In India, the months of October and November bring excitement and joy every year. Popularly known as the Festive Season, these two months are looked forward to, by everyone. The hustle and bustle in streets, enthusiasm among family and friends, and the joy of gifting – all together constitute the festive season fervor of our country.
However, this year, the festive season is different for many reasons. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the streets are decorated but empty. We are meeting family and friends but over video calls. And as for gifting, we are trying to recreate the joy through online shopping and contactless deliveries.
What we don’t realize is that this season was the source of maximum earning for many businesses. After being hit with a slump during the lockdown, small Indian companies are now trying to get back on their feet.
Businesses have high hopes from these two months and you can help them by simply following the message of #BuyLocal. Click To TweetRazorpay brings to you three partner brands that are rooted in the philosophy of Make in India. These socially conscious and sustainable brands can be the perfect choice for your festive season shopping. Check them out below and support small and local businesses!
Festive shopping checklist: Home decor from Nurture India
The brand story
Brands look at home decor through a lens of aesthetics and beauty. There are very few that look at home decor through the lens of sustainability and conservation. This is where Nurture India comes into the picture. The brand combines environmentally conscious materials to produce a range that showcases Indian artisans and their beautiful designs.
Founded in 2018, Nurture India is the brainchild of two childhood friends – Pratima Sinha and Somya Suresh. Somya, who worked as a Fashion Editor at PopXo, and Pratima, an ex-consultant at KPMG, decided to bring their love for design and business to life with this venture.
The Indian connect
As we talk to Somya Suresh, the co-founder, she seems very proud of the product range and core values of her company. She tells us, “We deal in products that are Indian and have an Indian aesthetic. The design language of our products celebrates India; it reminds you of the message behind Vocal for Local”.
When you visit the website, you are greeted with a happy local artisan alongside the message “Hand-made in India.” These artisans make all Nurture India products from wood, ensuring less wastage, bio-degradation, and minimum pollution. It’s a product you feel good about, post purchase.
The Razorpay journey
Nurture India went live with full-fledged eCommerce operations this year in May. Before that, the company operated in the B2B space majorly. However, they have been with Razorpay for more than a year now as a trusted payment partner. “Razorpay was our choice even back then when we were not into the e-commerce space fully,” says Somya.
The company currently uses Razorpay Payment Gateway for all its transactions that happen through the website. After submitting the documents, the team tells us that it took them just a week to go live with the Payment Gateway via a smooth onboarding process.
Offers on Festive Shopping
With no shipping charges over Rs. 500, you can check out gift bundles and festive offers at www.nurtureindia.in. They also have a flat 10% off on their entire website for the festive season, valid till 15th November 2020.
Festive shopping checklist: Indian attires from Gaatha
The brand story
Storytelling has always been at the heart of India. A story is attached to each heritage object in India: clothes, jewelry, handicrafts, or utensils – often passed on as viraasat.
Sumiran Pandya, the co-founder at Gaatha, was deeply impressed by India’s craftsmen’s sheer brilliance. He realized that while Indian artisans were trying to sell their craft, no one told their stories. And that’s how Gaatha was born.
It all started with a blog where Sumiran and his team would tell people the story of what goes on behind the scenes while making the Indian textiles and handicrafts. The Indian element in every tale soon garnered the interest of many. It was time to go bigger.
In 2013, they started an online eCommerce platform. Gaatha literally means story. Staying true to its name, below each product, you would find the story behind it. They have also launched a detailed archive portal, Gaatha.org, mapping the villages of India. Today, Gaatha is a beautiful amalgamation of storytelling and culture.
The Indian connect
Sumiran feels that the craftsmanship and labor that goes into making each product isn’t recognized enough in the country. Through Gaatha, he wanted to change that.
“We are not only selling products, but we are also telling stories. We are giving a face to people who make this product,” said Sumiran. Curious to know more, we asked how closely they worked with the workers. The team’s sincerity and passion surprises us and also makes us proud of the work they are covering.
“We work directly with them. We travel and do the complete documentation, which takes around 2-3 days. There would be a photographer capturing pictures. Someone else from the team would be taking notes of the work, the people, and the architectural beauty of the place. ” said Sumiran.
