#WeAreAmazon: Meet these 5 entrepreneurs among the lakhs of small businesses that form Amazon

Rachit Goyal: Empowering local artisans 

Rachit Goyal, Vaibhav Industries (Photo: Amazon)

Rachit Goyal is one of the entrepreneurs whose efforts have empowered the #WeAreAmazon vision. When Rachit began manufacturing ethnic wear for women in 2019, it was a business with a difference. His entire enterprise was dependent on local karigars, who in turn relied on his efforts. Right from procuring the raw materials, to manufacturing, dying and selling them in their offline stores, each process of Vaibhav Industries generated employment. However, even as the business grew, the first lockdown in 2020 made it tough to sustain and affected his employees’ livelihoods too. This is when Rachit realised that the e-commerce sector held a great opportunity for small business such as his, marking a turning point in his fortunes. Today, he employs 25 people and his orders reach all parts of India, including rural areas, even where courier services and designer shops are scarce. As he beautifully sums up, his karigars depend on him, and he depends on Amazon.

Ishan Soni: Balancing online and offline

Ishan Soni, Northland (Photo: Amazon)

During the pandemic, Ishan Soni’s gifting store for millennials, with its flagship store in Delhi’s Connaught Place and branches across the city, was affected badly. For small offline traders like him, there was no source of selling their products. The need for basic essentials overwhelmingly outweighed the demand for the smallest of luxuries. In the first three months after the lockdown was lifted, Northland only saw 25 percent footfalls. This prompted Ishan to sell his original products online through Amazon. He had never imagined this would bring him orders from places as distant as Pondicherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Ishan strongly believes that the combination of selling online and offline is a brilliant balance. 

Jyoti Bharadwaj: Reaching new markets

Jyoti Bharadwaj, TeaFit (Photo: Amazon)

Even before Jyoti Bharadwaj’s TeaFit went into production, it already had multiple tieups with national retail chains for its healthy and no sugar beverages. But as it prepared to launch, plans had to be put on hold, courtesy the pandemic. The timing couldn’t have been worse. The minute their products hit the shelf, the second lockdown hit the brand, compelling them to close their doors even before they could acquire a customer base. While it’s one thing for a small business owner to retain regular and loyal customers, it’s entirely another for them to keep finding new ones. Finding new customers in new territories was a gamechanger for the entrepreneur, such as Mizoram, a state from where they see multiple orders. As Jyoti remarks, “Amazon was a lifesaver.”

Shrey Kumar: A pioneer in selling camel milk 

Shrey Kumar, Aadvik (Photo: Amazon)

While every small business is unique in its own right, Aadvik particularly stands out as India’s first brand of camel milk, and camel milk products. When Shrey Kumar co-founded Aadvik, it was with the aim of generating employment and helping camel farmers rather than just increasing his business. Since he knew that people were wary of stepping outdoors during the pandemic, he decided to come online. On Amazon, he was instantly impressed by the streamlined process, be it investments, payments or visibility. What started as a collaboration with one camel farmer, Shrey now employs over 200. Among his proud moments, he counts the fact that people living in states like Assam can receive camel milk in just a day from far away Rajasthan. According to Shrey, coming online has ensured the livelihood of his farmers and employees, even as his sales go up.  

Rishika: Getting a pan-India reach

Rishika, Saptamveda (Photo: Amazon)

When Rishika started Saptamveda, a nutraceutical small business, she started with just three products. Intent on launching her brand exclusively on her website, she discovered that generating awareness was a challenge. That’s when she got onboard Amazon through its Amazon Saheli programme. Even during the pandemic, which also affected online businesses, the orders continued unabated. She firmly believes that, without Amazon, “her business wouldn’t have survived the lockdown”. Today, she has a consistent seller base and a steady workforce. Her products now reach pan-India, especially in states such as Jammu and Kashmir and parts of North-East India. What impressed Rishika was the fact that even the smallest of issues, be it in logistics or dispatching of her products, were resolved quickly, even during the lockdown. Amazon is now an integral part of her business, so much so that her first remark the minute she reaches her warehouse is not how many orders they received, but: “Are the Amazon orders dispatched?”

Whether it’s working with artisans or extending the reach of their local shops online in the middle of the pandemic, these are just some of the inspiring stories of 9 Lakh+ small businesses on Amazon that make up the #WeAreAmazon family. To know more, click here.