TRANSFORMING THE INFORMAL TO A FORMAL SECTOR THROUGH BRANDING: A STUDY ON PROCESSED FOODS IN DHAKACITY

Abstract

Informal food sector is a ubiquitous phenomenon for ages and exists on a firm foothold against many odds; indeed, offers two clear benefits. On one side, it creates jobs and on the other it provides significant food benefit for the city dwellers. Hence, the demand for its transformation into the formal sector is the call of the time. Experts are divided on their respective set of opinions and guidelines about transformation. This thesis introduces branding as a means of transformation of informal street food into formal sector. In order to explore the correlation between branding and their transformation, in this thesis, interpretivist case study is applied and five cases are screened. These cases are from four different categories of food (Biryani, Coffee and fast food, burger; and fast food and snacks) while they belong to two different entrepreneurial orientations; namely: survivalist and growth. All of these cases while had a debut in the informal sector; by now, they all have transformed into formal sector and still on the go with their success through branding. These five successful food brands are Fakruddin Biriyani, Nanna Biriyani, Apon Coffee, Mr. Burger and Mama Piaju. All these discussed brands have been in operation over a long period of time from 1966 to 2014 (Fakruddin since 1966, Haji Nanna since 1973, Apon Coffee since 2006 and Mr Burger since 2014, Mama Piaju since 1998). Though all these five presented brands are different with respect to time of introduction and product offerings but the research reveals that all share some commonness. All of these food entrepreneurs are focused to create value that satisfies their target customers; they have in-depth knowledge about product; they are sufficiently creative in designing their offerings and Word of Mouth is the main channel of communication to earn them market reputation.