Skin problem prods them to set up startup

Hyderabad: WOMEN entrepreneurs are taking the society around them by storm and are inspiring others to venture on the path of entrepreneurship through their success stories comprising of personal struggles and challenges.

One such startup company is Sopian Artisans that is into natural skin products like soap, scrubs, body wash, and fragrance bar. Asha Agarwal, the owner of this startup says, "Soapian aims to provide a bathing experience to all at affordable and accessible prices. We also strive to provide complete satisfaction to our clients and provide them the highest quality of natural products."

Soapian is very special to Asha as her two daughters Yutika Agarwal and Vedhika Agarwal are also part of it. The trio first used the products themselves before they came into the market.

"It all started off when my daughters suffered skin issues, while we were using chemical products. So, we decided to prepare natural products and use it on ourselves. When we found the difference and change in us, we got an idea to start this business," says Asha

Talking about the investment Asha says, "My daughter's internship money that was about Rs 21,000 was used as an initial amount to start the company. Later, whatever profit we are getting is being reinvested in small amounts to continue our business. We have not applied for any loan as we are yet to scale up."

Yutika Agarwal, Asha's elder daughter, says, "Too much statutory compliance is a pain. Our trademark application is still pending.GST compliances are a burden for micro units of our size."For a woman it is tough to come into the market as there is a lot of competition for startups "During our initial stages we struggled a lot and we are still going through the same as marketing the product is not an easy task," pointsout Asha.

"Marketing is a challenge. Currently our products are marketed on social media handles and word of mouth. We are looking for help and tie ups to improve our marketing reach," expressed Asha's younger daughter Vedhika Agarwal.

Asha explains about how she went about selling the product at first as it is a startup. "Six months we were just trying to know whether people would like our products and for that we used to gift our friends, relatives and surrounding people the product and ask them to give their feedback."

"The specialty of our product is that it is handcrafted with the highest quality ingredients. The product is cruelty free, vegan and paraffin free. We are continuously improving and innovating our product with passion to build positive relations with customers and give them the best natural product. Customisation of flavours and packaging are also done on request," concludes Asha with a smile.