Every child has the ‘Right to Play’. However, the risks involved discourage many parents from allowing their children 10 play freely. This stems from an utter lack of quality and safe, tested and certified infrastructure for children to use in recreation spaces. Roben Dass found himself in a similar situation when he took his young child out to play about I 7 years ago.
The dangers playgrounds posed for children who didn’t have a choice to engage in play elsewhere, was staggering. KOOCHlE a brand with a mission to bring about a change 10 the entire industry by championing the cause of child safety was thus born 17 years ago.
Recently, Entrepreneur Insights had an opportunity to interact with Mr Roben Dass, the Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Koochie Global. This interview gave us many insights about the man behind the vision and the journey of an Indian-born organization that has been changing the way this world plays.
A Brief Intro about Mr Roben Dass
Roben Dass is the founder and visionary behind Koochie Global. Roben brings to Koochie over 33 years of experience in running various successful business ventures ranging from brand building, retailing, wholesale, distribution, supply chain logistics, corporate consultancy to educational institutions. When the light-bulb moment of “changing the way the world plays” occurred, he sold off or closed all his other profitable / successful ventures to start KOOCHIE GLOBAL. Much to the surprise of the entire industry and competitors, because he believed that providing safe play experiences to children was actually the need of the hour.
What is today, a multinational conglomerate with operations• spanning over 2S locations worldwide, started with a small team of just six people and a liny office in a garage. We spent our initial two years on researching playgrounds and assessing the risks and danger areas that little children were exposed to in playgrounds and play spaces. Unlike most parts of the developed world where the playground industry is highly regulated and controlled (due to child safety commanding a high premium), India till date does not have mandatory safety certifications in this industry. KOOCHlE launched an international safety certified product line from day one and thus became a market leader since its inception, this position has consistently been maintained as our brand continues to innovate constantly.
What have been the biggest challenges you have had to overcome?
Educating the key stakeholders of the industry on the importance of standardized, safety certified equipment according to international norms has been our biggest challenge yet. In the beginning we kept gelling told that we are more expensive than the local players and our business model wouldn’t work. “We have all grown up with rough playgrounds for most parts. We didn’t really care if the slides and chain swings were rusted, broken had sharp edges or were made unscientifically. We did not really care about the materials that were used including increasing the risks of lead poisoning and other such issues. We don’t realise that it Is our right to have SAFE and good quality play spaces.”
We however strongly believed that there would be a slow but sure change in perception once people realized the value and importance of safety. It took quite a few incidences of horrific accidents for stake holders to realize that the products they were installing in their projects for little children also left them liable. The average Indian is growing more safety-conscious and today demands quality products.
Furthermore, amenities like kids play areas are one of the key selling points of a residential project parents look at these spaces very keenly before deciding upon which project to invest in.
“Getting across the basic concept of how important child safety is in selecting the right playground has definitely been a challenging task. But slowly and steadily, we did get there and today we can proudly say that awareness of the importance of ensuring that our children are provided with nothing but the best has increased ten-fold and we have definitely changed the way this world plays”
Which one thing do you wish you’d done differently? What would I wish I had done differently?
NOT A THING I would do all this all over again just the way it is.
What does revolution mean to you?
Revolution to me means positive change and growth. If through our endeavors, we can succeed in educating key stake holders about the significance of child safety and it’s increasing importance in today’s day and age, and if we can make a difference to this industry and our community by bringing it on par with international standards, then in my opinion We have revolutionised the way this world plays.
How has the industry changed over the years?
From an industry that paid heed only to pricing aspects rather than quality, aesthetics and last but not the least, child safe equipment, I must say that today, after years and years of toil and effort, we have definitely got this industry to understand and value the importance of providing internationally tested and certified child safe equipment as part of the amenities offered at their projects so that our children can play well and play safe!! Today most reputed projects including government infrastructure projects concerning public parks are strictly warranting the use of tested and certified products to ensure their patrons safety. When we look back, we do so with an immense sense of satisfaction today.
Tell us about the client base.
Our client base includes residential complexes resorts, gardens, recreation centres, malls, international schools et al on one end of the spectrum and Public Parks, Sports Parks & Smart City Projects on the other. With our pan-India network, we engage with most of India’s leading architects, builders, developers & administrative bodies to ensure that their recreation and fitness areas are equipped with state of the art, world class and safe equipment, to say the least.
When it comes to the company, what are you most proud of?
Koochie Global has the most passionate & driven teams that any company could ask for. Their tireless efforts towards our unified goal of a safer, richer & holistic play & fitness environment for every patron is the very factor that is responsible for our spectacular growth and for bringing us where we are today. Additionally, we are very proud of our joint ventures with Galopin from Spain, Play Alive from Denmark & Inclusive Play from the UK all of which bring about a combined pedigree and experience of over 60 odd years.
What do you see as the most difficult task in being in your Industry?
The most difficult task in my opinion is to be disruptive to a traditional industry and to get the industry to understand and accept the fact that there should be absolutely NO compromise in providing world class, internationally tested and certified safe equipment for their patrons, as we must never forget that little children are the end are the users of these equipment and their safety is something that should never ever be compromised. Our industry is still widely plagued with cutting costs to maximize profits which in turn results in the rampant use of low quality and unsafe products, the need to overcome this factor has been the most daunting task as it involves painstaking efforts time and money in educating the entire industry.
What do you do when you are not at work?
Between growing this organization, new product and technology innovation, setting up additional production facilities and time with family, there isn’t time for much else. However, when I get a small window, I do enjoy a round of golf with my buddies. I am extremely particular about my one-hour workout schedule every day which sometimes happens even late at night.
What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization?
All businesses come with uncertainties especially during these trying times, being able to react to such situations and making the right choices to benefit the business and its team I believe are some of the important decisions one must make as a leader.
How do you encourage creative thinking within your organization?
By constantly innovating, ideating and ensuring that there is perpetuity in thinking out of the box and always coming up with new and performance driven solutions. Our teams have frequent catchups and interlocks to maintain a steady exchange of ideas and thoughts
What are some of your future endeavors?
North American and South American markets are now on our radar to penetrate as we already have the required certifications like ASTM [The American & Canadian Safety Standards I, besides this we are already working on a few new product lines that will totally revolutionize the industry once
What is the best advice you can give to our readers?
Don’t be afraid to dream!! After all everything begins with a dream, doesn’t it? And to keep a steadfast vision on any and every goal, however impossible it may seem!! There are many things that seem impossible only so long as one does not attempt them.