Thiruvananthapuram, 29 Jan (H.S.):Kerala’s flagship women empowerment mission, Kudumbashree, is set to make a major foray into the retail sector, aiming to significantly strengthen the production and marketing of Kudumbashree products and ensure sustainable income for women entrepreneurs. Announcing the initiative at a press conference, Local Self-Government Minister M B Rajesh said the move marks an important new phase in Kudumbashree’s decades-long journey in women’s empowerment.

The retail expansion will be implemented in collaboration with the All Kerala Distributors Association. Through this partnership, Kudumbashree products will be routed to the retail market via existing distribution agencies operating at the local level across the State. As part of the groundwork, major distribution agencies have already been identified in all 14 districts, and Business-to-Business (B2B) meets were organised to directly connect distributors with Kudumbashree entrepreneurs.

More than 900 women entrepreneurs and 227 distributors participated in these B2B meetings, providing a platform for direct interaction, product familiarisation, and consensus-building on pricing and distributor margins. According to the Minister, these engagements have helped create a strong foundation for seamless market entry and long-term partnerships.

Kudumbashree entrepreneurs today manufacture a wide range of products that are already competitive with mainstream market offerings. Until now, these products have been marketed through Kudumbashree’s community-based channels such as home shops, marketing fairs, Saras Melas, outlet kiosks, local traders, and the Pocketmart e-commerce application. The move into organised retail is intended to complement and strengthen these existing channels, while responding more effectively to changing consumer preferences and market dynamics.

In the first phase, retail distribution will focus on Kudumbashree’s unified-brand food products including curry powders, puttu and appam flour, sambar, chicken and vegetable masalas, chilli, coriander and turmeric powders, chips, and sharkara varatti. Alongside these, select high-quality products produced by district-level units will also be introduced into the retail network.

The initiative will also feature products under Kudumbashree’s new global brand, ‘K-Eenam’, developed using licensed food technologies sourced from premier institutions such as ICAR, CSIR, the National Institute of Food Technology, and agricultural universities. Around 30 products—ranging from fortified foods and nutrition-focused mixes to processed fruits, vegetables, climate-resilient foods, and healthy snacks—have been developed under the Kudumbashree Technology Advancement Programme (K-TAP).

With the support of over 5,000 distributors affiliated with the All Kerala Distributors Association, Kudumbashree aims to establish a strong presence in Kerala’s retail market alongside multinational brands. This initiative is expected to improve the livelihoods and quality of life of women entrepreneurs while also contributing meaningfully to local economic development across the State.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman