeds. Without having a proper understanding of the
goals or objectives of the business it is difficult to reach target audience effectively.One must have a clear
understanding of who your target audience is and what are their requirements. It will be very difficult to
achieve better results on social media platforms without a proper marketing strategy.One of the easiest
ways to create an effective social media marketing is by asking yourself 5 W’s, they are as follows:-

1) Why one wants to be on social media platforms?

2) Who are the targeted audience ?
3) What are the things to be shared on social media?
4) Which platform to be used for sharing?
5) When are you going to share?

These are the 5 W’s one needs to ask yourself before setting up a social media marketing strategy.

What does the term organic mean?

This is a very tricky word as the word organic has two distinct meaanings. It has arised as the name for a
movement with a particular belief system. Later it went on to become formal regulatory label which is
governed by the U.S department of agriculture. Everyone wanted to know if organic means better or not, by
saying better whether it is healthier, sustainable and in shorth whether it is worth the money spent. It totally
depends upon the farmers as there are many extraordinarily spectacular farmers who do not follow the rules
of organic farming still cultivates product which are good for the people. To define organic foods by the
nutritional content or environmental quality measurements on farms these rules are mostly governed by the
tools used in the production of food production. Now starting with the rules which helps us to identify organic
products. The fundamental and most basic rule is “ no synthetics”. No man made substances can be used in
the organic farming. The second rule is “No GMOs”, this one looks simple but it is confusing as the definition
of the term GMO is complicated than one might be thinking. “No Gmos” means there should be no animal or
plant used in organic food if it contains genes from the other species put by the humans. Organic farmers can
only use the manure which is obtained from the animals. The third rule is “No sewage”, as sewage is used by
the non organic farmers as fertilizers. The technical term for sewage is known as biosolids which is dried
composited human poop which comes out of the city sewage treatment. The last but not the least the fourth
rule is “No radiation” , at some point of time there are people who exposes their food items to ionized radiation
as a part of food safety measures but there are not many foods that can be irradiated but there are some
exceptional food items too , the disease causing germs are died by the radiation. The other important rules
which goes side by side to these rules are fertilizers, rotation and weed and pest control. Organic farmers
doesn’t use pesticides which are toxic.

Mainly the organic belief systems survive upon the two pillars they are (1)Managing biological systems which
means that organic farmers ha to create a habitat by controlling pests and nutrient cycles, they have to create
an influence in their farms on a level of eco system. (2)Avoid synthetic chemicals , organic farmers or
practitoners feels that the chemicals which are synthetic are not at all safe as the natural chemical because they
have not been around long which means that we have had very less time to see dangers.

Application of social media for the promotion of organic products

Social media is a platform where people interact, communicate and connect with each other. There are many
networks which are include in the social media such as Facebook , Instagram, Twitter etc., These social media
platforms can be used effectively for promotional purposes which may lead to the increase of sales of the
organic products which may later on help to increase the profitability of the organization. Social media
platforms are continuously evolving and it varies in the presentation of information and advertisements.
Organic products are niche in nature , and there has been increased demand of organic products in general and
the producers of the organic products are facing increased competition in the market,social media is a powerful
marketing tooland it can be used by the organic farmers to promote their products.The guidelines which plays
a useful role is given to organic farmers stating how to use social media to build effective communication
between the customers and sellers of the organic products. Facebook particularly can be used as an effective
marketing tool, which would help the farmers to promote their organic products effectively. The sample which
is analyzed is described first in terms of the activity and structures of the users and then then the exploration
of the statements takes place:

1) The texts of the messages which will be used for the publication in the social media must be suitable
to create short.
2) The company should create approaches which are creative and amusing in nature in social media to
achieve better results and objectives.
3) The company should create new ways to keep the involvements of the fans going by using the virtual
reality elements which would help the fans to keep connected with the organization.

By sharing the message using various internet channels one will become a trusted expert in the eyes of the
buyers and as well as in the eyes of other organic farming industry. The fact is that one has plenty of new
opportunities to create an interesting content and it is quite simple . You can put pictures of barns, gardens,
fields where the product is grown and the pictures of finished products which can be shared . User generated
content means a lot to those who considers doing business with you. The audience seeking your product is
large in here but it is necessary for you to reach them as well. This is exactly what the social media is standing
for, it can bring the business to an entirely different level . Reaching out to the people using social media can
have a vital impact on your bottom line.

