Humble beginnings always have the best results!
In this case, the success is owed to the humble Papad!
Raghav Jhawar (Co-Founder at TheStatePlate.com) and Muskaan Sancheti (Co-Founder at The State Plate) would often discuss business ideas in college but it was during the pandemic that they zeroed in on what The State Plate would ideally be! The story goes that during the lockdown, Muskaan’s family ran out of papad. Not just any papad though. The kind that was native to the city, full of culture and history! If you come from a traditional Marwari family, you know the struggle is real! The closest vendor was 15kms away but getting it delivered to her home costed more than the papad itself! This is what got them thinking about authentic regional food brands. On one hand, there was a huge demand brought about by the nature of the pandemic and on the other hand, there was almost next to no platform catering to the supply!
“We thought about having a single place where a person could buy all the regional delicacies.”
Raghav Jhawar (Co-Founder at TheStatePlate.com)
Soon they realized they weren’t the only ones facing this issue! There were many others looking for authentic, local food products but simply didn’t know where to find them. Add to the mix that the local markets were jam-packed with unorganized distributors! Today, with over 470 products on their website with pan India delicacies, and supplying to 21,000+ pincodes across India, The State Plate is a one-stop-shop for all food indigenous!
The State Plate Success Story:
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~Robert Frost
If we had to describe The State Plate using just a few sentences, this would surely be it!
True to Robert Frost’s words, Raghav Jhawar and Muskaan Sancheti decided to leave the jobs they had already secured through their college placements and take a walk down the entrepreneur road! It could have been a disaster but they did something most ecommerce brands fail to do; they tapped into an emotion.
The emotion?
Love.
Love for all things “HOME”
The First Plate:
Their ecommerce journey started with WordPress. Although manageable at the time, the website soon started throwing site issues, glitches, and multiple problems their way! They realized that the need for a more optimized platform that seamlessly supports all integrations needed for an ecommerce store. Shopify was the ideal choice and that led to the creation of their new store on the Shopify platform!
The Second Plate:
“Around January, we were in talks with a digital marketing agency. While conversing with them, we told them about our Shopify needs and they told us about Marmeto! “
Raghav Jhawar (Co-Founder at TheStatePlate.com)
While already on Shopify, The State Plate team needed to take care of design and utility perspectives and decided to get a tech partner on board.
Incoming… Marmeto!
We knew the State Plate team had unsatisfactory experiences with agencies in the past. Hence, it was imperative for us to build trust with them.
We first spoke to Saurav! He's too good. He was very confident about what he was talking about. He understood all the changes we wanted. Our challenges in the past were concerning timelines and technical competencies and Saurav reassured us in the first call itself! It took us a day post that to get the work started on our project! Our first and lasting impression of Marmeto was of a capable and reliable tech partner!
Raghav Jhawar (Co-Founder at TheStatePlate.com)
Marmeto feat The State Plate:
We focused on one emotion to pull through this project; Empathy.
We understand the challenges newer and bootstrapped ecommerce brands face and they largely comprise of:
- Limited understanding of tech
- Dependencies on tech partners
- Limited tech budget
- Expedited timeline requirements
At Marmeto however, we’ve always maintained that websites are not just projects for us. As a tech partner, we align ourselves to the business. It turns from an “us and them” approach to a “we” approach!
It all comes down to Empathy!
For the business!
For the dreams!
For the future!
The technical capabilities and design perspective at Marmeto were really good. Timelines were on point. They were organized, professional and timely throughout the project! Neelam (Relationship Manager) would call us for feedback sessions during the project and Jaya (Account Manager) was always around to help us out. Even when Jaya was on leave, Saurav would call us up and explain how the project was moving in case we ever needed any help!
Raghav Jhawar (Co-Founder at TheStatePlate.com)
Coming Soon: The Third Plate
Our role as a tech partner does not end with the completion of one project. Tech is constantly evolving and as the nature of the business changes, so do its requirements. We’ve got a few things lined up in the coming future with The State Plate that we’re very excited about!
Unifying a diverse palette, The State Plate has made its mark and a rather tasty one!
Wanna check them out?