Constant innovation and creating a culture that encourages new ideas are key to building a successful business, Marico founder and chairman Harsh Mariwala said on Saturday.
''I realised the importance of innovation 20 years back... When I look back at our brands, they all have something different which has succeeded in the market.. So, if you to succeed in the marketplace you have to you innovate, not just to launch a product but also on a perpetual basis, because it is a matter of time others will start copying you,'' Mariwala said at a session organised by the Centre of Family Business and Entrepreneurship, SPJIMR.
In a product like the Parachute, Marico constantly innovated in its packaging, Safola was a pioneer in healthy edible oil and so on, he stated. ''My belief in innovation is very high and that's why we started the Marico Innovation Foundation. I think, if India has to succeed, innovation has to play a very important role,'' he noted.
However, Mariwala said it is difficult to create a culture of innovation in businesses and it is the leadership to ensure that people in the organisation experiment and take risks and remove the fear of failure.
''To create a culture of innovation, where everybody in the organisation is thinking about new ways of doing things not only at the manufacturing end but at all departments. To create a culture of innovation you need talent, diversity as it brings in great ideas, an open culture where one can communicate ideas and the most important of all is to remove the fear of failure, because it halts innovation,'' Mariwala added.
(With PTI inputs)
