After working as a business analyst for Wipro and National Stock Exchange for five years, Vasanta Chigurupati wanted to step out of the proverbial box and “explore different opportunities.” She came up with the idea of producing customized paper bags which are environment friendly and sustainable. Thus was created The Paper Bag shop in June 2010.
“My husband and I researched for three months to check what would work, which materials to use and plan the logistics before we started,” says Vasanta. Although there wasn’t a market for such products when it started, it didn’t deter her in anyway. “People would ask a lot of questions about what kind of paper we use, the pricing. They would be apprehensive as this was something new,” adds the 31 year-old.
Customers can now browse through the website of the outlet showcasing variety of bags on offer. At a given moment, they have 20,000 ready-made bags retailed at a small outlet in Pragati Nagar, Kukatpally.
Vasanta uses different kinds of papers, depending on the orders she gets. Be it funky goodie bags for birthday parties or taking bulk orders for events, they customize the bag according to the specifications of the client and corporates. The materials used are cotton waste, recycled paper besides special orders that require flashier materials for celebrations. The company also makes wine bags for those rare occasions.
Though the customers cannot customize their orders online, they can pick from the three categories available at the manufacturing facility which includes gift bags, event and shopping bags. For those who are clueless about the design, the design team is more than willing to sit down and plan a unique carry-on.
“Besides using handloom paper bags we also make bags which are laminated with logos for some of the orders,” says Vasanta. The shop has its own design team which takes care of the layout, designing and printing aspects from the moment the order is placed. “We use screen printing on a small scale basis but we outsource the order for printing work when it is in bulk,” adds Vasanta. The venture broke even soon and in terms of creating printing infrastructure, the company is likely to recover the costs in another two years’ time. The unit employs 14 people on a regular basis.
The clientele for The Paper Bag shop includes corporate companies like Canon, Sony, Hyderabad Industries Limited, Oakridge international school, designer Asmita Marwah, Bhargavi Kunam, Sagar Tenali among others. The prices for the bags vary according to the order and can range from `7 to `60 per bag, depending on the material selected and quantity ordered.
Details:
thepaperbagshop.in ; Contact 96766 93340