Help Us Green: Challenges in Scaling an Upcycled Flowers Business

Help Us Green LLC (HUG), based in Kanpur, India, manufactured incense sticks from floral waste discarded from religious places like temples. Throughout its early stages as it attempted to establish a niche in the domestic market, amidst the challenges of scaling in a price-sensitive environment with limited awareness of sustainable practices, HUG had remained steadfast in its focus on the domestic market. The co-founder was now considering whether to prioritize scaling operations in the domestic market or focusing on export markets where the customer had greater purchasing power and awareness about sustainable products. In the international market, the company would have to analyze the competition and embark on an internationalization strategy to enter hand-picked international markets. With India among the top exporters of incense sticks in the international market, HUG would have to carve out a niche for its environment-friendly products through careful labelling, branding, and certification. It had to evaluate an internationalization strategy and consider the trade-offs between profitability and sustainability.