Role of social media in today’s world

In today’s world which is driven by technology , social networking sites have become the place where retailers
can extend their marketing campaigns to a wider range of consumers. Chi (2011, 46) defines social media
beautifully as a “connection between brands and consumers, while offering a personal channel and currency
for the user centred networking and social interaction.” The tools and approaches for communicating with the
customers have changed consequently due to the introduction of social media and therefore all businesses must
learn how to use social media in a way that is consistent with the business plan of the company(Mangold and
Faulds 2009). This is especially stands true for companies which are trying too hard to gain a competitive
advantage in the market to survive. This review observes the current literature that focuses on retailers
development and use of social media as an extension of their marketing strategy. This scenario has only
developed within the last decade and thus social media research has largely focused on two points they are
given here:-(1) defining what it is through the explanation of new terminology and concepts that makeup its
foundation and (2) By exploring the impact of a company’s integration of social media on consumer behavior.
This paper begins with an explanation of term that explains the social media marketing and it is followed by
a discussion of the four main themes found within current research studies: (1)Virtual Brand Communities,
(2) Consumers Attitudes and Motives, (3) User Generated Content, and last but not the least (4)Viral
Advertising.

Although social media marketing is a very well researched topic. Social media marketing can be studied
through the experimental as well as the theoretical research; studies never exactly describe the benefits reatilers
gain from this marketing strategy. Despite the initial progress made by the researchers, development in this
area of study has been very limited and narrow. Research needs to be expanded by providing a detailed
understanding of the long term promotional gains which retailers obtains from social media marketing. More
formalized studies are also needed to progress beyond theorized information or predicted outcomes in order
to gain knowledge of real life application of social media marketing. This review of literature covers up all the
spaces that is currently seen within social media marketing research and points out the need for future studies
which explores the benefits gained by marketing on social networking platforms, especially for startups .

To consider social media as a marketing tool a retailer must understand every side of it, he must have dynamic
knowledge on every aspect of it. Social media cannot be understood without first defining Web 2.0: a term
that describes a new way in which end users use the World Wide Web, it is a place where the content is
continuously altered by all operators in a sharing and collaborative way which further helps the recepients to
receive informations in a easy way without too much of complications(Kaplan and Haenlein 2010). “It is much
more to do with what people are doing with the technology than the technology itself, for rather than merely
retrieving information, users are now creating and consuming it, and hence adding value to the websites that
permit them to do so” (Campbell et al. 2011, 87). Web 2.0 has evolved from simple information retrieval to
interactivity, to exchange and make use of information, and collaboration (Campbell et al. 2011).

Kaplan and Haenlein (2010, 61) define social media as “a group of Internet based applications that build on
the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and allow the creation and exchange of user
generated content.” Sinclaire and Vogus (2011, 294) cite O’Reilly’s (2005) definition: “social media is a broad
term that describes software tools that create user generated content that can be shared.” However, there are
very basic features that cannot be excluded by a website to meet the requirements as a social networking
website: the site must contain seven important things mainly they are listed as follows :-(1)user profiles, (2)
content, (3) a method that permits users to connect with each other and post comments on each other’s pages,
(4) Virtual groups that are based on common interests of the audience such as fashion or politics.

The terminology social networking sites’ is commonly used in a way that can be exchanged with the word
social media. However the term social media is different because it allows participants to come together by
generating personal information profiles and by giving invitation to friends and colleagues to have access to
those profiles (Kaplan and Haenlein 2010, 63). Therefore, social media is the platform in which social
networking takes place and has altered the way in which consumers accumulates information and make buying
decisions accordingly. Social media can influence buying decisions of the potential customers. This objective
of social media marketing brings in lots of customers and it increases the sales of the product which further
increases the profitability of the firm or startup. Social media marketing can be done at a very low costing and
it is very to gain access to social media as internet is very commonly and widely used in almost all businesses
whether it is the small scale industry or the large scale industries.

