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The sight of those white capped men in white uniforms in Mumbai makes one hungry. And the traditional people delivering meals for ages have also contributed to Mumbai’s identity in the global map. Their experience and work culture have been a topic of studies in various management institutes across India. 
 
Yes, we are talking about the Dabbwalas of Mumbai. 
 
Now, Bengaluru-based food aggregator Swiggy has partnered with the famous Mumbai dabbawalas to train its own delivery fleet ahead of its launch in four Mumbai neighbourhoods, according to a news report by The Economic Times. 
 
"The dabbawalas are something that you immediately identify with when it comes to food delivery in Mumbai," Nandan Reddy, cofounder, Swiggy told the financial daily. 
 
"We want to understand the dabbawalas' culture and what drives them with regards to quality and consistency of deliveries, and put them in place in Swiggy." 
 
The Mumbai dabbawalas, a century-old system by which the delivery men bring hundreds of thousands of homemade meals to office workers without the aid of technology, is estimated to have an error rate of one in six million. 
 
"Mumbai dabbawalas can teach delivery companies about making deliveries consistent, timely and accurate. Their passion and commitment is not about work culture, but because work is worship," Pawan Agrawal, who travels globally to speak on Mumbai dabbawalas told the ET. "After such a workshop, they can do best."

Dabbawalas are now mentoring delivery boys

<ul><li><keyword id="830092" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zomato">Zomato</keyword> has announced the complete acquisition of <keyword id="3101480" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Feeding-India">Feeding India</keyword> – a startup that aims to solve <keyword id="622388" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="food-wastage">food wastage</keyword> and end hunger in India. </li><li>The foodtech unicorn has been working with the not-for-profit for over 6 months now. </li><li>While Feeding India will continue to be a not-for-profit, Zomato will fund the salaries of all the employees. </li></ul>Indian foodtech unicorn Zomato has acquired Feeding India, a not-for-profit startup, that helps in solving India’s food wastage problem. Zomato has been working with Feeding India for over 6 months and now, the not-for-profit’s team has officially been integrated with the foodtech giant, according to the company’s official <a href="https://www.zomato.com/blog/fighting-hunger-and-wastage">blog. </a> Through Feeding India, donors can make a request for <keyword id="3100546" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="food-donation">food donation</keyword>, and the startup’s volunteers called Hungry Heroes reach the spot to check and collect the food. They then subsequently deliver the food at a previously identified ‘Feeding India Hunger Spot’ – where the food is given to the needy. According to Zomato, since their work together began 6 months ago, Feeding India’s number of monthly meals has gone from 78,300 in December 2018 to over 1.1 million meals a month now, while also scaling up its operations from 65 to 82 and adding 13,000 volunteers to have a total of 21,500 volunteers now. Feeding India was founded by Ankit Kawatra four years ago, who at 22 had quit his job to start the not-for-profit. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/zomato-to-offer-dabbawala-service-delivering-home-cooked-meals/articleshow/70123229.cms">Zomato to offer dabbawala service, delivering home-cooked meals</a>

Zomato buys food donation startup Feeding India for some good karma

​The Oscar fights never go out of fashion in India. We have not made our mark there yet in spite of many Indian connections with movies like Life of Pi and <keyword id="32892" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Slumdog-Millionaire">Slumdog Millionaire</keyword>. But when it comes to selecting India’s official entry for the Foreign Language Film category at the <keyword id="9344" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Academy-Awards">Academy Awards</keyword>, the heat is full on. This time, there were as many as 22 contenders and some entries like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, English Vinglish, Celluloid, Shabdo, Ship of Theseus and <keyword id="6354603" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Kamal-Haasan">Kamal Haasan</keyword>’s Vishwaroopam created a lot of buzz. But the final battle royal seemed to have boiled down to just two – Mumbaikar <keyword id="1539946" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ritesh-Batra">Ritesh Batra</keyword>’s <keyword id="1678680" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="The-Lunchbox">The Lunchbox</keyword> and Goa-born <keyword id="1602536" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gyan-Correa">Gyan Correa</keyword>’s <keyword id="1602537" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="The-Good-Road">The Good Road</keyword>. However, The Lunchbox lost to The Good Road, which earlier bagged the national award for the best Gujarati feature film. Correa’s flick was picked by a 19-member jury, appointed by the <keyword id="291689" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Film-Federation-of-India">Film Federation of India</keyword> (FFI). 
 
What they tweeted 
A Press release said the decision had been unanimous, but congratulatory and disgruntled tweets followed. Here’s a look at some of the significant ones. 
 
Gujarat chief minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>: Delighted to know that Gujarati film The Good Road has been chosen to represent India at Oscars. My best wishes. 
 
