The Kitchni Story

The Kitchni Story

Seeding the interest

When I was doing my Master of Design (MDes.) from IISc in 2015, our batch got an opportunity to do a woodworking course in the Institute of Wood Science and Technology (IWST), Bangalore. The classes happened on Saturdays, but I loved them because I was excited to explore different woodworking tools. It was a practical-oriented curriculum, so most of the time we spent in the wood workshop, learning woodworking techniques and tools. The course was for 6 months, and we got the completion certificate after the examination.

After the MDes, I joined 'Medlife' as a UIUX Designer in 2017. Whenever I got free time, I used to make hand crafted produtcs using wood and plywood. I made chairs, aquarium stands, bookshelves, and speaker systems for my friends. During Covid pandemic, my house construction got stuck due to labour unavailability. I couldn't find any people to make kitchen cupboards. Sometimes, situations force us to do new things. With my parents' support, I purchased some power tools and made our own kitchen cupboards.

As we say, the first step is always the most difficult one. After making the kitchen cupboards, I made a pooja lamp stand, storage spaces, wardrobes, keychain organizer, home inverter battery stand, Kitchen cutting board, wooden utensils, and many more.

Tools love

I usually purchase fewer dress materials, but I do purchase new tools. It may be a new spanner or a simple product that helps in the kitchen. Sometimes I made new tools for simplifying the repetitive work. For example, my mini lathe. It was mainly designed to polish the round wooden sticks; later, I used it for polishing Kitchni's Chakla & Belan'set.

The Spark of E-commerce

Jithin was my classmate at IISc. We are good friends, but not connected regularly on WhatsApp. Whenever he finds something interesting, he calls me instantly and shares his thoughts. One day, he told me the idea of an Amazon seller account. He attended an online workshop by Mr. Aman A.S., an Amazon seller expert. Jithin suggested me to attend the same. After a few days, I attended the workshop and found it very interesting.

In 2024, I decided to take a break from my career and give it a try. It was a crazy move that made life interesting.

The Starting Troubles

After attending Aman's online workshop on 'Amazon Seller account', I understood how to select a product to sell on Amazon. It's better to find a product from Amazon itself. To do that, I purchased a tool called 'JungleScout'. This tool helps to perform product research on e-commerce websites. There were certain criteria to choose a good selling product.

Pricing between ₹500 - ₹2000
Weight less than 1.5 kg
Rating preferred: 3.5+
Main category best seller rank (BSR) between 100 and 2000.
Sub category best seller rank between 1 and 50
If the user rating is above 1000, don't select.
Golden rule: Product selling above 100 pcs/month or at least 50 pcs/month.

Products may not satisfy all the above criteria, but we can choose a product that satisfies more than 5.

Initially, I was confused about what to select. Once we finalise a product, we need to find a vendor for the product and make a deal. Indiamart and Alibaba are the main sources of vendors. For a beginner, it is very crucial to find a good vendor because most of the vendors demands for minimum purchase quantity. It may go beyond the budget, and it is a high risk if we are choosing a wrong product.

Once we find the vendor, the next step is to get a sample product from them. There are a lot of fraudsters among the vendors. If we are dealing online, they may send good product samples, but in a bulk order, the quality may be compromised. So, it is recommended to visit the vendor for the first time, check the product quality, do the customization, and make a good deal.

Once we get the sample product, the very next step is to do the product packaging design and branding. After that, the product photo shoot needs to be done professionally.

The Product Plan

The very first question was 'What product to choose?"

I had some budget boundaries. So jumping into a completely new product was not a good idea. If the product fails, what should be the PLAN B?

There, I made my first decision to go with wood products, which is known to me. I know the local vendors where I can get good raw materials at low cost. Also, I have all the necessary tools so that I can even make the products. If the product fails, I could easily manage the losses and use the raw materials to make other useful products (The PLAN B).

The next step was to make the product wishlist.

Wooden Utensil Set
Wooden Chakla Belan Set
Wooden Kitchen Cutting Boards
Wooden Coconut Scraper
Wooden Sitting Stool
Wooden Coasters
Wood Pieces for artwork

After analysing the list in terms of the product selection criteria, I finally chose 3 products.

Wooden Cutting Board
Wooden Chakla
Wooden Coconut Scrapper

I found that these products are easy to manufacture with fewer complications, and the weight is within the limit. As the first product, I've chosen the Wooden Cutting Board.

Kitchni - The Brand Story
My native place is Kottayam, Kerala. In Kerala traditional houses, we use the word 'Thekkini', which means the southern wing of the house. Similarly, the word 'Vadakkini' means Northen wing of the house. Inspired by this, I've chosen my brand name as 'KITCHNI', which means the kitchen wing. In Amazon and other e-commerce platforms, the kitchen-specific products have a unique market. My vision is to make a specialised brand in household products.

The Product Design Journey

A kitchen cutting board seems like a simple product, but when I dig deep, there are many challenges.

