{"id":5055,"date":"2020-11-02T15:13:01","date_gmt":"2020-11-02T09:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/?p=5055"},"modified":"2025-03-10T12:33:06","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T07:03:06","slug":"festive-online-shopping-local-brands-offers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/festive-online-shopping-local-brands-offers\/","title":{"rendered":"These 3 Brands Explain Why #BuyLocal Should Be The Mantra of Festive Shopping in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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 &#8211; all together constitute the festive season fervor of our country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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 <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/contactless-delivery-covid19-lockdown-guide\/\">contactless deliveries<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What we don\u2019t 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[bctt tweet=&#8221;Businesses have high hopes from these two months and you can help them by simply following the message of #BuyLocal.&#8221; username=&#8221;Razorpay&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Razorpay brings to you three partner brands that are rooted in the philosophy of <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/make-in-india-scheme-sectors-programs-launched-achievements\/\">Make in India<\/a>. 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!<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Festive shopping checklist: Home decor from Nurture India<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5059 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Festive-shopping_-Nurture-India--300x157.png\" alt=\"Festive Shopping Handicrafts\" width=\"736\" height=\"385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Festive-shopping_-Nurture-India--300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Festive-shopping_-Nurture-India--1024x536.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Festive-shopping_-Nurture-India--768x402.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Festive-shopping_-Nurture-India--1536x804.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" \/> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The brand story<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Founded in 2018, Nurture India is the brainchild of two childhood friends &#8211;\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pratima Sinha<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Somya Sures<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">h. 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Indian connect<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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, \u201cWe 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\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you visit the website, you are greeted with a happy local artisan alongside the message \u201cHand-made in India.\u201d These artisans make all Nurture India products from wood, ensuring less wastage, bio-degradation, and minimum pollution. It\u2019s a product you feel good about, post purchase.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Razorpay journey<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nurture India went live with full-fledged <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/what-is-ecommerce\/\">eCommerce<\/a> 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. \u201cRazorpay was our choice even back then when we were not into the e-commerce space fully,\u201d says Somya.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company currently uses <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/payment-gateway\/\">Razorpay &#8211; the best payment gateway in India<\/a>, 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Related Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/b2b-ecommerce\/\">What is B2B eCommerce, And How Does it Work?<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Offers on Festive Shopping<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With no shipping charges over Rs. 500, you can check out gift bundles and festive offers at <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nurtureindia.in\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">www.nurtureindia.in<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. They also have a flat 10% off on their entire website for the festive season, valid till 15th November 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Festive shopping checklist: Indian attires from Gaatha<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-5066 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Gaatha-300x157.png\" alt=\"Festive shopping apparel\" width=\"739\" height=\"386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Gaatha-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Gaatha-1024x536.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Gaatha-768x402.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Gaatha-1536x804.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 739px) 100vw, 739px\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The brand story<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Storytelling has always been at the heart of India. A story is attached to each heritage object in India: clothes, jewelry, handicrafts, or utensils &#8211; often passed on as<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> viraasat.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sumiran Pandya, the co-founder at Gaatha, was deeply impressed by India\u2019s craftsmen\u2019s sheer brilliance. He realized that while Indian artisans were trying to sell their craft, no one told their stories. And that\u2019s how Gaatha was born.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Indian connect<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sumiran feels that the craftsmanship and labor that goes into making each product isn\u2019t recognized enough in the country. Through Gaatha, he wanted to change that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe are not only selling products, but we are also telling stories. We are giving a face to people who make this product,\u201d said Sumiran. Curious to know more, we asked how closely they worked with the workers. The team\u2019s sincerity and passion surprises us and also makes us proud of the work they are covering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe 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. \u201d said Sumiran.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Razorpay journey\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gaatha has been using Razorpay for more than a year now.\u00a0 They currently use Razorpay Payment Gateway for all their transactions that happen through the website. Occasionally, they also use <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/payment-links\/\">Razorpay Payment links<\/a> for accepting payments from their clients.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;We switched to the Payment Gateway via a smooth onboarding process&#8221;, says Sumiran. As someone who has worked in the digital design industry, he tells us that they find the Razorpay interface user-friendly. \u201cIt is very simple to use, whether it is generating a payment link or <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/payment-links\/\">accepting payments<\/a>. Every day it saves hours of our accounts team,\u201d he adds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Offers on festive shopping<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Gaatha directly works with the local artisans, they don\u2019t offer discounts. However, given the current scenario, they are offering an extra 5% discount on their product range. Head to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/shop.gaatha.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/shop.gaatha.com\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to know more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Festive shopping checklist: Farm fresh flowers from The Flora<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5063 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Festive-shopping_The-Flora-300x157.png\" alt=\"festive shopping flowers\" width=\"778\" height=\"407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Festive-shopping_The-Flora-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Festive-shopping_The-Flora-1024x536.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Festive-shopping_The-Flora-768x402.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Festive-shopping_The-Flora-1536x804.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 778px) 100vw, 778px\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The brand story<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The emergence of The Flora is a unique tale in itself.\u00a0 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Radhika Dilip Kale, Head of Products &amp; Brand Building at The Flora and Co-Founder at ScaleFactor\u00a0 says, \u201cThe Flora came to life to help people brighten their spaces and bring in nature and positivity with artistic forms, colors, and fragrances.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Indian connect<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Flora deals in a unique and niche segment, but their operations are rooted in sustainable values. The brand\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Radhika adds, \u201cMost of our blooms come from our own zero-waste and sustainable farm in Bangalore and from our network of local Indian farms.\u201d Only a minuscule portion of their flowers, which cannot be grown in India, are imported from other countries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe 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, \u201d 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Razorpay journey<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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. \u201cShopify integration with Razorpay helped us a lot. Razorpay provided choice and flexibility to our customers by offering all payment options &#8211; from UPI to credit\/debit cards\u201d, says Anubhav.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their team has been using Razorpay Payment Gateway for more than two years now. \u201cThe onboarding process was very smooth. We didn&#8217;t face any roadblock or red flags\u201d, he says. The company mainly makes use of and finds excellent help in the <a href=\"https:\/\/dashboard.razorpay.com\/signin\">Razorpay Dashboard<\/a>. Anubhav tells us that from the next <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/what-is-billing-cycle\/\">billing cycle<\/a> to payment, the Dashboard shows them everything, helping the backend.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Offers on festive shopping<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The impressive collection of flowers for festive gifting and home decor purposes can be found on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/theflora.in\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/theflora.in\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Check it out today and make this festive season colorful and bright!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Responsible festive shopping for all<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you buy anything this festive season, ask yourself &#8211; is this product supporting any local business? If you are going for a non-Indian alternative, ask yourself &#8211; is the same quality and product made in India? If yes, why not buy that instead?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"border-radius: 3px; background: #528FF0; padding: 15px; font-weight: 600; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; color: white;\" href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/\">Take Your Business Online With Razorpay<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 &#8211; all together constitute the festive season fervor of our<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":5056,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,131,26],"tags":[43,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-5055","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entrepreneurship","8":"category-customer-stories","9":"category-payments","10":"tag-online-commerce","11":"tag-payment-gateway"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5055"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21412,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5055\/revisions\/21412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}