We want to take it a step at a time and make sure we're profitable
Three years into its India venture, New Zealand logistics firm Mainfreight is quietly deepening its presence in Mumbai rather than racing to plant flags across the subcontinent. The company is positioning itself at the intersection of two currents reshaping global trade: the diversification of supply chains away from China, and India's own emergence as both a destination and an origin of international commerce. In a business culture that often rewards speed, Mainfreight is making a deliberate wager that patience and profitability are the more durable path.
- Global supply chains are shifting away from China, and Mainfreight is betting that India's expanding economy is where the next wave of freight demand will emerge.
- The company's own local leadership is eager to accelerate — ten or twenty new locations would open tomorrow if head office allowed it — but that appetite is being held in check.
- The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement has put Mainfreight's phone ringing, yet the calls have not yet converted into meaningful cargo volumes, leaving a gap between diplomatic promise and commercial reality.
- Rather than chase footprint, Mainfreight is doubling down on its Mumbai hub — building depth in customs handling, warehousing, and perishable freight before committing to new cities.
- The company's measured posture reflects a founding philosophy: follow the customer, grow deliberately, and never let speed outrun the quality of service.
Mainfreight is three years into India and now turning its attention to the country's perishable food and beverage freight markets — a move that mirrors a wider realignment in global logistics as companies reduce their dependence on China and seek partners capable of moving goods into and out of India's growing economy.
Mumbai was the natural starting point. As India's premier international freight gateway, the city offered the air and ocean infrastructure Mainfreight needed to establish a credible base. From there, the company has been building carefully, resisting the temptation to expand quickly despite strong local enthusiasm for doing exactly that.
CEO Don Braid is candid about the internal tension. The local team, he says, would open a string of new locations without hesitation. But the company is holding firm to its principle of profitability before scale — doing fewer things well rather than many things poorly.
The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement has raised Mainfreight's profile and brought in inquiries, but Braid is honest that interest has not yet become freight. Volumes between the two countries remain modest. He reads this not as disappointment but as the natural pace of trade development — Mainfreight has always expanded by following customer demand, and India is no different.
Three years in, the Mumbai operation has grown from very little. The company wants bigger numbers and believes they will come. For now, the strategy is presence, readiness, and the discipline to let the market mature on its own terms.
Mainfreight, the New Zealand logistics company, is three years into its India operation and now setting its sights on the country's perishable food and beverage freight markets. The move reflects a broader shift in global supply chains—companies are no longer betting everything on China, and Kiwi exporters increasingly need partners who can move goods into India's expanding economy. At the same time, Indian businesses are going global themselves, hunting for integrated solutions that bundle freight, warehousing, and customs handling into one service.
Mumbai became the obvious choice for headquarters. The city is India's premier international freight gateway, the place where air and ocean cargo flows through with the infrastructure to match. From there, Mainfreight has begun building out its footprint, though deliberately and with restraint.
Don Braid, speaking for the company, describes a business in genuine growth mode. The local leadership team, he suggests, would happily open ten or twenty new locations if given free rein. But the company is resisting that impulse. "We want to take it a step at a time and make sure we're profitable and doing a good job for our customers," Braid says. It's a philosophy that prioritizes depth over speed—better to do fewer things well than many things poorly.
The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, which came into effect, has certainly raised the company's profile. Potential customers are calling. But Braid is candid: the agreement has generated inquiries, not yet freight. The actual volume of goods moving between the two countries on Mainfreight's watch remains modest. He frames this not as failure but as patience. Trade, he argues, is fundamental to how the world functions. Mainfreight's expansion has always followed customer demand—clients ask the company to open in a new country, and once there, the company explores what opportunities might exist locally.
India is proving that thesis. Mainfreight started with very little trade flowing through its Mumbai operation. Three years on, it has grown. The company would like to see bigger numbers, Braid acknowledges. But growth takes time. The strategy is to be present, to be ready, and to let the market develop at its own pace. For now, that means holding the line on new locations while deepening the work in the ones that exist.
Citações Notáveis
If we didn't have reins on our local manager or local leadership, they'd have us in another 10 or 20 locations. But we want to take it a step at a time and make sure we're profitable and doing a good job for our customers.— Don Braid, Mainfreight
We opened with only a very small amount of trade but we've managed to grow. We'd like to be bigger, but it'll come. And we have to be patient.— Don Braid, Mainfreight
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why Mumbai specifically? There are other major Indian cities.
Mumbai is where the freight actually moves—it's the international hub. Air cargo, ocean containers, the infrastructure is there. You don't build a logistics operation in a place without the physical networks already in place.
The India-NZ trade agreement seems like it should have opened doors immediately.
It's opened conversations, not shipments. An agreement creates the legal framework, but it doesn't create demand. You still need companies that actually want to trade. That takes time to build.
Why not expand faster? They clearly have the appetite locally.
Because speed kills profitability. You can open locations and lose money on them. Mainfreight is choosing to be profitable first, bigger second. That's a different kind of ambition.
What's the real opportunity here?
India is becoming a manufacturing and export powerhouse. Supply chains are moving away from China. New Zealand companies need partners in India, and Indian companies need partners abroad. Mainfreight is positioning itself in the middle of that flow.
So they're betting on patience.
They're betting on being there when the volume comes. And it will come. They just won't force it.