'Chumbak Brand' story: Shubhra Chadda sold her home to build this popular Indian gifting portal
"To gain something, we sometimes have to lose something".
"To win something, sometimes we have to lose something. We have all heard this rule in our lives, but very few of us put it into practice. But here's a story that shows everyone that if you dream big, you pay big for it. This is the story of one of India's most innovative talent brands, Chumbak.
Founded by Vivek Prabhakar and Shubhra Chadha, the Chumbak brand journey began with the idea of creating creative, affordable, and well-designed gifts for brands in India. Bangalore-based company Chumbak was the brainchild of Shubra Chadha and she and her husband Vivek Prabhakar lived a comfortable life.
One day, while looking at the beautifully crafted fridge magnets the couple had brought back from their travels abroad, she realized that nothing like this was available in India. When it comes to gifting, we Indians are left with few options like gifting, shawls, or handicrafts.
Nothing can represent India. Shubra understood this difference and spoke about the idea of creating something vibrant, magnetic, and attractive as a gift for her man. Vivek Prabhakar liked this idea and readily agreed to start working on it. The idea seems so good that they don't even think about it, they sell their house for, rubles. 45 Lakhs creatively funded his business and named it Chumbak in 2009.
As the name suggests, the Chumbak brand appeals to the Indian market with its incredibly colorful, creative, and versatile gifting options. From attractive fridge magnets, the brand offers a wide range of lifestyle products – keys, wallets, necklaces, phone cases, bags, jewelry, and more. Chumbak's USP is its interesting theme design based on economical price, which is highly appreciated by its customers.
After starting with colorful fridge magnets, they immediately realized they needed to expand to different types of gifts and now offer over 400 products in different categories. Between 2010 and 2013, the Chumbak brand sold its products primarily through its distribution network and online presence. In 2013, they set up their first office in Bangalore and started expanding their business in other areas.
Currently, this Indian gifting Chumbak Brand has become a popular gifting brand having more than 150 stores in worldwide, with a strong E-commerce presence. Starting with selling a house of worth Rs. 45 lakh, the Chumbak brand has raised a total of $28,868,814 amount of funding from Narayan Ramachandran, Blacksoil, and Gaja Capitals along with their seed amount of funding, as per Crunchbase.
Just like many others, Shubhra Chadda and Vivek Prabhakar faced many struggles initially, whether it was about finding the right vendor or creating the perfect design for their customers. But they always handled the situation very calmly, continuously worked on their designs, and never saw a pause which made their dream come true.
When you look around the brightly lit store on the ground floor of the Chumbak head office, it resonates with what Chadda shared about herself — her desire to surround oneself with pretty things. Everything in the store screams Chumbak — the brand that made prints of inane things like owls and auto rickshaws stylish.
Chadda reveals that apart from her in-house designers, she also follows a couple of design blogs for inspiration. And when it comes to inspiring future entrepreneurs, she has some handy advice. “While we all strive for perfection, it is important not to overthink things.
Also, ensure you know every aspect of what it takes to run your business, and that comes only when you are willing to get your hands dirty,” says the woman entrepreneur who started one of India’s emerging lifestyle brands all by herself from one tiny room with her dream and perseverance for company.
correspondent by:
Comments
Post a Comment