Nikita Jain frequently followed her husband on his travels and her choice to keep travelling after turning into a first-time mom introduced her to the arena of ergonomic baby carriers.
When her firstborn become 4 months old, Nikita commenced a babywearing marketplace, which pivoted to Klingaru in 2016.
“Surprisingly, my friends and family members were completely unaware about baby carriers. As I explored and enjoyed hands-free parenting with the ergonomic baby carriers, I wanted to introduce them to the parenting community in India,” she says.
Today, Indore-based Klingaru is known simply as much for its kidswear as its for its ergonomic child companies. Affordability has been one of Klinagru’s USPs. This means that whilst a majority of their clothing services are made from handloom cotton, they do not indulge in superficially upmarked rate tags.
“Today, kurtas are the fastest-selling product variety for Klingaru,” Nikita shares.
“Apart from this, we have been taking custom orders for sibling sets and twinning sets for families, and have been amazed by the response,” Nikita says. The team is now working towards reducing and reusing their fabric waste. “We are bringing a new suite of utility products made using these scraps.”
“We began using WhatsApp to educate new parents and answer their concerns about baby carriers as that was our key product in the early days of Klingaru. They preferred personal support, before making a purchase. Today, we share tracking details for orders, promotions, and much more. My experience of running a small online business has led me to believe that while purchases happen online, customers still want to easily reach out to the person running the business. In my experience, new parents, especially mothers, prefer WhatsApp over email, call or chats.”
Explaining about the other benefits of switching to WhatsApp for Business, Nikita says, “We get multiple inquiries a day. At times, it was impossible not to miss responding to a query. That’s where labelling the queries has helped immensely..”
Running a enterprise from a Tier II town in India, and as a first-time entrepreneur, Nikita has confronted many demanding situations to run, sustain, and develop the enterprise The largest assignment has been associated with sourcing the right cloth for both Klingaru baby carriers and their apparel line.
“With carriers, it was a one-time challenge, until we found the right suppliers for buckles and webbing. But with clothing, prints are a key USP. So, you need to find suppliers who are authentic and keep a tab on customer pulse and source accordingly,” Nikita says.
“We are working on the possibilities of partnering with popular multi-brand kids stores to retail Klingaru-labeled clothing. But that will take some more time,” Nikita says. The team is also working on expanding its product portfolio.
“In the morning, it’s all about getting my older boy ready for school while an active toddler runs around. The morning chaos settles only when the help comes in,” she says.
Reflecting on her journey, Nitika says, “Klingaru started with my motherhood journey and continues to do so. With my first-born it was baby carriers, accessories, and kids fashion. With my second, it was newborn essentials. That’s why Klingaru is literally an extension of what I love.”
