India, The Trilogy

We got an early start on Thursday, as we boarded our bus to head to Johnson & Johnson where we were able to tour their manufacturing plant. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside but we got to see how baby oil, powder and band-aids are packaged and how they manage their inventory. After a fantastic lunch compliments of J&J it was back to the hotel for one last bit of free time in Mumbai before meeting up for dinner and drinks with the other MBA group that was also touring India. They had come from Delhi (where we were headed) and were just getting to Mumbai (where we had been for a week), so lots of stories were swapped about our experiences to that point. A good time was had by all.

Friday morning we bid adieu to the hotel, but before heading to the airport we made a stop at General Mills. After a short presentation, we went out to see a very "traditional" grocery store (at least traditional in the American sense) and then we visited a small mom & pop storefront that is more typical in India - about 20 square feet containing up to 4,000 SKUs. Finally, we got to sit in on some ethnographic research as we were invited into people's homes for a session General Mills had prepared, which included the preparation of the traditional flatbreat, roti. (Some of us had grown quite fond of both roti and it's close relative, naan.)

After this fantastic experience it was off to the airport where got to hurry up and wait for our flight to Delhi.
Of course, what better place for pause in the blog than during this two-hour flight north, where the second half of our trip anxiously awaits us.