Consumers sentiment towards Marketing (CSM) is an important factor considered by researchers to measure
how well consumers will perceive social media marketing. CSM is defined as a concept which refers to the
general feelings that the consumers have for marketing and the marketplace (Lawson et al. 2001as cited by
Mady 2011). An individual’s ability to look or the perception of the overall marketplace plays a very vital
role in deciding whether or not they are motivated to take part in consumption activities (Mady 2011). In order
to create a successful marketing campaign using social media, a consumer must have the accessibility to the
technology. Consumers accessibility to the technology is must and cannot be avoided because without the
availability of the technology this marketing tactic will not be effective as social media marketing needs the
usage of technology,

The Innovation Adoption Process (IAP) is another instrument that provides important information on a
consumer’s acceptance of new technology and how he or she adapts the same. The IAP is the process through
which an individual passes through the innovative decision process (Rogers as cited in Mady 2011). Five steps
make up the process:- (1) Knowledge of the innovation, (2) Forming an attitude toward the innovation,(3)
Deciding to adopt or reject the innovation, (4) Implementation of the innovation, and last not but the least the
most important point (5) Confirmation of the decision (Mady 2011). Knowledge of IAP can help marketers
gain a social media marketing campaign effectively and in a fulfilling manner.

Social media has attained popularity from simply providing a platform for individuals to stay in touch with
their family and friends. Now it is a place where consumers can learn more related to their favourite
companies,competitors and the products they sell. Marketers and retailers both are equally utilizing these sites
as another way to reach consumers and provide a new shopping experience. “Technology related developments
such as the rise of powerful and effective search engines, advanced mobile devices and, peer-to-peer
communication machines, and online social networks which have extended marketers ability to reach shoppers
through new touch points” (Shankar et al. 2011, 30).It has become much simpler for the sellers and the
customers as it even removes the middlemen. The business can gain a name in the market much easily than
ever before. Due to the advancement of the technology and by the introduction of social media marketing
startups can gain many advantages.
 Chapter 3

Company Introduction

Farmse is a company which sells organic products whuch mainly includes vegetables, fruits, cereals, pulses
etc, apart from these Farmse also supports handicraft industry a lot, there are even handmade products from
all over India. Farmse is a startup started by two childhood friends and both of them are CA’s. They always
aimed to act according to the consumers needs to offer the best to their customers. From Rajasthan to Mumbai
after working in a corporate both of them got interested in organic farming due to the love for the farming.
Leaving the corporate job and their family businesses Raj Jain and Yash Mehta decided to start this startup
with an intention to provide fresh organic products from trusted farmers to our homes.

The company was started in the year 2018 on the month of August, first the duo understood the basics of
organic farming by ground researches, field visits and by staying with the farmers to understand the process
of organic farming, And by December the duo started their journey by taking orders on whatsapp. Initially it
was only fruits and vegetables which started with 10 deliveries. They used to only deliver weekly during those
days and gradually the deliveries increased to the sum of 70 per week.And by the month of February they
started twice a week delivery and added ten more grocery products apart from the regular in the menu or
portfolio. The responses encouraged them to launch online application and website by the name of Farmse in
the month of March 2019 and also did good amount of sales and set a record of delivering 700 dozens of
mangoes, This was a huge achievement and the company has been flourished in the minds of the people within
no time. By August 2019 they launched an offline store in Ahmedabad which has turned out to be a great
success. The company also started a mobile organic store which was named to be Farmse on wheels.

Farmse is now merged with Greenobazzar.This merging took place in April 2020. Talking about Greenobazzar
this company also has the sma enature of business as Farmse. Greenobazzar deals with the organic and
ecofriendly products. They also do corporate gifting and some sales which are institutional but they all are
commence in b2b format only. It is founded by Mr.Rajan Patel in the year 2015. It was no his very first venture
, he started with an exotic cool bar cum food outlet named Joos. Mr.Rajan Patel being very sensitive towards
the nature wanted to make himself a good example in the society by his work which deals with environment
protection and health of the people. The main mission of the company was to provide best and fresh organic
products which promises to keep the health and mind of the people fit. They focus on delivering foods that are
safe and healthy.

Products offered by the company

• Fruits from Pune, Bhavnagar, Nasik, Anand and Mumbai.

• Vegetables from Bhavnagar, Nasik, Pune, Anand
• Dry Fruits from Kashmir which is not sugar coated
• Healthy traits and Mouth freshner are their own products
• Honey from Dang, Gujarat
• Natural Sharbats from Bikaner, Rajasthan
• Cold pressed oils which are anti inflammatory which have healing properties
• Hand churned A2 ghee
• South Indian spices
• Irani Safron
• Non-plastic games for children
• Corporate gifting boxes
• Holi colours
• Flower bouquets
• Kokedema plants
• Soap, Shampoo, Soap Bars, Lotion , Scrubs without any harmful chemicals