Not all woods are suitable for a cutting board due to multiple reasons. Each wood is different in terms of hardness, strength, moisture absorption, health benefits, durability, and ease of manufacturing.
I found a local vendor for wood near my place in Kottayam, Kerala. It helped for reducing transportation costs.
After the discussion with the vendor, I finalised 2 woods for making the cutting boards. East Indian Walnut wood and Teak wood.
Both are hardwoods contains oil within the wood, which helps prevent moisture to an extent.
Based on the market research on cutting boards, I found that there are multiple sizes of products available. So, I've given 2 different sizes to KITCHNI cutting boards, Medium (13x9 inches) and Large (14x10 inches). The dimensions are based on the market research and wood availability.
I wanted to place my product in a PREMIUM CATEGORY so that I've given a sleek, stylish design and a smooth finish to KITCHNI cutting boards.
When I made the initial product myself with my tools, I found the fact that where there is detailing, the cost goes up.
Since the product placement is in the premium category, I wanted to give a great unboxing experience to the user. Initiallly I thought of giving Kappa Box packaging, which can give an experience similar to an iPhone unboxing. I found some vendors and enquired, but there I met with 2 new problems: the price and the weight. One Kappa Box will cost around ₹140/pcs and weigh 300 grams. It was much more than expected, so I found a new, better solution - THE JUTE BAG.
The Jute bags are lightweight (80g) compared to the Kapppa Box and much cheaper. I found a vendor from Kolkata. He offered me the Jute bag for ₹60 /pcs with a minimum quantity of 100 pcs. It was agreat deal.
After a few weeks of research and hard work, I purchased the wood raw materials and made the first batch of KITCHNI cutting boards by myself with my own tools. By that time, I received my packaging and sticker materials.
First impression of a great product on any e-commerce platform is the product image. Setting up a small studio on my balcony with cardboard and black paper was fun. I used my Samsung S23 to do the photoshoot and edited it in Photoshop. The results were amazing.
Chakla belan---------
Whatsapp feedback------

Amazon Seller Account Creation and Product Listing

Creating an Amazon Seller Account requires some documents, such as a GST number, Aadhar card details, phone number, and an email address.
It took 2 days to complete the verification.
The listing was not easy for me as I had variants of the products. I tried doing it myself, but wasted some time. After a day, I got help from the customer support team at my request. Then I came to know the complexity of adding variants of a product. In Amazon Seller Central, first of all, we need to create a parent product and obtain approval, and then add variants as new products under the parent product.
On Amazon, I felt the listing was a bit difficult and confusing for a beginner.
After a few hours of listing, KITCHNI CAME LIVE ON AMAZON INDIA.

Kitchni - Sales and Growth

Before Kitchni, I tried and failed in the Asafoetida powder business during my studies. My brother and I made the Asafoetida powder and marketed it manually by visiting every khirana store. It was not profitable by doing the manual marketing with only one small-margin product. There, we learned the lesson of marketing and its importance.

Now for KITCHNI, I'm doing digital marketing (Ads) on Amazon. It is very simple, and I have the whole of India as my market.
On Amazon, we can set the advertisement with a daily budget as small as ₹50. No fuel charge, no rush, and no disappointments. Some order(s) will surely come from some part of India.
Even if we spend thousands on ads, we may not get orders. There are a few reasons for that. People, when ordering on Amazon, look for the user reviews, detailed product images, and warranty.
Kitchni cutting boards are coming with a 1-year replacement warranty, attractive product images, and packaging.
For the product review part, my friends and family helped me to get the initial 5 Five-Star reviews. Those reviews gave KITCHNI A MASSIVE PUSH IN SALES.
Now, KITCHNI has a total of 25 user reviews. Apart from the first 5 reviews, all other reviews are done by real users.
Initially, I spent ₹500 each day on ads. Then I learned to do the ad optimization after running the product for 3 months.
Amazon's ad optimization tool helps to keep all related keywords and remove unwanted/negative keywords.
In 3 months, Kitchni could reach sales of ₹2,00,000. Out of that, around 45% was my profit.

Kitchni - Current Status

Kitchni is successfully selling on Amazon India.

The initial batch of the product was manufactured by me to refine the dimensions based on the user feedback. After a few months, I onboarded a professional carpenter on a contract basis to make the cutting boards and automated the process.
My carpenter owns a warehouse, so the labelling and packing are also done by him as per KITCHNI standards. When a new order comes, the carpenter receives a notification on his phone. He immediately does the packaging and keeps it ready for pickup.
As I am using the easy ship method, the Amazon agent will come to the warehouse and pick up the package.
Before the product goes out of stock, the carpenter will restock it.
Now, I am free to research new products. I will check the stock availability, ad performance, and the user feedback on my phone.
Currently, Kichni has two different products (Cutting board and Chakla Belan Set) and their 6 variants on board.
Kitchni is growing along with my dream of making my own brand.
The trademark and registration is under process.

Solving Urban Housing

Efficient Guest Management

Discover how we streamline guest management in bustling Indian cities, tackling the unique challenges of urban housing. From seamless bookings to automated check-ins, we revolutionize the way hosts and guests interact. Our innovative platform ensures a hassle-free experience for both parties, enhancing the efficiency and convenience of short-term rentals. Join us in simplifying the complexities of hosting in metropolitan areas, making every stay a memorable one.