High School Sweethearts From Mumbai Start A Fashion Accessories Brand With Just Rs 5k - Marketed Via Instagram Reels, Clock Rs 5 Lakh/Month

The COVID-19 pandemic didn't just wreak havoc on the world economy and global health. It also chipped away at a lot of dreams.

For Mumbai’s Kristina Johnson, the dream of going abroad to study fashion was dashed because of the pandemic. 

Her final exams were postponed by six to seven months, and when she finally graduated, the job market was in a mess. Her family didn't approve of her choice to study fashion, owing to the “risk” attached to it. She also wanted to go abroad, but there was no clear path ahead.

“But there's this thing about life: when you truly want something, everything shifts, sooner or later, to bring you close to it. The same happened with me. From not being able to study fashion to running a fashion accessories brand, I think I've come full circle,” Kristina Johnson, co-founder of Krinix, tells Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview. 

Founded in 2021, Krinix is a Mumbai-based fashion accessories brand that offers affordable and trendy items like Indian jewellery and bags. The brand has been clocking Rs 5 lakh in monthly revenue since October 2025.

THE BACKGROUND 

Born and brought up in Mumbai, Kristina Johnson was raised by her single mother. She graduated with a marketing degree from Bhavan's College.

“The pandemic delayed our final exams by six-seven months. When I finally passed out, I didn't know what to do. Everything around me was crumbling. I knew the circumstances weren't favourable enough to go abroad and pursue fashion education. I finally gave in and took up a simple marketing job in a small-scale fashion brand,” Kristina tells Startup Pedia. 

Here, Kristina was handling the B2B side of the business. Soon enough, she understood the nitty-gritty of sourcing material, getting things manufactured, and ultimately launching a product. 

“At my job, I would always pitch in with fresh, trend-setting ideas. But because I was in a junior position, I didn't get enough credit. My ideas would be implemented and I would see their real-world impact. But acknowledgement? None,” Kristina notes. 

In 2021, at the age of 22, she decided to do something of her own. The trigger? She wanted a place where she had creative freedom to apply her own ideas, see them perform, and reap the outcomes.

She shared it with Nikhil Kargutkar, her boyfriend and partner since high school.

As for Nikhil, he graduated from Bhavan's College as well, with a degree in mass media. During college, he worked at a call center. Later, he became a social media executive for an e-commerce fashion brand.

“When I told Nikhil I wanted to do something of my own with him, he was all in. Both of us invested Rs 2,400 each, and that was the start of Krinix,” Kristina smiles. 

Read More: BLR Friends Make Heavyweight T-Shirts For Indian Men That Last For Years & Don't Cling At Awkward Places On The Body - Clock ₹10 Lakh/Month

JOURNEY AND CHALLENGES: QUITTING JOBS AND TAKING THE PLUNGE 

The word ‘Krinix’ comes from the first letters of Kristina and Nikhil. 

The young entrepreneurs’ small business started as a handbag brand.

At the time, a certain kind of bags, known as baguettes, were trending. Most established brands were selling them at expensive rates. 

“Also, Savannah and Urbanic, back then, weren't really selling bags. We decided to get these baguette bags made by a manufacturer and sell them at an affordable price,” small business founder Kristina shares. 

With Rs 5,000, Kristina and Nikhil approached a wholesaler in Delhi and placed an order for 8 bags. 

They used their iPhone to click pictures and post on the newly-made Instagram handle of Krinix. 

“The very first day, we got an order from a woman in Mumbai. She paid us Rs 649 for a bag. I called up Nikhil to tell him that we already got our first order. He thought I was kidding,” Kristina laughs. 

The young entrepreneurs quickly registered as an individual on Shiprocket and shipped the order to their first customer. 

In two weeks, their stock was sold out. They ordered a fresh stock immediately. 

All through 2021, the small business founders would take orders manually through Instagram and WhatsApp. 

“Eventually, we started taking pre-orders. The reason people were buying from us was because we were the most affordable brand of bags at the time. Customers loved the quality we were offering and felt like it was unreasonable to pay extra to other brands for literally the same material, packaging, and utility,”Kristina remarks. 

All this while, the entrepreneur couple kept working at their regular jobs as well. 

In 2021, they served a total of 355 customers across India and clocked an annual revenue of Rs 1,30,000. 

By 2022, Kristina decided to quit her job. 

“There was a lot of office politics at my workplace and it became draining for me. I also was freelancing with one another agency, so it didn't make sense for me to handle a lot of things together. Sometime later, Nikhil also quit his job,” Kristina Johnson says. 

The young entrepreneurs put in Rs 1 lakh from their savings to rent a small warehouse to run Krinix’s operations from. The warehouse had a monthly rent of Rs 8,000.

In 2022 itself, an Instagram reel the couple had posted on the Krinix handle went viral and garnered 6 million views. Kristina and Nikhil woke up to 50,000 followers that they had gained overnight.

Instead of a wholesaler, they now connected with a direct manufacturer to get their handbags made from scratch.

