The brand, renowned for its stylish Kaftans, is redefining the traditional attire into a global leisurewear
Hyderabad, 24/2/22: The Kaftan Company, India’s most recognized brand for Kaftans, has grown by 200% in the last two years. Established by Prakruti Gupta, and Navin Rao in 2016, the company aims to provide global buyers with the widest range of loungewear and kaftans through design innovations, and adherence to sustainable practices. The growth can be attributed to innovation and great customer experience provided by their Kaftans.
The origins of The Kaftan Company lie in the resilience and entrepreneurial spirit shown by the husband-wife duo of Prakruti Gupta and Navin Rao. Prakruti was diagnosed with cancer while working with Fiat-Chrysler Group in Dubai. She and Navin moved to India for treatment and with the aim of being closer to the family. As she successfully combated the disease, Prakruti’s entrepreneurial spirit led to the establishment of a garment manufacturing facility known as Shibori Designs. The MBA from Schulich School of Business, Toronto, was keen to create an innovative and niche fashion brand.
Since Kaftans are a globally renowned fashionwear and have been preferred by royals and celebrities alike for centuries, they caught her attention. The businesswoman who has successfully completed Goldman Sachs 10000 Women entrepreneurial program at IIM and ISB, instantly realized that this was the garment that she wanted to transform to a contemporary global wear. Her co-founder and husband, Navin S Rao, has done his Mechanical Engineering from Canada and has also done his MBA from Bologna Business School in Luxury goods from Italy. He also played a pivotal role in the launch of Ferrari & Maserati in India.
Speaking about this, Prakruti Gupta,Founder, The Kaftan Company, said, “I decided to embark on my entrepreneurial journey afresh after treatment and channelled my passion for stylish, comfortable and high-quality wear to first establish Shibori Designs, and eventually zeroed-in on Kaftans. The comfort, flexibility, and sophistication of Kaftans made me realize that they were an ideal option for those seeking good leisurewear. With support from my husband Navin, we have today built a world-class brand for Kaftans that is turning this royal garment of ancient times, into a fashionable loungewear in sync with contemporary sensibilities. Our design process is guided by the principle that every woman should not only look beautiful, but also enjoy what she wears. Each kaftan is crafted to ensure an ideal and seamless fit for customers, irrespective of size or style preferences. We use luxurious and sustainable fabrics with virtually zero waste generation during the manufacturing, and our designs are inspired from latest trends to deliver a fantastic user experience.”
Sharing his thoughts, Navin S Rao, Founder, The Kaftan Company, said, “We started The Kaftan Company at a time when we were both going through a transitional phase after having returned to India. The pandemic hit when the brand was gaining sales momentum and global recognition. We had the honour of becoming a part of the Asian Designer Week’s upcoming new designers list, and even in the wake of the pandemic induced slowdown, we have grown steadily and impressively. As people worked from homes, took long and slow vacations, the demand for high-quality leisure and lounge wear increased substantially, and that’s a demand we are trying to fulfill.”
The Kaftan Company uses digital printing and natural fabrics to reduce waste generation and the overall carbon footprint of the manufacturing process. The founders believe in sustainable fashion and take various steps, starting from design developments to production and dispatching, to ensure that all three dimensions of sustainability is achieved to the maximum – environmental, social and economic.
The founders have also built an enterprise that has inclusivity and women empowerment at its core with 80% female workforce. While The Kaftan Company is already present on leading online platforms in India, and local markets in UAE and Botswana, their aim is to establish a global footprint with physical outlets in different cities and countries in the years ahead.
Since its inception, the couple-preneurs bootstrapped enterprise has grown from strength to strength. The kaftans are available on leading online e-commerce platforms such as Myntra, TataCliq, Ajio, Shoppers Stop etc, as well as their official website www.thekaftancompany.com. They recently also launched an app to make it easy for their customers to shop and stay in vogue with the latest offerings. The Kaftan Company has 80% customer retention which showcases incredible loyalty driven by the excellent product experience. In the years to come, The Kaftan Company aspires to become a globally renowned destination for loungewear and nightwear and building an empire therein.
