FieldTurf Inc.,( www.fieldturf.com ) innovated the new-generation artificial grass in the late 80’s and early 90’s that was dramatically different from the old generation coarse, abrasive turf. This new “grass” was soft, yet extremely resilient. Importantly, it replicated all the biomechanical properties of natural grass and therefore became an instant hit with players, administrators, coaches, facilities owners etc.

From 2004, Suravaram Marketing (Pvt) Ltd (SMPL), based in Hyderabad, represents FieldTurf – Tarkett in India (and other SAARC countries) as an exclusive Licensee.

How did they get convinced that they could make money out of Grass? This is what Anil Kumar of FieldTurf has to say.

What is in the Name?

FieldTurf is the world’s leading artificial grass provider. It merged with Tarkett Sports, to now become FieldTurf Tarkett, providing world-class artificial grass for sports and landscaping as well as other non-grass sport surfacing solutions across the world. FieldTurf Tarkett India is the licensee for the total SAARC region.

How & why did you come up this business concept?

I undertook a structured search for an innovative product (irrespective of the industry) that would be suitable to introduce in India, and hit upon Artificial Grass. I was looking for something new – not just a ‘me-too’ kind of a product – but something that would offer new solutions to existing challenges.
With FieldTurf Tarkett, we are able to do exactly that in terms of providing a lawn ambience where natural grass could not be solution: Home rooftops, school playgrounds, sports academies, restaurants, road medians etc. Plus it had to be environment-friendly; it is not just doing well but doing good that was equally important.

How are you funded?

Personal finances and funding from family and friends.

What is your present revenue figure?

As a brand, FieldTurf is now at 20 crore revenue during these 4 years. This includes direct sales and sales through our distributor network.

About the team behind the venture?

The launch, promotion, sales and execution in our business involves diverse skill sets. We are fortunate to have very complementary skills across the core team.
Rupesh Tikku, our National Sales Manager has over 18 years experience nationwide in Sales, Marketing, Franchise Management at various FMCG corporations like Blowplast, McDowells, Parle Agro, RC Cola etc. And he has extensive experience in launching new products and brands.
Our other directors include Vikram Muratee and Sujatha Reddy, both of whom are engineers by education, and with extensive skills in project and business management. Vikram also brings in tremendous experience in running businesses in diverse industries.
And finally with an Engineering and MBA background and some years of work experience in India and US (especially as a business unit head in the later part) I am able to bring some perspective in conceptualizing what we want to do, figuring out a go-to-market strategy and of course some insight into running a business. Additionally, my engineering background comes in handy as we design and execute fairly exacting infrastructure works for our sports projects.

Whom are you targeting/What is your target segments

Just about every home-owner with a balcony or a rooftop where they would like to have a lush green lawn is a potential client. And of course businesses (restaurants, corporate campuses, showrooms etc), schools, sports facilities, the government and so on.

In the last four years, over 1,000 clients are enjoying the benefits of a FieldTurf lawn and sports surfaces as our lawns don’t need watering, fertilizing, mowing or any of the maintenance normally associated with natural grass.

Our product range also includes artificial grass for different sports as well as non-grass surfaces for Tennis, Indoor Sports Flooring, Synthetic Athletic tracks etc.
To sum up, if you wish you had a lawn, but without all the hassles that come with it, think of FieldTurf. If you need any sports surface, think of FieldTurf.

Who are your competitors? how are you different from them?

Natural grass is conceptually our main competitor, so to say. We don’t position ourselves as a substitute to natural grass…but as an ideal alternative where you cannot grow or maintain natural grass.
Of course, seeing our success with over 1,000 installations in India, there are a couple of artificial grass companies that have tried to emulate us. But the product quality, a 16 year history of successful installation worldwide, top-class customer service and expertise keep us way ahead of imitators.

What is your revenue model?

Import, Marketing, Sales and Installation of artificial grass and sports surfaces. We basically work on the distribution system across the SAARC region. In addition we have an extensive base of sub distributors who works in accordance with the distributor of that region and help the team get the leads.

How has the going been so far? And what are your goals next 2 years?

We have completed 1,000 installations and growing fast. We have wider acceptance now, and looking to go beyond the architect-designer forum, trade-shows and publications to the mainstream market.

On the sports side, we installed SAARC region’s first (and only) FIFA standards artificial grass football ground. We have also added all other sports surfaces required for top-class sports infrastructure.

In the next 2 years we aim to create maximum awareness in such a way, that, for anyone looking for maintenance-free lawns or world-class sports surfaces, we want to make sure FieldTurf becomes the automatic choice.

What challenges do you see for your growth?

The critical challenge will be to create the awareness about FieldTurf and to educate about its benefits. Reaching out to our entire target market in a cost-effective manner is another challenge.

How do you plan to promote this?

While we have been reaching our audience through various trade shows, advertisements and articles, we have devised a strategy to promote ourselves on the online platform on an aggressive mode.
Through an extensive thought leadership and case studies, we plan to penetrate into our prospect’s mind space.

We would focus even more on our current on-going programs:

• More education and awareness: After targeting architects and designers, now we are going mainstream in terms of our advertising and promotion.
• Wider reach: We have distributors covering 18 states in India and recently launched in Sri Lanka as well. Installations are now in 81 cities and towns in India…and growing.
• Offering expert advice and turnkey services: We have built a good expertise to advise clients on various aspects like where FieldTurf would be most appropriate, better return on investment, site related issues, taking up as much end-to-end responsibility as possible (eg., for football field clients, all aspects, right from the soil tests, contour maps, engineering drawings, sub-base & drainage construction, to the turf installation is done as a turnkey project).