Desi Fusion and the Lyall Farm Store: The Challenges of Balancing Profits, Tradition and Social Responsibility in a Rapidly Developing India

This case is about an Indian female entrepreneur, Ms.Pavit Sidhu Puri, who was attempting to profitably create opportunities for impoverished women producing traditional hand-crafted products and environmentally-friendly, homemade traditional Indian delicacies. She was CEO of 2 businesses — Lyall Farm Store (LFS) and Desi Fusion (DF). LFS was established by Gursharan Kaur in 2004. It mainly dealt in traditional hand-made food items likes herbs, spices, pickles and other staple foods, while DF was launched in 2011 by Pavit Sidhu Puri, the daughter in law of Gursharan Kaur. DF’s products gave a modern twist to the traditional Phulkari (the handmade embroidery work of the Punjab) by converting it into products like laptop and mobile covers, handbags, wines covers and tissue boxes. Both businesses have been doing very well. They have been profitable so far, but the number of orders had been decreasing. They have encountered problems involving sourcing the right raw material, ensuring the availability of labor keeping the costs low, as well as creating awareness and acceptance among customers. After the death of Gursharan Kaur, Pavit was left alone to surmount the problems at both companies. She had inherited a legacy and as well as initiated her own venture. Now she was at a juncture where she had to overcome the present problems and place both ventures on growth trajectory.