Journey behind JhaJi’s Pickle Sample Pack: Exploring Taste of Mithila
by Kalpana Jha on Dec 07, 2023
Achaar is a staple of a food thali in Mithila. Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner. Summer, Monsoon or Winters. We have pickles for every season.
If the pickles we offer at JhaJi Store are any guide, there are at least 2 pickles for every month in the year.
The pickles all have very different taste profiles and texture. They vary widely in spice levels and tanginess too.
Our purpose of building the JhaJi Store is to introduce people to the authentic taste of Mithilanchal. So we’re constantly open to new ideas for serving these pickles.
One such idea led us to launching the sample packs in July of 2022. And as it Turns out, the hunch was spot-on!
In this blog, we're spilling the beans on how the journey of sample pack began. A tale of finding a new way to serve Mithilanchal's fantastic taste with the world.
Solving Flavor Dilemmas: The Sample Pack Epiphany
Back in the summer of 2022, our team was deep in discussion.
Thanks to the spotlight from Shark Tank, we had already sold an impressive 1 Crore+ worth of pickles. Our main fans were fellow Biharis scattered across the country, savoring the taste of home in our flavors.
Exciting as it was, there was a twist. We noticed that many early customers, trying some flavors for the first time, were accidentally picking flavors that didn't quite match their taste buds.
Of course, we happily replaced them – our commitment to customer satisfaction is unshakable.
Yet, we couldn't ignore the fact that some folks just didn't feel up to trying a different flavor.
That got us thinking. What if there was a way for these first-timers to explore our range without committing to a whole jar?
And that's when the idea of the sample pack started to simmer.
It seemed like the perfect solution to make sure everyone could find their pickle paradise.
Crafting the Perfect 8: The Birth of Our Signature Sample Pack
We decided to curate a pack of 8 different pickles, from the 15 flavors we were selling at the time.
We picked pickles that were uniquely bihari, offered a variety of flavors for everyone’s palate and were selling well in the store.
We had also noticed that ~30% of audience asks for garlic-free pickles on our store. So we decided to make the sample pack available in another Jain-friendly variation, that had no traces of garlic in it.
We switched our advertising campaigns to focus in large part on sample packs for first-time customers.
We immediately found success with the campaign and very soon, 30% of all orders coming in were for sample packs.
People loved the idea of trying different flavors before they selected a larger jar to order. Many others simply appreciated a variety of flavors available on the dining table.
We decided to double down on this idea of sample packs.
A Story for Every Taste: Personalized Sample Packs from Team
We asked team members to curate sample packs and submit suggestions. Ultimately, we picked four different combinations.
Kalpana Jha's Nostalgia Pack
A tasty trip curated by our founding director and Mithila enthusiast. Bold and full of character, Kalpana's pack is a flavorful dive into the authentic tastes of Mithila. Each bite brings a familiar, nostalgic feeling, paired with the enticing fragrance of mustard oil. It's not just a pickle; it's a journey into the heart of Mithila's culinary heritage.
Uma Kumari’s Chatpate Delights Pack
Uma's choice is a sweet and spicy adventure, featuring the tanginess of Imli and the kick of Green Chilli. Every bite is a delightful conversation of flavors, bringing the joy of chatpate goodness to your taste buds.
Sanjay’s Simply Sweet Pack
Sanjay, the son of the soil, whose taste buds are rooted in local Malda Mangoes and Desi Oal. The pack is a testament to his sweet yet chatpata tooth for Amla. With every bite, Sanjay's pack invites you to experience the simplicity and authenticity of local flavors, capturing the essence of Mithila's agricultural richness.
Rajan’s Grated Gourmet Pack
Our head of customer service brings a love of life's finer details. Rajan's choice reflects an artful approach to pickles, where each jar is a canvas painted with the meticulous strokes of flavor blending.
Indulge in these personalized packs, each a unique expression of the individuals behind them. Which tale will you choose to taste today?
Savoring Success: Wrapping up the Sample Pack Saga
Like I wrote earlier, almost 30% of all new orders come in for sample packs.
Early on, people appreciate them for the variety. Achaar adds to your food’s flavor. And it helps if you have a few to choose from.
Besides, not everyone in the family have the same palate. Some like their pickles spicy, while others like them tangy.
A sample pack uniquely covers these situations.
We’ve also noted that we now have more people coming back for a second and third purchase. The retention rate has doubled since we introduced the pack.
It makes sense.
With sample pack, people get to know what they like. The pickles that they then like, they can get larger jars in 250g or 500g from us.
We make it even easier for customers to get these larger jars by offering a unique discount to get 15% OFF on all future purchases.
If you haven’t already tried, we welcome you to buy the sample pack and try some flavors for yourself. You’ll always have the advantage of buying any flavor you like at lower cost than everyone else out there.
We make it even easier for customers to get these larger jars by offering a unique discount to get 15% OFF on all future purchases.
If you haven’t already tried, we welcome you to buy the sample pack and try some flavors for yourself. You’ll always have the advantage of buying any flavor you like at lower cost than everyone else out there.