From kitchen staples to replicas of clothes sported by movie stars, Hyderabad's e-stores offer everything at the click of a button.
From kitchen staples to replicas of clothes sported by movie stars, Hyderabad's e-stores offer everything at the click of a button.
Art of Gifting
The one shop
With more than a thousand different kinds of interesting gifts to choose from--from marble artefacts from Rajasthan to traditional Etikoppaka woodenware from Andhra, table accessories and white metalware to corporate gifts for festivals--at theoneshop.in,you will truly be spoilt for choice. "Our hot-selling item is custom-printed paper bags," points out Vamsi Koka, 38, a former business consultant who started this e-store with wife, Vasanta Chigurupati, 34.
"My husband wanted to pursue his dream of being an entrepreneur and I was always interested in handicrafts and artefacts, and so one evening we came up with the idea of a new venture," recalls Chigurupati, who decided to quit her corporate job the very next day. The wedding season is a busy time for them, what with their client base now expanding to the Indian community in the US and Australia. "Everybody likes a beautiful keepsake and we endeavour to promote Indian crafts through this venture," shares Koka.
Contact theoneshop.in
Fresh Start
Terra Greens
The grass is certainly greener on the organic side these days and Likitha Bhanu, 27, is leaving no leaf unturned to promote healthy eating through Terra Greens. Inspired by her mother's passion for farming, Bhanu decided to bring her expertise in management and brand building to Terra Greens, which was started by her family in 2012. "The idea was to add a healthy twist to popular products in the market," says Bhanu. "For instance, one of the most popular staple purchases is suji in the upma segment.
We have created a wheat daliyaor foxtail millet version of the same. We needed to build on a palate that is already developed so that more people adapt to healthier options of something that they are already familiar with," she explains. At Terra Greens, one can shop for a variety of readyto-cook meals with all the ingredients including organic dehydrated vegetables, a spice mix and the cereal put together in one pack.
"People with fast-paced lifestyles, like most of us today, would find these meals quick-to-prepare, which makes it easier for them to switch to healthy eating options," says Bhanu. Terra Greens works with over 3,000 farmers to have them grow indigenous grains like millets to create products that are wholesome and healthy for everyone to enjoy.
Contact terragreensorganic.com
Sugar Rush
My Sweet Experience
A love for all things sweet motivated IIT graduate Ravi Vaka, 31, Padma Kalyan, a former IT professional from the US, and aspiring Telugu actor, Chaitanya Krishna, 25, to start a venture called My Sweet Experience. Their website delivers unique sweets that are not easily accessible in the market. "These are traditional region-specific specialties with a good dose of history to go with each," says Vaka, who gave up a corporate career to go in search of the original kakinada khajaand pootharekulu.
"Did you know that pootharekuluhas a 200-year-old history and that the famous Mysore pak may have originated in Mysore but is made in Ongole as well?" says Kalyan, who has travelled extensively too to know more about these traditional desserts. The trio has recently included Bengali sweets to their inventory and soon intends to add lesser-known desserts from other states as well.
"We are Sugar Rush My Sweet Experience Padma Kalyan (left) and Ravi Vaka striving to introduce people to unique sweets like Madugula halwa from the Araku valley in Andhra Pradesh or Tirunelveli halwa from the interiors of Tamil Nadu," says Vaka. Besides the sweets, you can choose from a limited variety of savouries and pickles too.
Contact swtexp.com
Cereal Entrepreneur
Zip.in
Everyone likes to handpick the freshest vegetables when they go out grocery shopping. But imagine if someone did it for you and delivered it too? "That's where we come in," says Kishore Ganji, 40, whose online venture, Zip.in is all about hassle-free grocery shopping. Order from a variety of more than 1,500 products and have them delivered at your doorstep that very day.
The order is brought in their customary colour-coded baskets to ensure you don't waste time sorting out the edibles from other items. "Unless an order has to be received at one's workplace, we avoid packing it in a plastic bag," says Ganji. His knowledge of technology and passion for entrepreneurship have come together for other ventures in the past too, particularly in the US, where he was based until recently.
"I'm back home in Hyderabad now, almost full time with Zip.in. These are exciting times to be in India with the startup culture and e-commerce on a new high," he says. Eventually, he is looking to take the brand pan-India, "After we have built a strong base in the city," he adds.
Contact zip.in
City Humour
I Love Being Hyderabadi
'Some people spend their entire lives striving for perfection and the rest of us are born Hyderabadi,' reads a poster at the fourth floor office of Syed Saif, 27. An animator by education, he decided to bring Hyderabadi humour on to tees, coffee mugs and posters. "It's for passionate Hyderabadis like me who are united by humour and our distinct Deccani dialect, regardless of all other identities," says Saif.
One of his slogans reads something like this, 'Kam aur calm, apan Hyderabadis se dono nahi hota'. Ask him how it all started, and Saif points out to his favourite Baingan Man tee, baingan being a word which could mean anything from weird to goofy and a whole lot in between. "People are crazy about Batman and Superman tees, which inspired me to come up with the character of Baingan Man," he says.
You can shop for tees or tabletop accessories printed with Hyderabadi humour attributed to Baingan Man, featuring a liberal sprinkling of nakkos and kaikus, the typical words from the colouful Hyderabadi dialect. Saif also finds inspiration in Hyderabadi movies produced in the old city; in conversations between friends; "or often on the streets." This is his ode to Hyderabad.
Contact beinghyderabadi.in
Star Struck
Livastar
Movies and fashion go handin-hand and two ingenious engineering graduates decided to make a business out of it. "I quit my masters in the last semester to pursue this. The idea was to bring the star closer to the viewer and the viewer closer to the star through fashion," says Chinmay Rajula, 25.
Livastar, started in late 2014, makes replicas of the clothes sported by various actors in their films at affordable prices and across various sizes. "Initially, it was very difficult to convince movie producers and get the fashion rights from the designers, but gradually they started to see how a star's style can make a movie more popular," says his partner, Mamidi Raja, 24, sporting SRK's black shirt from Dilwale (2016). It was their first tie-up with a Bollywood film and they are looking to do many more. Contact livastar.com