Sumiran also tells us about the struggles of the unorganized sector. Workers usually sell their products in government or private exhibitions. But with the ongoing pandemic and the imposed lockdown, that has become impossible. Even with the much anticipated festive season coming forth, local artisans see a massive drop in sales.
The Razorpay journey
Gaatha has been using Razorpay for more than a year now. They currently use Razorpay Payment Gateway for all their transactions that happen through the website. Occasionally, they also use Razorpay Payment links for accepting payments from their clients.
“We switched to the Payment Gateway via a smooth onboarding process”, says Sumiran. As someone who has worked in the digital design industry, he tells us that they find the Razorpay interface user-friendly. “It is very simple to use, whether it is generating a payment link or accepting payments. Every day it saves hours of our accounts team,” he adds.
Offers on festive shopping
As Gaatha directly works with the local artisans, they don’t offer discounts. However, given the current scenario, they are offering an extra 5% discount on their product range. Head to https://shop.gaatha.com/ to know more.
Festive shopping checklist: Farm fresh flowers from The Flora
The brand story
The emergence of The Flora is a unique tale in itself. A few years ago, Girish Sannappanavar and Anshuman Subhedhar gave up their corporate lives to get into sustainable agritech. They built DewDrops Agritech, a successful floriculture business cultivating and selling high-quality roses and hydrangeas in the local and export markets.
However, they realized that an exciting opportunity exists in the B2C space. This was when they brought in ScaleFactor, a strategic design consulting firm, to help them assess the market, position the brand, and launch the business. DewDrops Agritech and ScaleFactor came together to launch The Flora as a joint venture and continue to run the business together to date.
Radhika Dilip Kale, Head of Products & Brand Building at The Flora and Co-Founder at ScaleFactor says, “The Flora came to life to help people brighten their spaces and bring in nature and positivity with artistic forms, colors, and fragrances.”
The brand offers high-quality farm-fresh cut flowers, curated hand-tied arrangements, and artisanal bespoke solutions. They were one of the first brands to offer a flower subscription service and provide an exquisite wild-style collection that celebrates flowers in their true organic forms.
The Indian connect
The Flora deals in a unique and niche segment, but their operations are rooted in sustainable values. The brand’s tone is exquisite and premium while its guiding principles are environmentally conscious. As a company that deeply cares about the environment, they package all their products in eco-friendly and recyclable materials.
Radhika adds, “Most of our blooms come from our own zero-waste and sustainable farm in Bangalore and from our network of local Indian farms.” Only a minuscule portion of their flowers, which cannot be grown in India, are imported from other countries.
“The bulk of our bouquets and arrangements are curated using flowers that are grown locally. This helps us support Indian farmers and promote the local economy, ” she explains. The festive season is when all communities come together and celebrate. The brand says that when you purchase from them, you are supporting #BuyLocal and will help communities of farmers and local florists in times like these.
The Razorpay journey
Anubhav Agarwal, a Business Operations Lead at The Flora and Partner at ScaleFactor, told us that when the company started operations in October 2018, Razorpay was their payment integration choice. “Shopify integration with Razorpay helped us a lot. Razorpay provided choice and flexibility to our customers by offering all payment options – from UPI to credit/debit cards”, says Anubhav.
Their team has been using Razorpay Payment Gateway for more than two years now. “The onboarding process was very smooth. We didn’t face any roadblock or red flags”, he says. The company mainly makes use of and finds excellent help in the Razorpay Dashboard. Anubhav tells us that from the next billing cycle to payment, the Dashboard shows them everything, helping the backend.
Offers on festive shopping
The impressive collection of flowers for festive gifting and home decor purposes can be found on https://theflora.in/. Check it out today and make this festive season colorful and bright!
Responsible festive shopping for all
When you buy anything this festive season, ask yourself – is this product supporting any local business? If you are going for a non-Indian alternative, ask yourself – is the same quality and product made in India? If yes, why not buy that instead?
These small efforts can change the existing situations of many local and small businesses and Indian artisans. Razorpay is proud to be associated with these brands, which carry forward the Make In India movement in their unique ways.
If you are a small or local business looking to take your business online, Razorpay would love to help you. Click below to learn more.
