Flower a need to Indian Society. Bengaluru-based startup Rose Bazaar attempts to modernise this tradition. It is also a tale of two young sister entrepreneurs creatively ramping up a family business in the bustling startup ecosystem of India

Industrial Consultant in Hyderabad for MSME’s

Flower, a daily need

It was clear that Yeshoda would work in the flower retail space. However, she realized the vast potential of the market when, one day, her mother was doing her daily puja with an elaborate set of flowers. While the global floriculture market valued at $370.4 billion may be driven by various reasons such as gifting and events, the duo believes that flowers serve a different “Indian need” in every household.

Yeshoda and Rhea Karuturi grew up in Bengaluru, went to high school in Ethiopia, and pursued further studies in the US. While Yeshoda pursued Business Administration and Master’s in Accounting from Washington University, Rhea studied Bachelor’s in Science, Technology and Society from Stanford University.

Flowers were a constant in their lives since 1994, when Yeshoda was born. Their father started a rose farm business that grew in India, Kenya, and Ethiopia. They observed the floriculture space and grew up hearing about harvest cycles, auction prices, and freight rates. This influence also charted a clear path for the sisters. They tell Her Story, “It was very clear to both of us from the beginning that we would return to India after college because the opportunity for disruption and innovation in emerging economies is what excited us.”

As she spent more time working in India, it became very obvious that Indians interact with flowers in a very different way, something that is very localized to our lifestyle,” the entrepreneur says, recalling the initial days of working on the family business in growing cut roses for export. Yeshoda further adds that strings of flowers like jasmine, marigold, and bud roses have marked their presence in the cabs or the puja rooms. The duo then dedicated a few months to validate their hypothesis, speaking to vendors, and testing different types of products. They saw that the market was highly fragmented and unorganised from both sides of supply and demand.