Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Aditya Sharma, Founder of Ecotyl, located in Siliguri, West Bengal, India.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Ecotyl is a certified organic and sustainable brand. We bring to you 100% organic, eco-friendly, and high-quality products sourced from their best-grown locations across the country. We make sure that the environment is minimally impacted when we deliver high-quality products to you. Most of our ram materials are sourced in small batches, so they remain fresh when they are delivered to the customers. At different stages, they undergo rigorous checks to meet the set food safety and hygiene standards. Our food products are vegan, pesticide-free, unadulterated, GMO-free, and free from anything artificial. Ecotyl was conceived with the intent to create a sustainable brand that follows farm to fork philosophy. From procuring organic ingredients to delivering products in sustainable packaging, we make sure that our actions minimally impact the environment.
We firmly believe that the manner in which food is grown leaves a long-lasting impression on our health and the environment. Thus, we take utmost precautions while selecting, packing, and delivering our products to ensure that they meet high-quality standards and minimally impact the environment. We are committed to the idea of nurturing nature and promoting sustainable growth.
We aim to be a lifestyle brand that helps people elevate their health and wellness. Ecotyl has a range of 80+ certified organic and eco-friendly products across eight categories. We have curated a hand-picked mix of kitchen essentials, superfoods, snacks, wellness, and eco-friendly products. We aim to become a one-stop solution for top-quality health and wellness products sourced from the best-grown locations in India. We source our products from our NPOP-certified vendors, who supply us with raw materials from the best-grown locations across the country. We also procure them in small batches, so they remain fresh when delivered to your doorsteps. We are an NPOP-certified organic brand and hence strictly adhere to the food safety standards laid down by the government.
Additionally, we also regularly take the extra step to make sure we stay a conscious brand:
- Using eco-friendly packaging
- Reducing waste
- Encouraging recycling
- Spreading awareness
Tell us about yourself
Having graduated and post-graduated from Asia’s top commerce college, I was always motivated to understand the right way to make sure the end consumers get the best possible bunch of utilities from their purchase. I come from an Agri background family, and I have always had an opportunity to consume good, chemical-free food. However, when I moved to cities for my studies and training, I realized that people had been deprived of clean and nutrient-rich fresh food. I started dreaming of this venture and have been working on it in bits since then. I worked with Organisations like Sri Sri Tattva, Adidas Group, etc., to understand India’s retail market.
When I see the happiness on people’s faces when they see the right quality food that they’ve been looking for, & when they like it and share their feedback or re-order, It gives me immense joy to be serving happiness to the world in the most sustainable way possible.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
We recently completed our six months pilot. We were amazed to see 100+ organic orders in just 15 days of launch. On average, we have a rating of 9.5/10 for overall customer satisfaction. We have sold about 7000 units of products from 1500+ orders in the first six months - without spending on marketing. The idea was to go slow and organic - test the products, acceptability, and what works and what doesn’t. We started off with 63 products, and we are currently at 87. A team of 3 IIM Ahmedabad students is working on the product range and figuring out the best possible combination for the customers.
We plan to focus on omnichannel distribution now. We have about seven offline distributors/dealers and are currently listed on Organic and sustainable wellness marketplaces like One Gree, Vegan Dukan, Organikness, etc. The goal is to make our products accessible to all. With a current average repeat ratio of 40%, We are confident that we will be able to elevate the health and wellness of the masses in the most sustainable way possible. We are eyeing 60-80 orders per day by the end of the 4th quarter.
We are open to giving franchises and dealerships - especially to women entrepreneurs and are willing to support them in any possible way.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the biggest challenges we faced was trying to keep the brand sustainable. We believe that organic and sustainable go hand in hand. Yet, this became difficult to maintain, keeping the cost, packaging, and shipping in mind. We are still trying our best to stay as green as possible by using eco-friendly packaging materials like kraft paper pouches, Glass jars, paper labels, kraft paper tapes, courier bags made from recycled plastic, etc. The goal is to become 100% plastic free.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Planning your career is very important. The earlier you know what you wish to do in life, the better and clear the path becomes. You have room to plan things in that direction. However, It is okay not to know what you really want to do. One must make sure they work in multiple fields and understand what interests them the most in order to decide the line of work.
- Just do it! Start small, invest less capital & do a pilot of exactly what you have been planning to do. This will give you clarity about the plan, changes, and challenges.
- Patience is the key to success. Nothing is achieved overnight! Consistency, hard work & patience are the three major pillars that will keep you going.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://ecotyl.in/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ecotyl
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecotyl.in/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecotylorganic/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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