Introduction :-.iMithila is a culture brand focused on bringing Madhubani Art on contemporary products. It includes both handloom and handicrafts products. The art form is of utmost cultural value. It is a brand that stands as a testament to the ancient and revered art form of Madhubani painting, originating from the Mithila region of Bihar, India. Now, the brand works on multiple angles, first it preserves the centuries old art form called Mithila painting. Second, it works with the rural artisans from Bihar most of which are the women artisans, addressing the issue of inclusiveness, hence working on the social impact and third, it bring aesthetically appealing and utility products to their end user. The idea behind the brand is to not just work on the art angle and make the products artifacts but also weave them into modern-day apparel and decor items bringing modern day usage products to the end user. They add value to their silk products by adding Silk Mark Certificates issued by the Central Silk board.

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The current handicrafts and handloom market is largely unorganized. There are mostly the local artisans and vendors in the market with no Brand presence, no after sales support or reliability. Here, iMithila, being the first brand in any folk art form, has a strong product portfolio, online presence on website and marketplaces like Amazon, Ajio etc. It also has a strong social media platforms presence. So, these made a huge difference iMithila establishing itself as the first brand in Indian Folk Art forms, particularly in the realm of authentic Madhubani hand-painted apparel and decor.

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Brand Presence:

1. Website imithila.com

2.Social Media Presence: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, Twitter

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3. Marketplaces: Amazon, Flipkart, Ajio

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Core Value of Product

Problem Statement

Vidya is Looking for some classy handpainted Formal Sarees

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So Vidya, who is working as a CA with a firm at Mumbai loves wearing sarees at her workplace. Since her job demands her to be presentable, she is always on the lookout for different and unique sarees. In this, she is looking for an authentic handpainted saree to be one of the kinds. Here, she also needs good quality fabric.

She is looking a handpainted saree but the problem is how will she know if it is handpainted or just printed. How will she also know if the fabric of the saree is good, what is the benchmark or proof here? Also, if she is buying such an expensive saree, what if she does not like it and wants to return?

Well, here she was looking for a brand which had credibility in terms of being an authentic handpainted brand working directly with the artisans. A web presence of the brand so any questions can be answered about the product, the order can be placed easily also there is an after sales support.

She comes across iMithila, at first she had some apprehensions. So, she gets on the call mentioned on the website with the iMithila team and get all her queries resolved with the promise of return of the product in case of any problem. Now that she is a little more assured, she goes ahead with one purchase. And guess what, iMithila team gives Vidya a great discount also. Unlike any other Madhubani artist, Vidya was sent an email with order confirmation, another with the tracking details and a gift. When Vidya received her order, she was absolutely delighted and became the repeat customer.

Marketing Pitch

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Classy ones need classy attires, that too with the best and most convenient customer support and ease of return. Wear this beautifully handpainted timeless piece of art to make you stand out from the crowd. Since this is a unique design, no two pieces are the same. Get it a fast pace delivery sitting at home. What more, if you dont like it, we will take it back.

Have questions, feel free to connect with us.

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Arushi, is looking for a classy gift for Family

Another one, Arushi was looking for a gift for her sister in law on her birthday. She explained her sister in law has great taste and likes classy things, hence, Arushi did not want to go for a regular run of the mill product. Also, she has special requests of the product being gift wrapped and delivered by a certain time.

While doing her search, she wanted to be sure of what she was ordering for and how it was being delivered, since the whole experience mattered.

She comes to the whatsapp number given on the website to get her queries resolved and also, was educated by the iMithila Team about the handpainting and the social impact it is creating in Bihar.

She was delighted, she got a gift which is utility based with the social messaging behind it which she was looking for. Her purchase, timely gift wrapped with a special message on a certain day, made her requirements fulfilled along with the fact, she had made some contribution in the social impact the brand is making, creating an AHA moment for her.

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Marketing Pitch

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Looking for specially made gifts for your loved ones? These beautiful pieces are made with love by the rural artisans from Bihar. When you buy from us, you create impact in the lives of these women artisans

The Brand Talks about creating social impact in rural region of Bihar while bringing innovative contemporary modern day usage product blending centuries old art form.

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Product Portfolio

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They have a good portfolio of handloom and handicraft products, which are not just artifacts but utility based.

• Handpainted Silk and Cotton Sarees, Price Range - Rs 3500 to Rs 19999. For adding value to the product,
• Kurtis - Range Rs 1000- Rs 1500
• Dupattas- Range 1100-Rs 3000
• Different kinds of bags - Range Rs 499-Rs 1200
• Decor products like Cushion Covers, Kettles, trays etc

For their silk products, they have a Silk Mark Certificate given, issued by Central Silk Board, for the authenticity of the fabric.