Unique feature of the company

The company have unique features which makes Farmse totally different from other organic stores. The
company has two features they are as follows.(1) BYOC which stands for bring your own container. This is a
great initiative which helps in reducing plastic waste in the environment. It also reduces the packaging cost
this helps to increase the profitability of the firm.It also reduces the waste of food as you bring your own
container you only buy the quantity required as there is no packaging included the wastage is automatically
reduced (2) Pay by waste , this initiative makes the company even more unique as Farmse is the only company
in India to accept waste as the mode of payment. They give the waste to recycle. This is also a very good
initiative by the company to protect the environment.Pay by waste is a creative cocept as it encourages people
to collect the waste rather than disposing it off , as wastes like plastic is very harmful for the environment
.(3)Organic, Natural, gharse here we can fimd widespread varieties of organic products and food which is
linked with the traditional element from all over the India which is manufactured by households across the
country.

Farmse Pay by waste counter

• Submit your dry plastic and paper waste here

• It will be weighted and credited will be given as per the following rates.
• Plastic mixed waste-Rs.8/kg
• Plastic milk pouch-Rs.10/kg
• PET Bottles-Rs.10/kg
• Paper-mixed-Rs.5/kg
• A4-shredded-Rs.8/kg
• Books/Journals-Rs.5/kg
• You will be given credit note which you can show it at billing counter
• This credit will be deducted from your billed amount.
 Farmse logo

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.swiggy.com%2Frestaurants%2Ffarmse-
greenobazaar-navrangpura-ahmedabad-
269605&psig=AOvVaw0qDYBJlG5GMwICwCKNYeub&ust=1593254347699000&source=images&cd=vf
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 Introduction to 24 Mantra Organic

24 Mantra Organic is a organuc food company based in Hyderabad, it stops at nothing but helping to transform
the food habits of India. This company was created by Sresta Natural Bioproducts Pvt.Ltd., it was founded by
Mr.Raj Salem in the year 2004 with a good hope of fostering sustainability for small marginal farmers. During
the long 12 years, 24 Mantra Organic has now emerged with robust colony of 25 thousand farmers across 15
states, By 2020, they hope to cultivate 500,000 acres throughout the country.

It is not just about organic food beyond that the company ensures to deliver great tasting pesticide free food
across the country very soon. According to the company nowadays the farmers invest around 50-60 percent
of their hard earned money on fertilizers and pesticides. This process have led the farmers to indebtedness and
in a bad state of mind. By grouping the farmers together and by nurturing their passion to practice organic
farming they vouch to fix economic hardships faced by the farmers. This will in turn deliver better returns and
result in betterment of the farmers as well.

The process of delivering the food starts by identifying the right area, season, farmer and variety. Once all
these objectives are found there is selection and training process which is conducted . The company works
shoulder to shoulder with the farmers and introduces the right farming practices, apart from it the company
also supports the farmers by providing them technical support which ensures in good quality as well as the
yield. Next step is to instill right post harvest and harvest practices.

A key and important part of the process in this company is”farm to fork” approach which aims at making
quality organic food and the next step includes the 5 level checks which ensures organic integrity as well as
direct farmer procurement. Once the five level checks is done the products go through the certification process
which includes the meeting of organic standards in India , Europe and U.S.

These process allows 24 Mantra Organic and the farmers associated with the company to maintain the organic
integrity. The company claims on its website that” We want a better planet. We in fact want you to live an
organic life”. 12 years into their journey towards creating better quality of living for Indians, they claim to be
the leader in the category of organic foods and perhaps the loudest and boldest voice in the movement towards
organic life.
At Sikkim Organic Festival this year Seelam introduced the organic food they provide to the honorable prime
minister of India Mr.Narendra Modi. 24 Mantra Organic in total offers more than 120 products which includes
cereals, oils, staples as well as bakery products.

Some of the challenges faced by the organic companies

The main challenge faced by these companies is to stay true to the vision of helping farmers to earn a livelihood
which is better than before and providing the consumers with safe and quality food products while building
sustainable and profitable business. There is very little support or we can say there is no support at all from
the banks and regulators even though there is seen a lot of lip support on the priority sector. The process of
certification is also expensive
 Chapter 4

Literature Review
Chi (2011,46) defines social media beautifully as a “connection between brands and consumers, while offering
a personal channel and currency for the user centred networking and social interaction.”

Mangold and Faulds (2009) The tools and approaches for communicating with the customers have changed
consequently due to the introduction of social media and therefore all businesses must learn how to use social
media in a way that is consistent with the business plan of the company.

Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) defines social media as “a group of Internet based applications that build on the
ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and allow the creation and exchange of user generated
content.

Kaplan and Haenlein (2010,63) The terminology social networking sites’ is commonly used in a way that
can be exchanged with the word social media. However the term social media is different because it allows
participants to come together by generating personal information profiles and by giving invitation to friends
and colleagues to have access to those profiles.

Sinclaire and Vogus (2011, 294) cite O’Reilly’s (2005) definition: “social media is a broad term that
describes software tools that create user generated content that can be shared.” However, there are very basic
features that cannot be excluded by a website to meet the requirements as a social networking website: the site
must contain seven important things mainly they are listed as follows :-(1)user profiles, (2) content, (3) a
method that permits users to connect with each other and post comments on each other’s pages, (4) Virtual
groups that are based on common interests of the audience such as fashion or politics.

Mady (2011) CSM is defined as a concept which refers to the general feelings that the consumers have for
marketing and the marketplace.

An individual’s ability to look or the perception of the overall marketplace plays a very vital role in deciding
whether or not they are motivated to take part in consumption activities.

Shankar et al. 2011, 30 “Technology related developments such as the rise of powerful and effective search
engines, advanced mobile devices and, peer-to-peer communication machines, and online social networks
which have extended marketers ability to reach shoppers through new touch points”

Hill, Provost, and Volinsky’s (2006) research states that an enterprise can benefit from social media networks
to predict the likelihood of purchase intention of the customers.

(Sorescu et al. 2011) . A business model is a system of interdependent structures, activities, and processes
that serve as a firm’s organizing logic and create value for customers, itself, and its partners.
Curran et al. (2011) points out, almost one in every thirteen person in the world is an active Facebook user,
which points to the potential of finding a ready market for any product or service.

Chapter 5

Conclusion and Suggestions for Further Research

In the conclusion the research has explains us that the retailers can increase awareness of their brand by
bringing in creative ideas when engaging customers on social media platforms. As large number of shoppers
are using social media platforms for e.g., Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn and depend on them for
marketing and shopping decisions, promotion through these social media platforms has become very
important” (Shankar et al. 2011, 32). Social media sites such as Facebook are better than other advertising
platforms because it stores information on all its users thus it ensures marketing reaches a retailer’s specific
target market which would consists od potential targeted audience. Social media sites is indeed a great platform
for retailers to create an experience and retailers can use information stored on social media sites to improve
user experience with their brand.

Furthermore, Hill, Provost, and Volinsky’s (2006) research states that an enterprise can benefit from social
media networks to predict the likelihood of purchase intention of the customers. This can be done by taking
into account a firm’s choice of network which they prefer (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest etc.) and by
examining that network’s data. Assessing a network’s data consistently improves the company’s marketing
efforts because it provides the company with the crucial information on the network’s users, which helps to
determine the best social media tactics for that particular site . Based on this study, it can further be said that
knowing which social media sites a company’s target market uses is another important key factor in
guaranteeing that online marketing will be successful.

Since social media sites can be exploited or to make full use for the information it provides on consumer
behaviour with regards to their purchase related intentions, research further suggests that businesses should
incorporate social networking sites into their business model or promotional mix. A business model is a system
of interdependent structures, activities, and processes that serve as a firm’s organizing logic and create value
for customers, itself, and its partners (Sorescu et al. 2011). Mangold and Faulds (2009) suggests that social
media should be considered as an integral part of an organization’s integrated marketing strategy and should
not be taken lightly. As Curran et al. (2011) points out, almost one in every thirteen person in the world is an
active Facebook user, which points to the potential of finding a ready market for any product or
service.Facebook is said to have the most fans after football. It shows the popularity of the Facebook among
the people living across the globe. This social media platform should be used effectively as it has a larger
audience base , and there are many features in Facebook which makes the buyer and seller come closer. People
or the users of the audience can share or follow their field of interests , their likes and dislikes and express
their opinions. This platforms provides startups opportunity to reach targeted audience in a easy and in a cost
effective way.

