2025 MSME Anniversary: Sustained Success of India's Multi-Generational Family-Run Businesses
In the ever-evolving global business landscape, Indian family-run enterprises are adapting and thriving by blending tradition with innovation. These companies are leveraging digital transformation, global integration, internal R&D and manufacturing capabilities, and a focus on sustainability and governance to remain competitive and set new benchmarks for resilience and innovation.
One such example is Mrig Sight Media, under the leadership of CEO Rahul S. Ranjan, who transformed the conventional PR outfit into an insight-driven digital-storytelling agency. Rahul led the company through a difficult but necessary pivot from a legacy service line that wasn't meeting market demands, paving the way for real-time engagement and data analytics.
Similarly, Amit Marwaha, founder of DRRK Foods, recognized the need to future-proof his business by putting his own name on the brand and breaking into premium retail shelves in the Middle East. This move required over-delivering on every promise of aroma, consistency, and delivery timelines, which has laid the foundation for DRRK Foods' entire Gulf business today.
Indian family businesses are also making strategic moves in the global arena. Reliance, led by Mukesh Ambani, is leveraging digital strategies, including global partnerships and acquisitions, to build digital solutions, especially in sectors like telecom and healthcare data management. Tata Group, another family-run conglomerate, is emulating global family-run giants like Walmart and LVMH by balancing long-term vision, patient capital, and strategic acquisitions while maintaining core values.
Internalizing R&D and manufacturing capabilities is another key strategy for Indian family businesses. Summercool, a home appliances company, built strong in-house R&D to develop energy-efficient, climate-resilient products tailored to Indian households, particularly in Tier 2 and 3 cities. By the early 2000s, multinational competitors threatened Summercool's existence, leading the company to invest in building its own in-house production capacity. Today, Summercool's sons, Ashutosh and Abhishek Gupta, are strengthening the foundation laid by their father with a global ambition, while never losing sight of the values that built the brand.
Flomic Global Logistics, founded in 1988, has evolved from a solo freight-forwarding operation to a full-service logistics integrator, earning AEO, IATA, and FMC certifications under the leadership of Lancy Barboza. Lancy invested heavily in technology, training, and partnerships to upgrade the company's systems and meet AEO standards and earn IATA and FMC credentials.
By blending digital transformation with global integration, internalizing R&D and manufacturing, and emphasizing sustainability and governance, Indian family-run businesses are not only navigating global competition but also setting new benchmarks for innovation and resilience. Nurturing intergenerational dialogue in India's MSME sector through access to finance, technology, skill building, and a supportive regulatory framework is essential for ensuring seamless and powerful hand-offs.
- In the realm of personal-finance, Indian family businesses are exploring innovative methods to fund their ventures and secure long-term growth, tapping into entrepreneurship and strategic partnerships.
- As the CEO of Mrig Sight Media, Rahul S. Ranjan not only transformed his family business but also changed the face of the public relations industry, using technology and digital transformation to create an insight-driven, data-focused agency.
- Under the guidance of Lancy Barboza, Flomic Global Logistics, a family business founded in 1988, leveraged technology to evolve from a freight-forwarding operation into a full-service logistics integrator, earning top certifications and global recognition.
- Modern Indian family businesses, such as Amit Marwaha's DRRK Foods, are using entrepreneurship and strategic planning to future-proof their companies, venturing into new markets and premium retail sectors, powered by a focus on quality and innovation.
