Start-ups coming with novel ideas are not easily accepted seriously and that is a big challenge, said Co-founder of Mama & Peaches, Tanya Ghai in an exclusive interview with SME Times.

A lot of people in the beginning were not very encouraging about the idea especially knowing I was juggling a business and motherhood, Ghai added.

Excerpts of the interview...

Please tell our readers about Mama & Peaches and its entrepreneurial journey.
Tanya Ghai: Mama & Peaches is at its core, an initiative cum intervention to address the essential needs and anticipated choices of Mothers-to-be, Mothers, and Babies. The Mama & Peaches Box is a thoughtfully curated monthly subscription box for mamas and babies. It is especially tailored and customized to the mama’s due date or the baby’s age.

Inspired by the holistic philosophy of conscious parenting and pure living, the box incorporates natural, safe, and sustainable choices on the journey of motherhood; a month at a time. 

Launched in December 2017, we have come a long way on this challenging yet exciting and fruitful journey. In a short span of eight months, we have reached Mamas all over India and have proudly delivered unforgettable experiences across different cities. From innovative products to engaging campaigns, we have strived to uplift and encourage our community with a common goal of providing value to our customers in the form of products, experiences, and educational content.  

The concept behind Mama & Peaches sounds quite novel and innovative. Your views?
Tanya Ghai: The concept is a first of its kind. While there are many subscription-based boxes in the market, we cater to a niche community of Mamas. The concept was born when I became a mother mysel

A mother goes through a monumental transition in her personal, mental, and physical strength to make this journey a smooth, exciting and a happy one.

I realized how no one in the industry was catering to the mother; although, evidently numerous products focused on the baby alone.

That is why Mama & Peaches was born. As the name suggests it keeps the Mama in focus. Motherhood is surely the most strenuous and demanding job on earth and every mother out there deserves to be rewarded. This is my effort to remind every mom that, she deserves that reward the most.

What products do you offer and what is your competitive edge?
Tanya Ghai: We try to make safe, natural, and organic products easily and readily available for the parent and the child. We endeavor to encourage the mamas to use products that are chemical free for their babies and themselves. The product mix consists of a variety of verticals like cosmetics, health & nutrition, apparel, toys, books, keepsakes, home, lifestyle, and much more.

Our role as facilitators is to connect the products with the consumer and vice-a-versa. This is the core motivation and intention behind creating a community of like-minded individuals and initiatives. Each month the subscribers are introduced to a varied range of products, brands, and choices giving them enough to discover from the top picks.

At Mama & Peaches you celebrate the fabulous spirit of womanhood… please elaborates.
Tanya Ghai: Every box is designed and curated to celebrate the spirit of women, motherhood, and the beauty of bringing a new life into the world. We strive to cater to essential and even unanticipated needs of a mother, with a constant element of surprise in every box to uplift and celebrate her journey of motherhood.

As a web platform, our intention is to provide a reliable and engaging online space to add longevity to these interactions. It is by supporting a larger nexus of meaningful engagements from the start of the pregnancy and through motherhood that we intend to grow our community, a month at a time. We have been so fortunate to engage with our consumers on a regular basis. it has been an overwhelming experience to be part of their journey from the start and watch them grow with their babies.

Please mention some challenges that start-ups face in India? What is your experience?
Tanya Ghai: There are a lot of challenges and roadblocks you face as a start up in India. The biggest challenge I faced was not being taken “seriously” when I started out. I was trying to make a difference with creating an experience that was more than just a product. A lot of people in the beginning were not very encouraging about the idea especially knowing I was juggling a business and motherhood. I faced a lot of difficulty with sourcing the right products in small batches, hiring the right talent and building a team that understood our core values and the path I intended to take. For any start up, everyday brings a new set of challenges in its wake. Fortunately having had experience in finance and management, I took each day at a time and kept learning from the experiences.

Please tell us about your target market and its growth potential in India.
Tanya Ghai: The rise in awareness through web and social media has given room for a new market just around moms to thrive. More and more start ups are joining this league with fresh concepts, products and ideas targeting the “Mother” specifically.  This is a fresh approach to India ‘s baby care market, which is expected to post a CAGR of over 15% during 2017-2022, according to RCNOS, a business consulting services firm. The market for mom and baby care products is growing because of urbanization, which has led to a rise in the number of nuclear families with both parents working. As a result, per capita expenditure on mother and childcare has increased. We predict this is just the beginning of a new emerging market with a massive scope of growth opportunities for brands/products that offer unique solutions relevant to different stages of motherhood.

Our readers would like to know your future plans
Tanya Ghai: Now that we have built a strong foundation in the subscription business, we are planning to start our unique gift E-store. The idea is to house a spectrum of products on our platform that make gifting easy, customized, and perfect at the same time. We intend to introduce pre-curated packages designed to gift for occasions such as announcement of pregnancy, baby showers, birth of a child, 1st birthday, and many more such occasions. We will be working in collaboration with some of our favorite brands like Kama Ayurveda, Sophie La Giraffe, Mama Earth, and so many more. These hampers will be easy to customize with different packaging options and delivered on a certain day to surprise the recipient. The option of handwritten notes as gift messages will further add to the charm, besides reviving the joy of gifting.

Apart from the traditional online vertical we have also ventured into corporate gifting and tied up with a few established  start ups and multinationals who want to effectively run employee appreciation programs and do their bit for women empowerment.