Mother’s Day: These mother-daughter duos have scripted success stories by turning their passion into profession
This Mother’s Day, SMBStory brings to you stories of mother-daughter duos who turned their passions into meaningful ventures.
What’s the biggest gift a child can offer her mother than making her dreams come true? Mothers spend their lives extending their duties toward their children and family, and along the journey, many of them do not prioritise their ambitions.
This year, SMBStory featured inspiring stories of mother-daughter duos, where daughters imbibed their mother’s hobbies and turned it into a profession to script success stories.
On Mother’s Day, SMBStory brings to you the success stories of the brands run by mother-daughter duos.
The Indian Ethnic Co
Lekhinee Desai and Hetal Desai, Cofounders, The Indian Ethnic Co
Being an ardent handloom lover, Hetal Desai did not think highly of the readymade outfits available in the market. Her daughter, Lekhinee Desai, says that as a child, her mother always bought material and stitched beautiful dresses for her sister and her.
“My mom has great design aesthetics and a natural eye for silhouettes and fabrics. So I nudged her to do something about her talent. We started with an initial investment of Rs 50,000,” says Lekhinee.
Hetal and Lekhinee visited a handloom exhibition in 2016 for a shopping spree and came back with an exciting business idea and 50 metres of fabric with the ajrakh print.
They got the fabric stitched into kurtis in various sizes and designs by their neighbourhood tailor. Lekhinee created a Facebook page, posted a few pictures of the completed outfits, and distributed the link among her friend circle.
Thus began the journey of The Indian Ethnic Co.
Started as a passion project from a family home, it now has three busy offices, ships products worldwide, and contributes to the livelihoods of nearly 1,000 artisans.
What’s more? In just four years, the clothing brand is touching nearly Rs 10 crore in turnover and is comfortable dealing with 3,000 monthly orders.
Masala Tokri
Aarti Samant and Urmila Samant, Co-founders of Masala Tokri
Urmila Samant was always a passionate cook, and in 2016, she decided to take a formal course in the art of making spices, turning her hobby into a profession.
Her daughter Arti Samant tells SMBStory that her mother started by sharing a few mixes with friends and family, and gradually formed WhatsApp groups, where she would receive orders for her masalas from different customers.
By 2018, the venture had expanded. Urmila was packing masalas and exporting them to customers in the UK, Singapore, Dubai, and the UAE. Soon, Aarti realised it was no longer possible for one person to do everything and decided to step in.
Together, they launched in February 2019 as a premium-gourmet masala company.
While Urmila develops and ensures the spices reach the completion stage, Aarti takes care of the sales, marketing, and promotion-related activities.
At present, it offers about 11 products, and the bootstrapped company clocked Rs 20 lakh turnover last year.
Digvijaya Herbals
Vijaya Dinkar and Disha Dinkar, Cofounders, Digvijaya Herbals
Disha Dinakar, and her mother Vijaya Dinakar, have a habit of reading the labels of beauty and health products before buying them. According to Disha — a doctor by profession — these products look aesthetically pleasing but often contain harmful chemicals as indicated by their labels.
She says, “My mother and I have always been strong believers in organic products and their benefits. We were taken aback to see the harmful chemicals used in a wide range of Indian beauty and health products. This inspired us to start making our organic herbal products that were 100 percent natural and authentic.”
Disha joined hands with her mother and her father, MN Dinakar Bhat, to launch her own herbal products brand ‘Digvijaya Herbals.’ She started with a small investment of Rs 10,000 in Vittal, Karnataka — a town near Mangaluru — in 2019.
In a short span of time, the business boomed for the entrepreneur trio of father, mother, and daughter. The newly-launched herbal brand recorded Rs 1 crore turnover in its first year and approximately Rs 3 crore in its second year, Disha claims.
At present, Digvijaya Herbals has a range of 140 products, encompassing haircare, skincare, baby care, herbal powders, and more.
Edited by Suman Singh