<keyword id="7929" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anurag-Kashyap">Anurag Kashyap</keyword> (the film-maker co-produced The Lunchbox with <keyword id="197931" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Guneet-Monga">Guneet Monga</keyword>): Feeling very, very disappointed, can’t comment on the film I have not seen, but it better make it to final five… I don’t know who the federation is. But it goes to show, why we completely lack the understanding to make films that can travel across borders… I hope and pray I am wrong and it actually is a film that knocks the socks off everyone… We should then make a clean policy, you want to send the best film, then send the national award winner. Or send the one most likely to win... Anyway, disappointment and anger aside… let’s go back to make cinema… 
 
<keyword id="3778" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karan-Johar">Karan Johar</keyword> (The director-producer turned presenter for The Lunchbox): Really shocked and disappointed… #LUNCHBOX had every factor working in its favour... we may have just lost our golden chance… SAD!!! 
 
Ritesh Batra (Director, The Lunchbox): Congrats to The Good Road. Hope it makes it all the way, else it will be a lost chance by FFI-appointed jury that lacks vision. Hope I am wrong… 
 
The Good Road and The Lunchbox: Head-to-head 
Some industry experts are not too enthusiastic and feel that The Lunchbox would have been a better Oscar choice for several reasons. So here is a head-to-head for our readers, along with some lesser-known facts. 
 
Auteur cinema is gaining prominence. Written by Correa himself, The Good Road is a documentary-style collage of stories woven around the highway where the protagonists lose their way, struggle on their personal quests and evolve in a way that touches the heart. The Lunchbox, on the other hand, brings to life the ever-present Mumbai dabbawalas (tiffin carriers) and a bitter-sweet story of bonding that starts with a misplaced lunchbox (according to a Harvard University study, the delivery system is so excellent that just one in a million lunch boxes will go to a wrong address). Each film reflects its director’s vision instead treading the beaten path. 
 
Both Correa and Batra did it hands-on. It was real-life research for both the directors. Correa got into a truck and went on a journey, getting to the core of things before he created his story. Batra worked as a <keyword id="415857" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dabbawala">dabbawala</keyword> for a week to get the hang of it. 
 
But they come from different industries. That’s right. Batra studied Economics and worked as a consultant for Deloitte. He left the job to join the Graduate Film Program at New York University, but dropped out after a year and a half due to fund crunch. Correa is from the advertising space but decided to have a go at film-making. 
 
In spite of debacle, The Lunchbox gets a bite of the global pie. According to media reports, it has already been sold to 30 different territories globally and could be the first Indian film with 3 foreign producers – ASAP Films of France, Rohfilm of Germany and Cinemosaic of America, along with <keyword id="66984" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="NFDC">NFDC</keyword>, Sikhya <keyword id="4578" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="entertainment">Entertainment</keyword>, Dharma Productions and DAR Films from India. It can also be the first Indian movie to be released across 100 screens in Germany. Incidentally, the film was made on a shoestring budget of $1.5 million. On the other hand, NFDC produced The Good Road, but it doesn’t have an <keyword id="1878880" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="American-distributor">American distributor</keyword> yet. 
 
But what about Oscar compatibility? The Lunchbox might have got a favourable push at the Oscars, had it been chosen. For one, <keyword id="16207" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Irrfan-Khan">Irrfan Khan</keyword> is a familiar name (his roles in The Warrior, Mighty Heart, Slumdog Millionaire and The Amazing Spider-man certainly helped) and the movie has already received some rev reviews at Cannes, Telluride, Toronto and India. Moreover, <keyword id="6411012" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sony-Pictures">Sony Pictures</keyword> Classics will be distributing the film in the US and that could have been another plus. The Good Road has one Oscar connection, though. Its sound designer Resul Pookutty has already won an Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009. 
 
Bottom line: Till date, only three <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> movies made it to the nomination stage of the Oscar. These include Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957), <keyword id="7999" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mira-Nair">Mira Nair</keyword>’s Salaam Bombay (1988) and <keyword id="17233" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ashutosh-Gowariker">Ashutosh Gowariker</keyword>’s Lagaan (2001). The Good Road belongs to the art house pack, but going by the poor track record of other ‘arty’ films (Salim Ahamed’s Abu, Son of Adam in 2011, <keyword id="82569" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Anusha-Rizvi">Anusha Rizvi</keyword>’s Peepli Live in 2010 and <keyword id="33044" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kalpana-Lajmi">Kalpana Lajmi</keyword>’s Rudaali in 1993), will Gollywood’s (a concoction of Gujarat and Bollywood) tryst with Oscar produce something more fruitful this time? Also, will it be possible for the Lunchbox team to push the movie at the Oscars even without the government’s backing? Let us wait and watch how ‘independent’ our independent cinema is in reality. 
 
With additional input from Agencies 
Image courtesy: Indiatimes

‘Good Road’ Tops India’s Oscar Race; Will ‘Lunchbox’ Get The Global Pie?