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It creates the AHA moment in the mind of the customers when they are able to derive value from these products while knowing the fact that their purchase is going to make an impact in making the lives of the artisan associated with the Brand.

Product here is a Want. Customers feel connected with the brand because of the social impact the product is going to make.

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Competitors

1. okhai.org - Okhai was established as a Trust by Tata Chemical Society. They work with artisans from various regions, madhubani being one of them. Their ad spend is really high, strong presence on facebook, instagram, google ads etc. They are also into offline exhibitions. They are not present on marketplaces
2. iTokri.com - Similar to okhai, iTokri is a multi art online seller. It takes products from the vendors and sells them on their website. Madhubani being one of the art forms they take products for, they get their own job work done on the products. This thins down and takes the control out of the hands of brands like iMithila
3. Unorganized Small businesses without any brand - A lot of shopping now happens from small businesses present on instagram. These businesses even though without a Brand, give a lot of competition. This is the biggest chunk of the total market.

Customer Profiling

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ICP Prioritization

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So Basis the above, two ICPs have been prioritized are Vidya and Arushi.

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Market Size

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TAM Calculation​

We have observed that 90% of our past orders are from Tier 1 Cities for clothes and gifting. Rest orders are from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Hence, we are considering the Tier 1 cities population for TAM calculation.

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To find the top ceiling of the market we are taking the total Indian population as of 2024 and drilling it down to Tier 1 cities with an age range of 25-65 years

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​Service Addressable Market

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SAM - Acquirable percentage of TAM

From the TAM we are further drilling down to the next part where family income is greater than 8 LPA and the part of the population who makes online purchases, especially on clothes and gifts.

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Service Obtainable Market

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SOM - Obtainable percentage of SAM

The SAM includes the chances of people buying clothes from other brands and websites and also the iMithila products available on other marketplaces.

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The folk art industry is still unorganized with unknown players/artisans dominating the market. Close to 80% of the industry is dominated by these local players. The good thing being, not all of them are present online and are very much localized.

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So, if we consider the competitors present in the online space, both organized and unorganized and assume iMithila can have a market share of 10% considering the competition.

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Organic Search

I did a keyword analysis which are the search intent for our products and are used by our competitors. Since the number of searches on the Brand iMithila is less on google and amazon, I have not included the search volume. The keywords I have taken if on google and Amazon since we sell on Amazon.

Search keywords.pdf

Acquisition Channels - Jobs to be done

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Available Channels for Customer Acquisition

Selected Channels For Acquistion

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Out of the above, the maximum time the ICPs are spending and are present on are the following:

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Organic Content Marketing:

• Facebook Page with the organic page posts

iMithila has a brand page on facebook with more than 22000 likes and followers organically. Posting daily content will increase the brand engagement and customer acquisition.

• Instagram Page with Organic Posts

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The Brand has an organic presence on Instagram. Reels and posts about the offline events,

products are posted for acquiring more customers organically.

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• User Generated Content

Customers who have already bought and used iMithila products post their pictures on social

media. This gives the potential customers a confidence and helps in customer acquisition.

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• Blogs

To increase the visibility of the Brand and acquire customers, organic Blogs are a great way.

Writing about the products, the art form etc will increase customer engagement and help in

customer acquisition.

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Paid Marketing

• Instagram Ads

Since, most of the ICPs are spending time on instagram, it makes a lot of sense to be present organically and inorganically both. So, running paid ads make more sense in order to grab the attention of these potential customers for acquisition.

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• Google Ads

For acquiring the customers using paid marketing, google ads is a good way to generate leads and

get customers.

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Offline Channels

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Flea Market and Exhibitions

Flea Markets and Exhibitions are good channels to increase the visibility and customer acquisition.

People can check the Brand and the products physically, post pictures, buy products at great prices

This is another offline way of acquiring customers

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Review program

Tie up with logistics partners for reviews and feedback once the product is in transit and delivered

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Rewards

• Welcome coins on signup which can redeemed against a purchase
• Get Flat 10% off on first purchase
• Collect coins and can redeem them for making payments on apps like Paytm, Cred etc
• Subscribe to be on the VIP list

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Content Loops

• Create Trivia on website and social media platforms related to Ramayana, since the art form is from this era and region of Mithila. Collect the basic email id and phone number of the customer for email marketing and then start the trivia.
• Based on the location of the visiting customer on the website, show him/her a trivia related to that state
• Create small videos of how madhubani painting is made for the website with a share and download button. This has to be with the brand logo. Also, put a plain downloadable madhubani painting image without colors for kids to learn and paint. This will increase the engagement of users coming to the website and interested in learning the painting. Ask the customer if they want to learn more about this painting at a price.
• Create reels for instagram and facebook on various folk art products like madhubani, jaipuri, block printings. how they are made and the artisans behind the scene

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