Striking gold: Bling Bag on growth track after a pivot and a pandemic

Working as a successful IT business consultant at a large tech company, Harvi Shah had a stable income and a promising career trajectory. She worked on exciting on-site projects that required her to live away from home, traveling to different countries. 

However, despite the growth, Shah had a difficult decision to make. After living around six years away from her husband, she chose to return to India to start a family. 

As her pregnancy progressed, she could not shake off a worry—the possibility of being away from her child if the company assigned her to on-site projects again. “I realised that to live closer to home, I needed to start something of my own,” Shah tells SMBStory.

At eight months pregnant, Shah launched Bling Bag, a Mumbai-based jewellery brand in 2015 with an initial investment of Rs 1 lakh from her personal savings.

Initially, she successfully managed both her corporate job and the new business, even receiving a promotion. However, it soon became apparent that the business required her undivided attention. 

Making a bold move, she decided to leave her corporate career and dedicate herself entirely to Bling Bag.

The turning point

The company faced a significant roadblock in 2019 when its subscription model—in which customers received personalised jewellery bags—did not see the expected growth. 

 “We decided to let go of that model and shift completely to a traditional ecommerce approach where we would list the products on our website that customers could directly buy,” says Shah.

Just as Bling Bag started gaining momentum—it made a revenue of Rs 1.3 crore in FY20—the COVID-19 pandemic struck. For several months, the company did not receive any orders. Shah’s husband, Vipin Agrawal, had also lost his job, shaking the duo’s financial stability. 

During the difficult time, Shah realised she was not alone in her struggles. Countless households grappled with similar circumstances, where even non-working family members needed to step up and contribute.

She then began business coaching, aiming to guide and support women in starting their own ventures. This also served as a source of second income to keep the jewellery business running.

The coaching initiative—Fashionpreneur—equips women with the knowledge and skills to establish their own fashion ecommerce business. The paid community has grown from 8 to 3,500 members in two and a half years. 

"My husband also joined Bling Bag during the lockdown. We put everything we earned into inventory and advertisements. This proved to be beneficial for us," says Shah.

Currently, Bling Bag operates with a team of 18 members who handle operations, content creation, sales, customer service, website and campaign management. In FY23, it achieved a net revenue of Rs 5.3 crore, a significant increase from the Rs 1.3 crore generated in FY20.

A Made in India brand

“Initially, most of the jewellery for Bling Bag was imported from countries like China and Bali as my vision was to bring designs that were not readily available in the Indian market. But in 2019, we completely shifted to Made in India products and Bollywood-inspired jewellery,” says Shah.

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Shah also observed a lack of colours in the jewellery market. She wanted to help women effortlessly coordinate the jewellery with their attire.“

Colour has been our USP. We are offering jewellery in a variety of colours that perfectly complement or contrast with the outfits,” says Shah. The company offers an expanded range of over 1,000 designs and 50 unique colour shades in earrings and necklaces. 

Bling Bag operates without an in-house production facility and instead collaborates closely with third-party manufacturers and vendors to create its products. 

Initially, the manufacturers offered products in only 10 to 15 colors but Bling Bag nudged them to expand their colour palette. "We mostly work with their designs, and they are open to incorporating any changes we suggest," she adds. 

Shah says that she has built trust by working with a select number of manufacturers and wholesalers, rather than relying on a broader network. It currently works with around 10 manufacturers and vendors. 

"After COVID, our relationship with them has become very close-knit. During a period when there was no business for them, we purchased inventory worth Rs 40 to Rs 50 lakh over six months. This strengthened our relationship," Shah says.

Selling exclusively through its website

Currently, the brand has over 2,000 SKUs across various categories of jewellery. These include earrings, necklace sets, pendants, mangalsutras, rings, maangtikas, and other accessories. In January 2023, it expanded its offerings beyond jewellery and introduced Bollywood-inspired sarees to its portfolio. 

“The number is not fixed as we keep adding new designs every week,” says Shah.

For necklaces, the Average Order Value (AoV) ranges from Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,000, whereas for earrings, it is Rs 1,500. As for sarees, the AoV falls between Rs 6000 and Rs 7000.

In the beginning, the brand had a presence on several ecommerce platforms alongside its own website. "Now, we exclusively sell through our website as I have lost faith in marketplaces," Shah explains. "The returns we were receiving from those platforms did not justify the time and effort we were investing. Instead, we made the decision to allocate our resources towards advertising our website," she adds.

Bling Bag serves an average of 1,500-2,000 customers per month.

"We aim to scale our saree offerings. We already have a customer base ready, as those who wear necklace sets often pair them with sarees," says Shah. 

The company aims to achieve an AoV of Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 by including one saree and a necklace set in the purchase.