After spending nearly 15 years working across the pharmaceutical and banking sectors, in 2018, I decided to return to my family business and explore its growth potential. Armed with an MBA and professional experience, I believed the business could grow far beyond its existing footprint with the right direction and planning.
Our company, Sri Venkata Sai Durga Enterprises, supplies commercial refrigeration and kitchen equipment to businesses across Andhra Pradesh. We provide products such as deep freezers, visi coolers, water coolers, pastry counters, and commercial kitchen equipment to hotels, restaurants, educational institutions, and retail establishments.
Over the years, we strengthened our distribution network, expanded our customer base, and established ourselves as one of the leading dealers in the region. However, the pandemic years disrupted business growth and forced us to rethink our approach. While we gradually recovered, the experience highlighted the risks of relying solely on traditional sales channels and the need to explore new avenues. I began looking for ways to reach new customers, diversify revenue streams, and build a more resilient enterprise.
In 2025, while exploring new opportunities for the company, I came across the Walmart Vriddhi program. At the time, I had little experience with eCommerce and was looking to better understand how online marketplaces could support our business growth.
The Walmart Vriddhi program helped bridge that gap. Having spent years growing the business through traditional distribution channels, I was unfamiliar with the workings of online marketplaces. The training and mentorship gave me the confidence to list products online, manage digital sales, and understand what it takes to succeed in eCommerce. It showed me how businesses like ours could grow beyond its existing customer base.
A key takeaway from the learning program was understanding how online visibility influences customer reach. I learned how to create promotions, run advertising campaigns, and effectively use ad credits to make our products more visible. These learnings gave us the confidence and strategy to approach online selling more effectively, laying the foundation for our growth on Flipkart.
After completing the Walmart Vriddhi program, I onboarded onto Flipkart and began selling through the marketplace. This marked a milestone in our journey, as it allowed us to put the program’s learnings into practice while complementing our established operations with a new digital sales channel.
Following our onboarding in November 2025, we began active selling in January 2026 and generated nearly ₹20 lakh in online revenue within five months. Sales increased more than fourfold, from ₹1.50 lakh in January to over ₹6 lakh by March, validating our decision to expand into eCommerce.
Among our online offerings, water coolers emerged as one of the best-performing product categories, driven by demand from hotels, offices, colleges, and other commercial establishments.
The Walmart Vriddhi program played an important role in helping us embrace digital transformation and create a new avenue for expansion. By combining years of industry expertise with the opportunities offered by digital commerce, we are building a more resilient and future-ready business.
As we continue to strengthen our online presence, we look forward to reaching new customers and driving sustainable growth in the years ahead.
