Soaring prices of onions, a kitchenstaple continues to bring tears to the eyes of Indians across cities. Widelyused in Indian cuisine, onion prices have hit a record high. Now, they'll reportedly cost Rs 200 per kilogram in some cities.
Untimely rains damagedcrops, sparking a nationwide outcry and India's Finance Minister, NirmalaSitharaman had to fend off questions in parliament last week around the surgein onion prices. The government has moved to not only ban exports of thevegetables, but also rush to import from places like Turkey and Egypt.
This state of onion emergencywas used as a marketing strategy by a bus ticket booking platform in Hyderabad.The ticketing marketplace included three kilograms of onions in the list of prizes forcustomers who book tickets on their platform AbhiBus. Other prizes in the listincluded an all-expenses-paid trip to Goa, an iPhone and an e-bike.
More than 54 per cent opted for onions as their prize ever since theoffer was made on December 10. The Goa option received 46 per cent response.
¡°That customers arewilling to place their bets on onions over the trip to Goa or other aspirationaloptions, reflects how the pod-shaped their daily lives,¡± Abhibus said. Beforethis, whenever AbhiBus ran an offer that had a Goa trip as an option, it alwaystrumped all other prizes. But it¡¯s the first time that consumers have pushed Goato the second spot.
According to the company, anyone booking tickets on www.abhibus.com tillDecember 15 can enter the contest by selecting their preferred option.
¡°AbhiBus is constantly innovating to provide customers with solutions andoffers that meet their ever-changing needs, including making travel fun andenjoyable. Our priority is to keep the customer in the centre to offer strongcustomer support,¡± said Rohit Sharma, COO AbhiBus.
¡°The contest around onion is an example of the customer-centric approach andthe response we are getting testifies our ability to meet customer needs,¡± hesaid.
The price surge has forced a few state governments to start sellingonions at a subsidised price, in the same manner as the country does for grainssuch as wheat and rice. From households to restaurants everyone is being forcedto change their diets because of the spike.