Chapter 6
References
Bampo, Mauro, Michael T. Ewing, Dineli R. Mather, David Stewart, and Mark Wallace. 2008. “The Effects
of the Social Structure of Digital Networks on Viral Marketing Performance.” . “Retail Spatial Evolution:
paving the way from traditional to metaverse retailing.” Electronic Consumer Research 9(135-148). Campbell,
Colin, Leyland F. Pitt, Michael Parent, and Pierre R. Berthon. 2011. “Understanding Consumer Conversations
around Ads in a Web 2.0 World.” Journal of Advertising 40:(87-102). Casaló, Luis V., Flavián Carlos, and
Miguel Guinalíu. 2008. “Promoting Consumer’s Participation in Virtual Brand Communities: A New
Paradigm in Branding Strategy.” Journal of Marketing Communications 14: 19-36. Cha, Jiyoung. 2009.
“Shopping on Social Networking Websites: Attitudes towards real versus virtual items.” Journal of Interactive
Advertising, 10: 77-93. Cheong,. Chi, Hsu-Hsien. 2011. “Interactive Digital Advertising VS. Virtual Brand
Community: Exploratory Study of User Motivation and Social Media Marketing Responses in Taiwan.”
Journal of Interactive Advertising 12: 44-61. Cox, Shirley A. 2010. “Online Social Network Member Attitude
Toward Online Advertising Formats.” “Word of mouth and viral marketing: taking the temperature of the
hottest trends in marketing.” Journal of Consumer Marketing
 Chapter 7

Research Methodology
Objectives of study: 1) Role of social media in new age startups and in organic ventures

2) Social media as a marketing tool

Problem statement: The lack of trust among the entrepreneurs and the fear of data theft are the most
commonly observed problems.Apart from these knowing which social media platform to use, answering all
of your customer’s questions is also observed as major problems. Lack of knowledge or expertise in handling
new age technologies. Ignorance and blindly following traditional way of marketing . Non acceptance of new
age marketing stratagies.

Research design: A descriptive study was undertaken to find out the role of social media in new age startups,
which were done on the basis of the acceptance of social media among new age entrepreneurs.

Research approach and technique: The most apt or the suitable technique was the observational method and
the qualitative observation by handling company’s Instagram and Facebook accounts. A questionnaire was
also prepared in order to understand the importance of social media as a marketing tool.

Data collection: Primary data collection was done by observing the social media accounts of the company ,
to be more specific the Instagram and the Facebook accounts and by structured questionnaire. Secondary data
was collected through internet surfing.

Limitations: For the companies which are not active on social there has been observed low sales comoared
to the one using social media platforms to the optimum level. There is no specific method to measure metrics
which can be used to measure the progression of sales using social media platforms. Identifying which social
media platforms to use is still difficult to understand.

Model’s which explains the benefits of social media in startups

The model below shows the relationship between all the three social media, marketing and start-up.
Social media is considered to be one of the most powerful marketing tool and it provides to start-up looking
to increase their reach of their product by reaching out to more and more audiences by using social media
platforms in a effective way .Social media can influence consumer buying behaviour .
The concept of social media has brought the tools and underlying technology, which provide
start-ups with the interface to continuously provide information and knowledge about their products and
services. Using the social media platforms and technology such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for
social sharing of content,ideas, videos, and images, start-ups can market at a very lower cost. Social media is
indeed a great platform for two-way communication process. It allows the consumers to discuss about
the ideas, post comments, ask questions and share links. This enables to open communication, leading to
enabling information discovery and delivery. The start-ups mostly expect their marketing efforts to
be cost effective, interactive, engaging and availability to a large audience base. This is because they
would need better and faster way to reach and to create awareness and visibility by offering and to build
long lasting relationships with customers. Social media enables to create a loyal customers if used in a effective
way.

The below given figure explains the relationship between the social media, marketing, and startups.
It helps us to get clear idea about the inter relationship among the three.

Analysis
After conducting observation on various case studies, the important and most prominent elements of four
social media tools have been identified and explained below. These models explains the nature
of the social media and how it can be used by start-ups for effective marketing purposes.This model explains
us that social media is a technology or a platform which can be used as a marketing tool by the organic food
industry and startups to generate new customers, to maintain the intimacy between the brand and the
customers, to interact and solve the problems faced by the consumers, to share news regharding discount or
sales.
Marketing using social media has variou9s objectrives included in it .They are as follows:

• Lower cost ,social media marketing is comparatively cheaper than all other traditional means of
marketing as it does not need anything apart from the internet, One may not have to spent a large
number of money in order to advertise in social media platforms. It helps to increase the profitability
of the firm.
• Interactive and engaging, as there is direct communication happening between the buyer and the
seller it is very interactive. Consumers queries are answered through social media channels. Social
media can also be used to engage customers by attractive offers and by creative tactics.
• Scalable communication, the statistics of the communication can be also checked this would help the
brand to identify the targeted audience .

