Mirchi.com: Leveraging Technology for Mass Customization

Mirchi.com is an ecommerce aggregator platform for traditional and contemporary snacks, savories, sweets and other convenience food items. The company started with the idea of bridging the geographical discrepancy between the customers’ location and their ethnic roots. It served as a one-stop shop for buyers for various occasions and necessities. It caters to both the retail and corporate segments of the market. Information technology (IT) acted as the foundation for the company’s growth. This teaching case narrates how using appropriate IT infrastructure helps Mirchi.com achieve mass customization and tap the long tail of the market. We collected the information presented in the case from the founders. The case is relevant for post-graduate management courses such as “IT for Business”, “Management Information Systems (MIS)”, “Platform Business”, and “Technology for Business”.