<ul><li>In an unprecedented year like 2020, brands took a different route during the festive season, the route of empathy.</li><li>However, can brands truly be empathetic, asks <keyword id="1770414" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="manu-prasad">Manu Prasad</keyword>, Chief Marketing Officer, <keyword id="1637098" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Scripbox">Scripbox</keyword> in his column.</li></ul>This Diwali, brands that didn’t need festive-offer advertising to light up their sales figures used a sound strategy instead - empathy. From Facebook’s Pooja Didi to India’s first-ever hyper-personalised ad (this claim is disputed) by Cadbury, brands used the travails of a Covid-hit society to maximum effect. Health workers, local businesses, parents, domestic help, dabbawalas - everyone was at the receiving end of a psychological hug. However, it’s hard to distinguish between moment marketing and actual empathy these days. A mini primer on empathy helps elaborate my concern. The TL;DR version - <keyword id="4628142" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="cognitive-empathy">Cognitive empathy</keyword> is “understanding what others feel”. It makes us better communicators because we are able to convey information effectively. - Emotional empathy is “feeling what others feel”. It helps us build better relationships with others. - Compassionate empathy is “caring about how others feel”. It moves us to take action. Where do you think advertising is playing? The question therefore is whether empathy can play a larger role in a brand’s life. The elevator pitch When distribution, product, pricing, celebrity endorsers are all on par in a category, who steps up to the plate as a key competitive differentiator and a TOMA hawk? Influencers! Ok, not really, but it does contain a grain of truth. Influencers not only create recall, but also help build trust and credibility for the brand. They are thus a means to the sustainable answer - brand affinity. Strong brand affinity creates advocates and accelerates word of mouth. Empathy, I would argue, plays a strong role in building brand affinity. It has an impact on two important aspects of how customers judge a brand - competence (across all the competitive factors in the previous section) and values. Without really understanding customers, a brand cannot retain its competitive edge. And articulating what it stands for is becoming increasingly important, especially in a polarised world. That explains why “cause marketing” is becoming popular - the entire premise is based on empathy for something - a set of people, or the environment at large. Empathy in communication Empathy is actually at the heart of brand management. If you have done market research to understand customers, created personas, and used customer insights to deliver powerful brand campaigns, well, it wouldn’t have been possible without empathy. A brand’s communication signals its worldview, and makes it relatable to its customers. Forming a worldview that resonates requires empathy! And yes, that includes the channels you advertise on! Empathy everywhere Communication operates at a cognitive level, generally speaking. But to go deeper - both in terms of empathy as well as organisational support - the brand needs a vision that its entire ecosystem can rally behind. For instance, thinking of the product as a “job to be done” in the consumer’s life requires both cognitive and emotional empathy. When customer service is less empathetic in trying to solve the customer’s problem and rigidly follows a rulebook, you get United Airlines, which dragged a paying customer out. Alternatively, it could be like Ryan Air with its critical and commercial hit “Always Getting Better”. Does the organisation treat the ecosystem like Berger and Asian Paints, who provided cash support to their dealers, anticipating muted demand? Or eBay’s “Up &amp; Running” for small businesses? Or does it leave them to their own devices? Brands like Allbirds even help customers contribute shoes to health workers with “We’re better together”. And if you’re <keyword id="33542" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Burger-King">Burger King</keyword>, you can be empathetic even to your competitors! Empathy vs In The Lessons of History, Will Durant writes, “Nature smiles at the union of freedom and equality in our utopias. For freedom and equality are sworn and everlasting enemies, and when one prevails the other dies.” Most businesses also optimise for efficiency, and I wonder if efficiency and empathy are like freedom and equality. Most businesses also aim for scale. But even as martech increases its capability to create a segment of one, and chatbots abound, empathy at scale remains a challenge in execution beyond mass advertising. Maybe, in the future, with facial recognition that can detect emotions, AI that can provide even more context and information, and recognise tone and modulation, my bot can speak to your marketing bot on my behalf. But for now, we have to consider calls for personal loans as empathetic gestures! With scale also comes the problem of “partial empathy”. A brand might be doing great work on sustainability but will get called out if it’s not paying fair wages. Even the actions of their partners or endorsers have an effect. One of the lessons the pandemic has taught us is the power and value of true empathy. As inequities and activism rises, and AI continues to reduce a consumer to a numerical probability, empathy has the potential to provide the counterbalance, and be a source of competitive advantage. To quote Maya Angelou, “...people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”

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Dabbawalas are now mentoring delivery boys

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Zomato buys food donation startup Feeding India for some good karma

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‘Good Road’ Tops India’s Oscar Race; Will ‘Lunchbox’ Get The Global Pie?

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Can brands be truly empathetic?

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