How does the marketing work ?

• It helps the company to reach targeted audience easily, In social media there is huge number of
potential leads which would help the company to progress. By effectively using social media as a
marketing tool the company can reach to masses with low cost .
• Social media marketing helps the company to give awareness about their product.Company uses
social media platforms as a medium to convey launching of a new product and description about its
features.
• It increases the visibility of the company as there are end number of users in the social platforms and
they are spread all around the globe. So naturally it increases the visibility of the company.
• By the interaction between the customers and company it helps to build a good relationships. It is
very important for the company to maintain good relationship with the customers.
Below listed are two of the main social media platforms which is trending in social media marketing. They
are as follows.

How does “Facebook” as a marketing tool works?

Facebook is a very popular platforms for social media marketers both for everyday conversations and
organizations of engaging promotion based activities and to connect with the potential and targeted audience.
Facebook allows you to put a huge amount of content on its site through its posts, by posting contents on
walls, appear in the side columns on the Facebook site. They include many things like a headline with a
copy, an image, and a click-through link to a Facebook page.
All the Android and iPhone users can get official apps on Facebook to stay in touch with their
social community at any place or time. This allows constant interaction between the user and the enterprise
in a go. The above give figure explains us how Facebook plays an important role in marketing.
 How does”Twitter” as a marketing tool works?
\

Twitter works in real time where one can ask a question and get an instant response. Its
search features can be efficiently used to observe what people are saying about the company,
services, product and the competitors. Increasing or declining of the trends and patterns can be tracked
effectively also. In contrast from Facebook where you become friends with people you
know,but on Twitter you can follow the people and institutions that you find interesting. Friends
included, but also companies, celebrities reaching out a huge audience.
These are the some of the ways how social media is used in new age startups.

Data analysis and interpretation

This data analysis have been conducted by comparing the social media accounts of both the companies, the
data are as follows: The Instagram followers of 24 Mantra organic is 5162 and the following is 72., The
Instagram followers of Farmse is 3974 and their following is 837.The 24 Mantra is very active in facebook
platform compared to the Farmse , they have 95 thousand followers in their facebook account and while
Farmse is not much active in facebook they only have 2272 followers.
The difference is very huge. 24 Mantra has a larger base of audience compared to Farmse they can resach out
to more people and can it can result in increased sales. The involvement of the company with the audience is
very high in facebook, as it is said that after football facebook has the most fans. This proves the popularity of
the facebook. This popularity can be effectively used in marketing with a proper marketing strategy.
By comparing the fans or the followers of both the companies it is evident that 24 Mantra Organic has a wider
range of audience than farmse, farmse is a company which is established in 2 states still it has a lesser audience
in social media platforms compared to the 24 Mantra Organic .
The proper and effective usage of social media platforms have resulted in the success of 24 Mantra Organic,
they used the social media platforms effectively and has created a name among the consumers, they are very
much active on facebook as well as Instagram. They post feeds on regular basis . Farmse has a lesser following
than 24 Mantra Organic so their reach is also limited , they have focused largely on using Instagram and have
not given much attention to the facebook handle . As you can see that Farmse has more Instagram followers
than their facebook followers . It is necessary for the company to maintain and expand their audience base
regularly in order to fulfil the company objectives in a faster and effective way.
Apart from focusing just on the company products and sales using social media 24 Mantra Organic has also
made sure to make their audience connected with them by posting creative content, while Farmse posts only
consists of promotion of company products they didn’t focus on engaging the consumers . The 24 Mantra
Organic has too many likes as well as shares. People share their posts that means they are getting promotion
of their products and brand by the consumers themselves. This helps them to reach out to new consumers .
Farmse has comparatively less shares and likes.
For more clarity a survey was conducted in order to understand the importance of social media as marketing
tool in a business. To understand the importance of social media marketing 4 questions were framed which
covered the importance and impact of social media marketing among the people as well as how the social
media marketing plays a major role in business development. The 4 questions asked were:-
• Do you think social media as a marketing tool would help a business grow?
• Is advertisement on social media platforms important factor in business?
• Do social media attracts new consumers?
Do you get influenced by advertisement on social media platforms?

Table 1: Gender wise respondents

Gender Total Percentage

Female 23 37.1%
Male 39 62.9%
Others - -
Grand Total 62 100%
 Explanation
• 62 people were selected for conducting the survey out of which 39 were male respondents and 23 were
female respondents.
• Questionnaires were prepared and circulated to the people who are very active among the social media
platforms especially the Instagram and Facebook.

