In two Word The journey of our brand THE GUSTO has been “Encouraging” and Rewarding. Since the brand launched we have seen multiple covid waves but the way the products have been accepted by our customers and the love we have got as a new brand is what keeps us highly motivated.
- Can you tell us in short your personal story — What inspired you to start a vegan handbag business?
I am an Engineer and have a 10 years corporate experience in multinationals. As a working professional I always thought a bag was my true companion , Even though a woman has multiple bags but her work bag is usually constant over a period of time. For me my bag is an extension to my personality and that’s what I try and create in our bags.
Apart from that I always like my bags to be organized and wanted to solve the problem of people carrying multiple bags to work. Thus THE GUSTO was born.
The choice for Vegan materials was natural because I feel we don’t need to harm animals to achieve our fashion goals. As the World is moving towards sustainability its was my obvious choice to use premium materials with great strength and durability and are cruelty free too.
- What does The Gusto mean? What is your design ethos?
THE GUSTO means “Enthusiasm” that we try and deliver with our functionally rich bags.
Minimalist design with high on utility and functionality.
- What are the top things you consider when designing the bags?
- Purpose for that bag. For us Utility is extremely important even if it’s a small bag we make sure it solves a purpose.
- Quality of Materials. We work with premium materials in leathers, linings and accessories.
- Being a young startup, how do you manage competition?
Competition keeps you on our toes to work harder and better. We take it positively and try and deliver best to our capacity. I think our repeating customers are our biggest reward and says the most.
- I’m interested in learning more about the offerings’ materials. Tell us about the vegan leathers you work with?
At The Gusto, we love Planet Earth. Hence, all our products are made using 100% cruelty-free Vegan Leather. More than a billion animals are cruelly slaughtered for their skins every year. By contrast, vegan leather offers a killer look without any killing.
Our focus and endeavour at the Gusto is to innovate with premium vegan fabrics like durable polymers , canvases and sustainable materials like organic cotton linings.
- What are your favorite materials?
I personally love Vegan Leathers with plating, Its durable as well as looks great.
Apart from that I love thick canvases for our bags. We are coming up with complete collection on canvases.
- Do you think the conventional leather will phase out soon?
Maybe. But killing animals for fashion is a complete NO for us as a brand.
- Who are your buyers/consumers? Who is your community?
We have Consumers in age bracket of 18 years to 40 years age. Working professionals and college students simply love our bags.
- According to me, the brand places a strong emphasis on meeting the needs of millennial working women. Can you talk a little more about the disconnect between this group of buyers and existing premium brands?
For us utility is outmost importance. We are trying to solve the problem that working professionals face and land up carrying multiple bags for their gadgets and their other utility stuff to work.
Mostly brands emphasises on fashion quotient but for us fashion and utility go hand in hand.
- What question do you most commonly get asked about vegan handbags? What are the common misconceptions you encounter?
Will they be able to hold the load of our Laptop.(Completely our bags are super sturdy and are ergonomically designed so you don’t get tired while carrying your laptops and other essentials. Over your shoulder)
- What’s the challenging part that you’ve experienced since starting your vegan brand viz a viz non-vegan brands?
People still feel bags means leather but in todays world there are amazing sustainable option which are durable and look fantastic.
- What are you most excited about for 2022?
We have loads in store for this year. We plan to spread our wings in different counties and reach wider audiences in India both online and offline. Apart from this we have many more styles coming up this year.
- Where all do you retail currently, and what is the price range of your products?
We are avialbale on our website: www.thegusto.in for India and uae.thegusto.in for UAE and are available on leading platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Ajio, Nykaa .
