Couple Left Settled Bangalore Life to Sell Upcycled Fabric Doll

In 2017, growing out of constantly materialistic-driven city life, the couple Suhas Ramegowda and Sunita Ramegowda left their successful career in Bengaluru to live a minimalist life in the Nilgiris mountains in Tamil Nadu.

They built their own house from mud and stones and began living life as minimalistic as they could. They would spend less than Rs. 10,000 per month. 

"We were hardly buying anything new and eating what we grew. The best part is that we lived the most peaceful, healthy and happy life here," said one of the co-founders of The Good Doll, Suhas, during an interview with Startup Pedia. 

While they were living there, they observed that the communities in rural areas have been facing livelihood issues for years. The effect of poverty could be seen by the kind of life they were living. Farming and labour were their main sources of income, but both were irregular.

Since the couple lived there and saw the situation on a daily basis, Suhas said that the problem had become personal.

They wanted to do something that could be a sustainable source of income for the Nilgiris rural communities. Hence, Indian Yards Foundation was born in 2019, which eventually gave birth to The Good Doll in 2023. 

"Since we wanted to do something for them, we embarked on the entrepreneurial journey and learned along the way. Despite the fact that we have no experience in running a business," said the co-founder of the handmade sustainable fabric toy brand during the Startup Pedia interview.

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As Sunita, the co-founder and wife of Suhas, is fond of craft, she took up the responsibility of training the women of the Nilgiris communities. Initially, the couple got together and trained 5 women to start with.

They first started with patchwork quilts with repurposed fabrics. However, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and they began producing masks that were in demand. This proved to be a good source of earnings for women until the pandemic was at its peak.

As the pandemic slowed down, they began making home decor products such as wall hangings, coasters, and embroidered items using macrame, crochet and embroidery as craft forms.

However, soon they realised something was missing. "We realised that we were making the same products as other businesses in the decor industry. We were not making anything different and marketable. Hence, we began working on something unique for our customers," the co-founder said while speaking with Startup Pedia.

In 2023, the Nilgiris handmade and sustainable fabric toy brand began making sturdy, body-positive, and color-inclusive cloth dolls using upcycled pre-consumer textile waste.

These dolls are eco-friendly and substitute for conventional plastic dolls. The handmade fabric dolls' interchangeable clothes feature makes them unique and engaging for kids. In making these dolls, the brand has upcycled over 12,000 kgs of textile waste. 

While speaking to Startup Pedia, Suhas said, "Over the past year, this product line has gained momentum, and we are now focused on scaling this category, aiming to make our 'The Good Doll' the next iconic offering from India to the world."

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Pricing and marketing: 

The handmade and sustainable fabric doll brand currently has around 100 SKUs across different sizes and designs. The dolls were even a hit at the Kala Ghoda Art Festival, which takes place in Mumbai every year. The dolls are priced between Rs. 500 to Rs. 1750

The sales responses at the Kala Ghoda Art Festival encouraged the couple and the women working with them to work on the brand with renewed determination and hard work.

"People are buying our handmade and sustainable dolls despite the fact our dolls are priced more than plastic dolls. Because the dolls are unique and offer different kinds of upbringing to kids," added the co-founder of The Good Doll.

The brand's dolls are currently available across 60 retail stores in India. They are also available at travel retail, important places like the duty-free shop at Mumbai International Airport and specific hotels. 

Revenue of The Good Dolls: 

In FY-24, The Good Doll generated roughly Rs. 75 lakh in revenue. However, the brand has ambitious goals ahead financially as well as socially. 

The handmade fabric doll brand wants to achieve a revenue of Rs. 1.5-2 crore in FY25. 

"We are aiming to hire around 150 more women by the end of the current fiscal year. This will scale up the production and hence the revenue simultaneously," said the co-founder of the Nilgiris doll brand.

The co-founder Suhas further expressed the brand's ambition and said that it aims to become a global icon like Barbie from India, but with eco-friendly, sustainability, colour and body positivity aspects.

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The Socio-Economic Impact: 

What started with just five women has now turned into 95+ who are earning way more than they have ever imagined. 

These women earn Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 17,000 per month, depending on the quantity they create. They are now running their houses, buying things for their children that they were deprived of.  With the earnings, real women empowerment came in.

"Earlier, they would earn just Rs. 2000-3000 per month, which was not regular at all. They had no say at home. Now, they are leading their houses and making decisions. This is real women empowerment, I believe, is happening in the rural Nilgiris," said Suhas.

However, there is a long way to go. In the next 10 years, the sustainable and handmade fabric toy brand wants to train and employ 20,000 women across Nilgiris's rural and tribal areas and make it similar to the well-known Channapatna toys of Karnataka; their objective is to turn the Good Doll from a regional product into a worldwide phenomenon.