Picking the right gift for a loved one might not always be easy. Enter The Gift Studio – a digitally-led one-stop-solution for all your gifting needs. The newest venture by RP Sanjiv Goenka Group makes available everything from exotic flowers to the latest gadgets and branded merchandise on its digital gift store. For those looking for something even more unique, how about gifting a staycation or an evening on a luxury yacht? Shashwat and Shivika Goenka, the co-founders of The Gift Studio talk to TMM about their new venture and its offerings.
When and how did you decide to come up with The Gift Studio?
We started it during the lockdown when we noticed that people were away from their loved ones and wanted to make occasions special even when far away. We already had the expertise, being in the retail industry for a while now. We found that there is a white space when it comes to well-curated gifts for friends and family. Our idea was to create something that is easy to use, intuitive, so that the person ordering can do it quickly, but in a manner that the receiver thinks it is thoughtful, valuable, personalized, and unique. There is also a huge gap today with other online sites – what you see in an image and what gets delivered is very different in terms of standard and satisfaction. It is so hard to find the right credible online site- where the quality and the sentiment all were in sync. With us, what you see is what you get. We wanted to take it online because at the moment people are not too keen on stepping out, owing to the pandemic.
With the lockdown and pandemic, a lot of places are going digital. Do you think the digital space offers you a lot of scope for getting your products delivered across the country?
Yes and No. While going digital will theoretically open up the entire country for us, our major differentiator is the quality of service you get. We want to ensure you have a seamless experience right from the time you browse to the time your order gets delivered – and to achieve that level of quality of service, we will limit our launch to Kolkata and Mumbai currently. After this, we will launch in the other key metros in the next 6-9 months. Following that, we will explore having a pan-India presence.
Please tell us how The Gift Studio is a one-stop-shop for all our gifting needs?
There is no online player who has taken gifting to this extent. What separates us is that we cater to audiences across all socio-economic groups. We have something at an entry price of around Rs. 500 and it goes up to Rs. 10,000 or more with more creative options for a premium customer. We have every gourmet product, every experience, and every bit of indulgence a customer wants to gift. To add to it, we are online and offline in Mumbai and Kolkata, making it convenient for the customer to reach us sooner.
You are also doing a number of collaborations with popular personalities such as Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and designer Anamika Khanna. Can you tell us about these and others that are in the pipeline?
We as a brand have partnered with various other brands that are in the industry like LaFolie, Le15, The Oberoi, and more. We have most recently collaborated with ace designer Anamika Khanna, who has curated a hamper line for us. Anamika’s hamper line is inspired by her love for vegan food. With Sonam, she happened to be our first customer and that’s how talks of collaboration began. We are looking at more collaboration with experts from different walks of life, which will help us build a limited-edition gifting line.
What is the revenue model for TGS?
With TGS, our objective was to create a one-stop gifting solution where buyers can get gifts for every occasion and every personality type. Everything is curated from scratch so the buyer need not worry about anything, be it whether the receiver would like it or not, the logistics involved, or absolutely anything else.
Our business model revolves around curating things ourselves, and working with third-party partners to bring you a range of well-curated gourmet food hampers, care, and wellness hampers along with fresh exotic bouquets, decadent cakes, customized balloons, gadgets, branded merchandise, unconventional experiences, and more. The gifting business in India is a $30 billion one and we aim to target that.
What are some of the best products and experiences available on The Gift Studio?
We have an exquisite range of wines and liquor, teas, chocolates, vegan hampers, and even electronic products. In terms of experiences, some of our most exclusive ones are staycations, private dining, renting a yacht, a musical evening and more.
What are the future plans with TGS?
The market for gifting in India is massive, so the opportunities are endless. We see The Gift Studio becoming customers preferred gifting partner – a one-stop destination not only for India but even for people living overseas wanting to gift to their loved ones back home. We are launching currently with Mumbai and Kolkata, but in 5 years, we plan to expand our reach to all major cities of India. Currently, we are launching with consumer gifting, corporate gifting and bulk orders, but soon will be adding the wedding market as well.
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