“We hired staff, put in more funds on running ads, increased organic marketing on Instagram, and kept buying more stock. This was an end-to-end hustle period,” Kristina shares with Startup Pedia.

Now that Krinix had gone viral, there was a surge of customers. Manually taking orders didn't seem feasible.

“The issue was, every website developer that we approached was quoting Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 to make our brand website. So I sat down with my old laptop to build the website myself. Then, another 15 days were spent getting everything right with Razorpay. Later, GST certificates and other important documents also followed,” the small business founder says.

Social media influencers began collaborating with Krinix.

The craze was real: the fashion accessories brand was selling beautiful handbags for just Rs 299. The same ones were being sold at an upwards of Rs 799 by other leading brands.

“Customers also asked us to get them jewellery, so we brought it as an add-on at the time,” Kristina notes.

In 2022, the small business founders clocked Rs 19 lakh in annual revenue and catered to more than 6,000 customers across India. 

By 2023, Krinix had 80,000 followers on Instagram. The fashion accessories brand clocked more than Rs 30 lakh in annual revenue and catered to 10,000+ customers.

“I am the single breadwinner at my household now. Quitting my job was a difficult decision. Everyone advised against it. But I went with my gut, and Krinix worked out. Nikhil and I brought new phones, a bike, and a car as well,” Kristina beams.

“It's a pre-owned one, to be honest. But it's a big deal for us,” she adds.

Read More: Pained by a Farmer-Friend's Suicide, This Barclays AVP Left Europe to Create Innovative Bamboo Products in India - Clocked ₹4.5 Cr Revenue

THE SOCIAL MEDIA DILEMMA

Since its inception, Krinix had operated as a fashion accessories brand that used social media as its primary channel for marketing.

“Instagram reels and ads have always been our single-point focus. But in 2024, we saw a downfall,” small business founder Kristina Johnson shares with Startup Pedia.

The reels posted on the Krinix brand page didn't get as many views, the visibility dropped, and customer numbers slowly started declining.

Kristina Johnson and Nikhil Kargutkar did everything: trying new content ideas, bringing in imported bags, and reducing overall prices. But nothing seemed to work.

The annual revenue for 2024 dipped to approximately Rs 12 lakh.

The young entrepreneurs felt like it was the beginning of the end.

Doubts started creeping in. They wondered if they should wind up and return to their regular 9-5 jobs.

But here's the thing: Kristina and Nikhil had also come too far to just quit everything and walk away. They knew the market, they just needed to find its pulse.

And that they did…with Indian jewellery.

By the end of 2024, Krinix moved its primary focus to selling beautiful, intricately designed Indian jewellery. The idea worked and the fashion accessories brand started taking off again.

The young entrepreneurs invested Rs 50,000 to handpick a large stock of Indian jewellery from manufacturers and artisans across Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Since then, the fashion accessories brand has a clear split: 70% of its product range is Indian jewellery and the remaining 30% is handbags, customized gifts, and other small accessories.

Read More: Meet this entrepreneur who launched India’s largest not-for-profit carpool company to address Delhi’s severe air pollution problem

KRINIX: A FASHION ACCESSORIES BRAND FOR EVERYTHING PINTEREST-Y

Today, Krinix operates as a modern fashion accessories brand that offers affordable products that follow trends and also set them.

According to the now 26-year-old Nikhil Kargutkar and Kristina Johnson, their brand’s USP is variety and affordability.

“We are a very customer-oriented brand. If there's something our buyers want or are looking for, we are all ears. The jewellery thing also happened because we saw real demand from our customers. So if they need a specific design, for instance, we get them that,” small business founder Kristina Johnson mentions.

In 2025, the fashion accessories brand launched desi jhumkas which got a very positive response from their customers.

Apart from beautifully designed handbags and Indian jewellery, Krinix sells cute accessories like bag charms, hair clips, hair ties, and keychains.

Every product listed on the website fits the Pinterest aesthetic of soft colours, lots of designs, and an overall energy of warmth and comfort.

The brand recently hit 100,000 followers on Instagram.

GROWTH OF THE FASHION ACCESSORIES BRAND

The average order value at Krinix is currently Rs 999. However, the small business founders did not reveal their unit economics breakdown.

Since October 2025, the Mumbai-based fashion accessories brand has been clocking a monthly sales figure of Rs 5 lakh. In 2025, the young entrepreneurs catered to more than 30,000 customers across India.

For 2026, Nikhil Kargutkar and Kristina Johnson aim to open up a walk-in store for Krinix and scale their brand further.

“Our journey has been full of a lot of ups and downs. A lot of times, people around us warned us to settle down and go for something more stable. But pursuing Krinix had somehow always felt right in the heart. And I am glad that we listened to our inner voice. Despite all the late nights, anxieties, and the constant adrenaline rush, we honestly wouldn't have it any other way,” Kristina Johnson smiles and concludes.

Read More: With a ₹5L investment, this Ahmedabad engineer built a ₹6 Cr turnover biz selling 45,000+ solar dryers, generated 15000+ rural livelihoods