FICCI FLO, under the leadership of the 43rd National President, Ms. Puja Garg, hosted a practical webinar titled “Food Business Economics,” with Mr. Vijender Singh Bachhal, CPA (US), CA & Registered Valuer (IBBI). The virtual session covered crucial financial concepts, such as costing, pricing, margins, and profitability for women entrepreneurs in the food and agriculture sector.
The expert speaker Mr. Vijendra Singh Bachhal led the discussion in a practical and accessible manner by highlighting the importance of accurate costing and pricing in food businesses, explaining that many failures occur due to mathematical errors rather than just product quality issues. He explained six key numbers like true cost per unit, contribution margin, fixed costs, break-even volume, and cash conversion cycle which impact the profitability of a food business.
The webinar demonstrated how the economics of the same product can change dramatically with pricing, pack size, discounts, sales channels, capacity utilization and working capital. It also highlighted why higher sales do not automatically mean higher profitability, and why a profitable business can still face a cash crisis. According to Mr. Vijender Singh Bachhal: “The same product can become a completely different business depending on where you sell it.”
Through strong case studies, he demonstrated how overlooked costs, such as wastage, packaging, and even the entrepreneur’s own salary, can significantly impact profitability. Taking learning from insight to implementation, Mr. Bachhal shared a Food Business Economics Calculator -Excel Workbook, enabling members to apply the essential financial concepts to their own businesses.
Organised under the FICCI FLO Agriculture, Agro-Based & Food Processing Industry Initiative, nationally led by Ar. Minal Jain, National Lead, with Ms. Radhika Gupta, National Co-Lead, the session reinforced the importance of building financially informed, profitable and scalable enterprises.