Looking for the right products. In September 2023, I, Simon, flew to Chennai, India. I didn't really have a plan or any contacts. My father had advised me to go to George Town, the district for stainless steel tableware. When I arrived at my hotel, I first enjoyed the delicious Indian food, a Thali, served on a stainless steel plate, of course.
I was so excited for the adventure that I immediately took a rickshaw to George Town. When I told the driver I wanted to buy stainless steel tableware, he laughed and said, "Enough stainless steel in George Town." He was right; when we arrived, I saw small and large shops everywhere, stacks of stainless steel lunch boxes everywhere, and carts laden with stainless steel plates and cups driving down the street. Everywhere you looked, stainless steel and people; it was crowded and there was shouting.
I started by exploring the neighborhood, but it was so large that the walk just kept going. When I saw thousands of different products everywhere, I realized I had to decide which ones I wanted. I was already sure about one thing: stainless steel lunch boxes. I expected some variety, but not so much. Thousands of different sizes, shapes, and qualities. I never knew there were so many different lunch boxes. I'd been working for a few hours and still hadn't made a selection. This wasn't going anywhere.
The next day I had a different plan: I'm going to find a supplier. But even with suppliers, I was spoiled for choice. Every single one of them was a pushy salesman. They all offered the lowest price and the best quality. After talking to 15 suppliers, I finally found one who wasn't pushy. A young man who ran his father's company; we clicked immediately. Their warehouse consisted of three floors crammed with stainless steel plates, cups, lunch boxes, storage jars, containers, and bowls. So much choice! I walked through the store with a cart and picked out products that immediately appealed to me. In no time, my cart was overflowing. So I had to make choices and eliminate some products. I found this so difficult that I was left with over 50 products.
Now that I'd made my choices, the next part of the adventure was just beginning: getting all the stainless steel plates, cups, and lunch boxes to the Netherlands. But you can read about that adventure in the next blog post.
