Co-founders Ranodeep Saha and Vijaya Kumar Thalanki Rajagopal have used the Covid-19 situation to create new avenues for growth!
Rare Planet, a growing start-up, sells Indian arts and crafts through various retail formats and online channels including their website as well. When lockdowns were announced in March 2020, it seemed as if everything came to a standstill.
But without wasting much time, the team got down to manufacturing masks of various Indian motifs, which kept them afloat for some time. Soon after, as the lockdowns started getting lifted and markets opened up, Rare Planet started shipping goods outside the Indian market and since then, the international market has shown huge demand for these handmade products. The US and European markets especially have been responding very well.
“We are now shifting a huge chunk of our focus to tapping the international market. We have been doing well in the US and Europe but a major part of the world is still to tap. We hope to get a lot of traction, going forward,” says co-founder Vijaya Kumar
In the same year of adversity, Rare Planet raised rounds of funding from new investors. They are looking at aggressive growth in the coming years. Covid is a mere pause, feels co-founder Ranodeep Saha. He believes that travel, tourism, and demand for handmade goods will come back roaring, and there is no room for slowing down in any case.
Especially in early 2021, when India is hard hit by Covid again, the markets outside India and the huge demand coming from there have helped the company face the current adversity.