Table 2: Do you think social media as a marketing tool would help a business grow?

Explanation of Table 2
• Here it is seen that 56 people out of 62 i.e 90.3%people think that social media is an effective marketing
tool.
• 1 i.e 1% person only feels that social media is not an effective marketing tool.
• 5 people out of 62 i.e 8.1% people have voted for maybe .
This stats shows that maximum number of people who use social media believe that social media is an
effective marketing tool and it helps the business to grow.

Table 3: Is advertisement on social media platforms important factor in business

Explanation of Table 3
• This question was asked to understand the importance of advertisements in social media platforms.
• Here maximum people believe that advertisement on social media platforms is an important factor in
business. 57 out of 62 people i.e 91.9% believe that advertisement plays an important role.
• 1% believe that advertisement on social media platform is not an important factor rest have voted for
maybe i.e 6.5% of the total number of people.

Table 4:Do social media attracts new consumers?

Explanation of Table 4
 • Maximum number of people believe that social media attracts new consumers. 55 out of 62 people i.e
88.7% people have voted yes for this question
• 1% believe that social media does not attracts new consumers.
• 6 out of 62 i.e 9.7% people have voted for maybe.

Table 5: Do you get influenced by seeing advertisements on social media platforms

Explanation of Table 5
• This question was framed to understand the influence of advertisements on social media platforms on
buying behaviour of the people.
• 36 out of 62 i.e 58% people gets influenced by the advertisements seen on social media platforms.
• 4 out 62 people i.e 6.5% doesn’t get influenced by the advertisements on social media platforms.
• 22 out of 62 people i.e 35.5% people have voted for maybe.

Interpretation
By the survey it is clearly understood that the social media is an effective marketing tool and it should be used
by the company effectively to obtain better results. People’s buying behaviour is very much affected by the
advertisements on social media platforms. People get influenced by the creative advertisements of the
company, social media advertisements also helps to influence new consumers too. Thus by this we can
understand that social media marketing has a very important role in increasing the sales of the business. Apart
from using traditional approach of marketing the new age entrepreneurs and startup owners should take social
media marketing seriously.
 Findings
From the paper we can come to a conclusion that it is very essential for start-ups and companies to understand
social media tools and the tactics behind using social media for growing or commencing their business. Social
media enables or helps companies to show what a company offers and to observe consumers value. Companies
need to find out ways of connecting which are most effective for their business, what
information they are looking to share and how to keep customers engaged. Better the engagement with the
audience better the sales of the company.

It has been observed that Facebook is a more effective social media platform for organic
companies comparatively as it accomplishes to fulfil to reach awareness, visibility
and relationships. Facebook users mostly likes to share information with friends and potential audience,
like company pages, and comment on posts made by companies . These activities both create
word-of-mouth and allows for communication between the company and the consumers to prosper. This
shows that marketing on Facebook can be very beneficial for start-up companies in both reaching and creating
loyal customers. By comparing the data of both the companies it is evident that more the engagement in social
media there is a very huge chances of increased sales, it is necessary for the company to identify which
platform to use . Here in this scenario 24 Mantra Organic has utilized the facebook to its maximum hence they
have a good number of audience and they are capable of reaching a large number of audience by their posts .
As there are increased number of followers the chances of posts being shared are also high, by sharing the
posts the company can reach out to the new audience also. Farmse has focused largely on using Instagram
than facebook, they have comparatively lesser number of followers this restricts the reach of the company to
a larger audience. Apart from increasing the followers on social media platforms it is also necessary to make
the followers engaged by posting feeds which are creative. Creative posts may have a very positive impact on
the minds of the followers , if they find the post intresting they might share it as well which may increase the
visibility of the company to other potential customers who are not in your followers list. So it is very necessary
to identify which platform to use and how to use the platform effectively.

Future Scope
This research also studies the effects of social media in reaching consumers by start-ups through
various mediums. The very next step would be getting more and more primary data through face to face
interviews of start-up creators. This would further help to get detailed information on how the owner or
manager uses social media and could be analyzed upon in a detail manner. To get a more clear picture of the
results of social media marketing, research should also be conducted to see more and more tangible results of
social media marketing. This could be done by for example calculating return on investment or in other ways
trying to measure what the effects of social media marketing have on sales in start-up companies and things
like that.

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