Daawat Ready-to-Cook Biryani Kit In-Store Sampling Program
When shoppers walk into a grocery store and smell freshly cooked biryani, they pause. Curiosity takes over. Many want to taste it.
Daawat wanted to recreate this moment while introducing its Ready-to-Cook Biryani Kits across 70+ modern retail stores in 6 cities.
Instead of relying only on shelf visibility, the brand wanted shoppers to experience the product as it would be served at home. The idea was simple: cook the biryani, let shoppers taste it, and allow the aroma and experience to drive purchase decisions.
Executing this across multiple retail outlets required careful coordination. Cooking had to happen off-site, the food had to be transported to stores while maintaining quality, and sampling needed to run smoothly inside busy retail environments.
Client Requirement
The objective was to introduce Daawat Ready-to-Cook Biryani Kits through live product experience inside modern retail stores, while also driving product trial and store-level sales.
Unlike dry sampling, the activity required cooking the product and offering freshly prepared biryani to shoppers. This meant maintaining strict hygiene standards, following the product preparation process exactly as instructed, and ensuring consistency across locations.
The program also required end-to-end visibility of field operations so that preparation, transportation, sampling and sales could be monitored in real time.
Our Approach
1. Structured Wet Sampling Execution Model
To introduce the Ready-to-Cook Biryani Kit through live product experience, the program was designed as a controlled wet sampling model across modern retail outlets.
- Promoters were deployed at retail outlets to conduct live sampling for shoppers
- Sampling was conducted only during high-footfall days (Friday to Sunday)
- Freshly prepared biryani samples were offered to shoppers inside the store
This approach allowed the product experience to directly influence shopper decisions at the shelf.
2. Coordinated Cooking and Distribution System
Wet sampling required a structured flow of materials from distributors to cooking partners and finally to retail outlets.
- Ready-to-cook biryani kits were collected from city distributors
- Kits were transported to local cooking partners for preparation
- Cooking was carried out by experienced local biryani specialists following detailed step-by-step preparation guidelines provided by the brand
- Only ingredients included in the kit were used, with no additional spices, salt, vegetables, or external ingredients added
- Cooked biryani was transported to retail outlets for sampling after required approvals
The program required careful coordination to ensure the food reached stores on time while maintaining freshness, taste consistency, and quality across cities. Since Daawat's brand reputation is strongly associated with rice quality, the cooking process had to be followed slowly and precisely to avoid rice breakage and ensure the product was served exactly as intended.
3. Hygiene and Quality Compliance
Maintaining hygiene standards was critical because the activity involved cooking and serving food inside retail environments.
- Supervisors monitored the preparation process at cooking locations
- Hygiene practices during cooking and packaging were verified
- The transfer of prepared food from cooking centers to retail outlets was closely tracked
- Compliance checks ensured the preparation process followed brand guidelines
This helped maintain food safety and product integrity throughout the operation.
4. Technology-Enabled Field Monitoring
The entire sampling program was tracked through the 1Channel application to provide operational visibility.
Supervisors captured operational updates including:
- Kit collection from distributors
- Cooking documentation through images and videos
- Packaging and transfer of prepared biryani to outlets
- Promoter training
- Hygiene and skills rating
Promoters recorded in-store activity including:
- Shelf space monitoring for stock and hygiene
- Hygiene image capture of setup and promoter
- Number of samples distributed
- Customer feedback from shoppers
- Sales during sampling and non-sampling days
Geo-tagged updates and digital evidence provided real-time visibility into the program and helped maintain execution discipline across locations.
Impact
Sales Impact During Sampling
Sampling activity had a clear influence on store-level sales.
Stores where sampling was conducted saw sales increase to approximately 3x their normal daily levels during sampling days compared to non-sampling days.
Progressive Weekend Growth
As the program stabilized, stores where the experience was live recorded nearly 60% higher weekend sales by the third weekend compared to the first weekend.
Conclusion
The Daawat in-store sampling program demonstrated how a well-coordinated wet sampling execution can turn product trial into measurable sales impact. By combining structured cooking and distribution logistics, strict hygiene compliance, deployed promoters, and technology-enabled field monitoring through 1Channel, the program delivered consistent results across 70+ stores in 6 cities.
For FMCG brands looking to drive product trial and in-store conversions, Channelplay offers end-to-end in-store activation and retail deployment services that combine field execution with real-time operational visibility.
