Auroville brands use lockdown lessons to tap post-pandemic growth

Chennai: Auroville’s niche brands have always had an aura of their own. But like all small, local brands, they were hit hard by the pandemic. Orders dried up and expansion plans had to be put on hold. Now, the good news: Business is back and the brands are looking forward, armed with a lockdown business lesson or two.
Take organic food brand Naturellement known for its jams and preserves.While the product was less affected by the pandemic, the company felt the pinch as half its turnover came from its restaurant. Naturellement’s biggest customer is home decor and garment chain Fab India. Fewer footfalls at stores and airports meant hard times for the the Auroville brand’s national sales.
Founder Martina Ljungquist adapted to the situation by tapping into local demand. "We developed more products for the local and Chennai market like bakery goods and frozen, ready-to-cook raviolis," she says. "The first thing I learned was that having a bigger part of local sales makes a more solid base in case of any disasters." The local focus helped Naturellement tide over the first lockdown but by the second reserves were dangerously low.
"The all-women production team itself suggested an overall 25% salary cut. Now the restaurant and national business is back and Ljungquist’s plans of an additional local outlet, stalled for almost two years, will fructify by the end of this year. The quick depletion of reserves also taught Ljungquist another important lesson: "Bigger reserves are a must in future".
If Naturellement learned about going local, handcrafted wood ware brand Worktree found it wise to go beyond local during the pandemic. Founder Dirk Gastmans found most of his sales coming to a halt during the first lockdown. "Any plans we had for network expansion or product addition were put on hold," he says. What hit Worktree hard was that it’s a small brand with limited market presence. "Our main sales were through the stores at Auroville and Puducherry which depend mostly on tourists," says Gastmans. "With those stores closed, our sales all but stopped." The lifeline then was Auroville’s online store Auroville.com. "Our products include kitchenware and homeware, and as people were confined to their homes, our online sales of cutting boards and rolling pins picked up," he says. Two export orders also helped.
Since Worktree’s team is small and overheads are low, Gastmans did not have to cut salaries. He cut down on purchases of material, produced minimal stocks and relied on income from online sales. He learned an old lesson: Never put all your eggs in one basket. "We were too reliant on our sales through the brick-and-mortar stores in Auroville and Puducherry and we now know the importance of having our products available in more stores and on online platforms," he says. "We also need to become more visible through marketing and social media."
For Adil Writer of Mandala Pottery, the pandemic was a "great pause" that helped him create a brand new demographic. "At my studio, it was very evident when the orders for tableware and functional ceramics dried up, it was the moment to create," he says. This paid off well and "most of everything I had made in the past two years are no longer in my studio." As people spent more time locked down in their homes, there was "clamour for sculptural installations, wall murals, paintings and objects d’art – a brand new demographic clientele (not the earlier source persons for spas, boutiques and holiday homes) from all strata of society who wanted to enjoy their house themselves," says Writer.
Mandala Pottery survived the pandemic by taking on more work and passing it on to neighbouring village studios. "This has led to several new collaborations with studios around us, and we are in a way forming a cooperative of pottery studios in this hinterland," says Writer. Post pandemic, Mandala Pottery has bounced back with gusto. "This is the busiest phase in my 22 years at Mandala Pottery," he says. "New restaurant orders are constantly coming in."
Karan Johar’s Neuma opened its doors this month in Mumbai "replacing the earlier iconic Indigo, with tableware from us, designed in collaboration between Chef Rishim Sachdeva and myself," says Writer. Small, local and national – what’s not to love?