Starting with just Rs 5,000, three college friends built a baby products brand worth Rs 7.5 crore
BeeLittle was founded in 2015 by three college friends in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, who were homemakers, Surya Prabha, Sakthipriya Dharshini, and Gayathiri.
Back in 2015, in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, three friends from college, Surya Prabha, Sakthipriya Dharshini, and Gayathri, who were homemakers, started BeeLittle. The start-up for baby clothes and accessories began in a single room in one of their houses with an investment of Rs 5,000.
Two of BeeLittle's founders were already mothers a few years before they started their boutique in Surya’s house in Tiruppur. Initially, the founders of BeeLittle tested their baby products on their children before gifting them to their cousins, friends, and neighbors.
BeeLittle claims that it uses only organic or natural cotton in its products. Starting with throttles (cradle cloths), BeeLittle now offers more than 100 products. These include everything a newborn needs, like organic cotton hotties, pure cotton wraps, jhablas, nappies, winter clothes, rompers, t-shirts, shirts, frocks, hospital kits, and bedding sheets.
Besides baby things, BeeLittle also has everything a new mom needs. “Our start-up's focus is on eco-friendly products for babies. We use only natural materials, especially organic cotton, and don't include polyester or any synthetic materials in our products,” says Surya Prabha. Surya Prabha, Sakthipriya, and Gayathri, who hail from Tirupur, became friends during their time at PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore.
She completed her 12th from St. Joseph’s Matriculation Higher Sec. School in Tiruppur in 2007 and then pursued a B. in Apparel & Fashion Tech from PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore, finishing in 2010. When the two women became moms, they looked for good organic cotton items for their babies, but couldn’t find any.
They then purchased nice cotton fabric and made different things for their babies, like cotton jhoola/thottil and muslin towels. They shared these products with their friends and family. Initially, we were just getting baby products for our personal use and didn't have a business plan. Being new moms kept us very busy, so we proceeded very slowly,” says Gayathri.
In 2015, they launched their business from a spare room in Surya’s house and in the next year created a Facebook page to market their products. As the page gained traction, they expanded their range to include items like jhablas, cotton beds, holding sheets, thottils, and wrappers.
The same year the trio shifted from Surya’s small residential space to a bigger location in KPN Colony, Union Mill Road, in Tiruppur. “We were still operating on an order-only basis, keeping one sample of each of our 10-15 products to showcase to our customers,” Gayathri shares.
In 2018, the founders of BeeLittle, each contributing Rs. 50,000, opened their first commercial store in Peelamedu, Coimbatore, about 60 km from Tiruppur. The products were transported from Tiruppur either by courier or by the founders themselves during their weekly trips. The same year, they outsourced all the production to manufacturing units based in Tiruppur.
BeeLittle started from a small room in Surya's house in Tiruppur. In 2019, just a few months before the lockdown, a family friend recommended that the three founders of BeeLittle create a website. In its early days, BeeLittle focused on products for the 0-2 year age group.
As the business grew, they expanded their target age group to include children up to 5 years old. Sakthi Priya explains, “Gayathiri takes care of production, I handle finance and accounts, while Surya is in charge of marketing and administration.
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