Instagram Helps Mother-Daughter Trio Move Their Company From The Bedroom And Reach 15 Cr Annual Turnover

Before her daughters were born, Hetal Desai - now 58, used to manage the design unit with a few local tailors in Mumbai. Until a few years ago, many wouldn't believe that her clientele included big names in Bollywood, such as Kavita Krishnamurthy.

But today, she, along with her two daughters is the founder of an ethnic wear company that returns an annual revenue of more than INR 15 Crores.

Their USP? A group of highly-skilled artisans, marketing through dance reels on Instagram and a whole lotta' passion! 

How Was The Company Built? 

Along with her daughters, Lekhinee - 29 and Twara - 21, Hetal Desai started designing ethnic wear from a bedroom in their Mumbai apartment back in 2016.

It began after Lekhinee finished her studies and started visiting exhibitions with her mother to see what fabrics were being used to make ethnic wear. It was in one such exhibition that they picked up Ajrakh material and Hetal created a few silhouettes with them.

(R to L: Lekhinee Desai & Twara Desai)

In the same evening, a Facebook page was also created and photos of the designs were uploaded on it. Back then, it was highly experimental and the trio had no idea how to market the products.

However, surprising as it may sound, they received their first order from Goa, followed by another from Kerala, and soon the business was up and running. Today, the Desais dispatch more than 100 orders per day, having seen a growth of nearly 300% in the last 2 years.

Both Lekhinee and Twara have recalled that in childhood, their mother would design the clothes for them and they never bought readymade clothes. In fact, Lekhinee and Twara also serve as the de-facto models for Hetal’s designs. Having worn clothes made by their mother since childhood, it came quite naturally to them!

A Responsible Business Model

When Hetal and Lekhniee started off with their venture, their plan was to make fashion responsible and sustainable at the same time. The only way to do it was to ensure that the products reach the right clientele and their employees are taken care of.

Early in 2021, while speaking to the Business Insider, Lekhini Desai noted how they stood with the employees even during the difficult times of the pandemic. She recalled that when the lockdowns happened, they kept advertising their products online and received 3 orders.

Although they could only deliver the orders after the restrictions were lifted, the money helped them to keep paying their employees through the pandemic. Along with the direct employees and artisans, they also had to take care of the dyers, weavers and everyone else associated with the business.

 
(Lekhinee, Twara & Their Childhood Friends Who Join Them For The Dance Videos)

This policy worked out incredibly for the Desais once the lockdown restrictions were lifted. Major retail outlets were closed and they utilized this opportunity to grow close to 3 times their size before. In fact, as Lekhini said, the three offices and a studio that they have in Mumbai now were bought following Covid 19 lockdowns.

At present, their operations are spread across three corporate offices and a studio in Mumbai and they employ 25 people in-office, and close to 100 artisans. They are pioneering the cause of Indian artisans and taking it to new heights globally. 

Capitalizing A Large Market

According to Technopak- a management consultant company, the ethnic wear market in India is worth INR 70,000 Crore, out of which 85% (INR 59,500 Crore) consists of women's ethnic wear.

Moreover, the predictions indicate that the market for ethnic wear is slated to grow at the rate of 10% till 2022. With such high growth on the line, many top apparel brands are entering this segment in India. For the Desais, competing in this market was always going to be a difficult task and they needed to come up with a unique marketing strategy.

Their marketing strategy has been popularly called dance marketing in which Lekhinee, along with her sister Twara and two childhood friends wore the designs and danced to popular Hindi songs. After Reels were introduced on Instagram, their videos started going viral and views clocked in millions.

The Desai-daughters and their friends are all trained Odissi dancers and using dance market products came naturally to them. In fact, Lekhinee had even worked as an assistant choreographer for the movie Ramleela.

However, the marketing strategy of the Desais was very well thought out in terms of communicating the attributes of the product. They are handcrafted and made from fine fabrics such as Kota, Mal, Doria, and cotton.

Moreover, the brand also believes in portraying real women in saris, rather than models. The strategy to make dance reels with friends was a perfect way to achieve while also showcasing their dance skills. 

Conclusion

The remarkable growth rate that Hetal, Lekhinee, and Twara have achieved with their line of products is unprecedented. From starting with kurtas and fabrics initially, they have now expanded into saris, dresses, skirts, chaniya cholis, and a range of other traditional clothes for women.

Over time, they aspire to become an encyclopedia store where a variety of crafts and fabrics are available. As per the latest reports, the next step for the Desais is to start a line of products for men and kids as well.

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