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Interview with Swati Maheshwari, owner, Rustic Art

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

ByAnjuri Nayar

Starting out

Rustic Art was born out of a desire to do away with harmful chemicals found in products for daily use. Swati started

her venture with her aunt, Sunita Jaju in November 2010. We were inspired because we wanted to get rid of the

chemicals in our everyday living. We were looking for safer, environment friendly options for everyday use. This was

what inspired us to start Rustic Art, she says.

They felt that there was a dire need to create products which go back to the basics and prevent the use of chemicals

in everyday life. The fact that every soap, shampoo, etc that we use has SLS, a carcinogenic element, is what

pushed us to come up with something free of harmful chemicals, she adds.

Challenges

On completion of her MBA in communication management from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication,

Swati stepped into launching Rustic Art. Coming from a non- business background, Swati had to face a few initial

hindrances before her company could take off. I would not call them problems, but there were a few challenges that

we eventually overcame. Right from developing the brand name, to creating the perfect value proposition for thecustomer, it was a big challenge, says Swati. But her background in media studies and her partners in Sustainable

development helped them create Rustic Art exactly as they had envisioned.

Products and services

Rustic Art packages and distributes all luxury products. The production takes place in Puducherry by an external

source. Rustic Art offers organic soaps in 24 exotic fragrances, natural soaps in 10 fragrances, natural laundry

range, organic hair oils, chemical free shampoos, paper soaps, Aloe Vera Gel, etc. Some of these products are

specially designed for babies and kids, says Swati.

Team

Since Rustic Art is relatively new, the core team comprises of only Swati and her aunt as of now. Our team is just

the two of us and our family and friends. We all work together with our core competencies. Even the creatives and

the product photography are done in-house! adds Swati.

Competition and promotion

The competition is immense in this field. A lot of brands today produce handmade

and natural products. There are a lot of other brands that have natural, hand

made products however there are very few which can claim to be really organic.

People prefer our brand because they are assured of the quality. So even thoughthere is competition, Rustic Art has created a space for itself, says Swati.

Rustic Brands is promoted through word of mouth. People often like the products

and recommend it to their friends and family. A lot of people approached us

because they heard about Rustic Art from their friends. We do a bit of online

marketing, but then again, we do it on our own, without outside help, she says.

Future plans

Even though Rustic Art is a very new venture, it has done well for itself. They have

markets in a lot of places in India including Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. When asked about the

future, Swati said, The future seems great! Very soon we will break even. We then plan to expand with more

products and a larger market base. At the pace at which the demand is increasing, we see Rustic Art growing very

fast. They also plan to set up their own manufacturing unit in Maharashtra very soon.

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Bizxchange.in will be unavailable from 7:00 PM on 25th Jan. 2013 to 8:00 PM on 26th Jan. 2013 due to unavoidable infrastructure maintenance.We apologize for the inconvenience.

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