In today’s times, the only thing about Chinese, Indians love is the Indian (Desi) Chinese cuisine. The origin of Indian Chinese food took place in Kolkata, where the original Chinese ethnic community immigrated to India looking for better prospects and a better life around 250 years ago.
Eau chew recognized as one of the first Indo-Chinese restaurants in the country, the still-standing has gained its popularity by using the fashionable pull of exotic Chinese foods combined with non-threatening familiar flavors of chili, curry, and corn starch, to attract and keep-on customers.
Research conducted by AIMS several years ago had revealed that the demand for Chinese food in India grew phenomenally in the late 80s to an extent that in Mumbai alone there were around 10K roadside Chinese food stalls setups till 1990 from just 4-5 restaurants in 1987. The reason for the increasing fan base of Chinese cuisine cited was that it was affordable and adapted itself very well to various tastes.
Making the most of this opportunity and knowing the taste buds of Indian’s, Ajay Gupta (MD, Capital foods) founded Ching’s Secret in 1996.
- First organized Chinese brand was launched in India
- A manufacturing unit was set up in Nashik at the cost of Rs 2.5Cr
- Capital foods currently co-manufacturers and also operate our own manufacturing plants in Vapi, Nashik, and Gandhi Dham
Ching’s? How did the name come up?
- Ching’s comes from the last Chinese dynasty, the Qing (Pronounced Ching) dynasty under which the Chinese cuisine really became finer
To reach to every household kitchen, a heavy marketing and advertising was needed. Initial years of advertising started off with 30 sec TV commercial, then they decided to venture on Facebook with its first ever fan page and went on to become India’s 1st branded community with 100K fans.
“We wanted somebody who had the essence of the brand in his brand and that’s where we got in touch with Ranveer,” Ajay Gupta said
Ching’s Advertising Journey:
Ranveer Singh became Ranveer Ching in 2014. He was the 2nd actor whose name was integrated with a brand, since Shahrukh ‘Mayur’ Khan in 1995 (brand Ambassador of Mayur Suiting’s)
- After the 1st video release with ‘Ranveer Ching’, In Aug 2014 they went from 70,000 stores to 2,80,000 stores by Dec 2015
Ranveer Ching Returns in Jan 2016 and this time they had aimed to give a blockbuster video which made them join hands with Rohit Shetty for another masterpiece.
- The official video has gained more than 20 million views
In 2018, Ali Abbas Zafar made an entry as a director for Captain Ching Rises
In 2017, Late actress Sridevi was roped in and in 2019 Neena Gupta and Marathi film star Priya Bapat were the brand ambassador with a mission to help Indians cook Desi Chinese at home.
Recently, Ching’s Secret and Smith and Jones parent company Capital food released a recipe e-book “Global Khana Desi Tadka.”
- The e-book has been curated to include over 50 quick, delicious, and innovative dishes that can be made at home. Written in both Hindi and English, the e-book offers an interactive experience with clickable links to instructional videos that demonstrate how the dishes are made
What other marketing strategies do you think Ching’s Secret can use?
