ECOBUZZ
Curating an online shop which enhances the experience of buying environment-conscious goods from ecopreneurs from India
CHALLENGE
Growing up in a household where most things were either repurposed or reused, I was inclined towards sustainable living. Our neighbourhood has many local shops which sold products that were natural, chemical-free and stood the test of time but are facing challenges due to a lack of online presence.
CONCEPT
Ecobuzz is a social entrepreneurship project grounded in promoting an exhaustive range of natural, handmade and environment-conscious goods that are non-massed produced and are sold by small entrepreneurs from across India.
WHEN
2017-2019
DURATION
1.5 year
ROLE
Co-founder
Logistics
Design Strategy
Social Media Strategy
Market Research
Photography
Visual Design
TEAM
Rahul Desai
LINK
LOCATION
Ahmedabad, India
BACKGROUND
Early in 2017, I along with my sister Deepali quit our design jobs to become ecopreneurs. After speaking to some of the small business owners about their discomfort in selling online, we decided to curate a marketplace of products that are natural, sustainable and made with a lot of care by passionate small business owners to make it available across the country.
We embarked on our journey of entrepreneurship to start our own small business. Getting a business license, registering our company, filing taxes, trademarking our logo, searching for vendors, researching shipping methods, doing market research, setting an online shop were all new to me. Although our biggest struggle for us and our business was marketing, juggling costs and funding but with immense self-discipline, dedication and perseverance this project gave me one of the most rewarding experiences in life.
IDENTITY DESIGN
To test our hypotheses, and learn about the future potential of our business idea. We made our landing page interactive, wherein the user can click on the trash to remove it and make the earth smile again. This also helped us in understanding the product/market fit and draft the next steps in the process.
Landing Page
In order to gather more traction, we started spreading a word about the brand with offline promotions like seed pot distributions around the city.
Offline Promotions: Seed pots distribution
As we only planned to open an online shop, we started digital marketing through Instagram and Facebook to carve out our presence and educate our followers about sustainable living.
With constant perseverance, building trust and connections with local vendors; we partnered with 30+ passionate entrepreneurs from across the country who made natural and sustainable products. We call them eco-warriors who joined in our journey to create a healthier and sustainable way of living.
REFLECTION
I had always been curious about the path of Entrepreneurship, working on Ecobuzz was a constant learning experience and an emotional journey. As a small business when most of the things need to be done on our own as a small team of three it became quite challenging to prioritise the tasks. The most important takeaway is to believing and staying true to the mission of the company. Also test, test and test new ideas and platforms to see the magic happen. I learned a lot about my own capabilities, limitations, and areas for improvement. Undoubtedly, it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life that I am grateful to have had.
