Ever used those tiny soaps and shower gels while staying at a Marriott, Hilton or Sheraton Hotel? If yes, ever thought where were those hotel toiletries manufactured at?
Kimirica Hunter, an Indore-based startup is the luxury hotel toiletries manufacturer which has a wide range of hospitality clients around the globe. Thus, if you take frequent business trips, you’ve probably used Kimirica’s products.
But what is the story behind this startup? How did this startup launched by two brothers, Rohit Jain (34-year-old) and Mohit Jain (31-year-old) in 2013, from working out in a 100 sq ft room turn into India’s largest manufacturer of luxury hotel toiletries and guest room amenities?
Let’s quickly dive into the story of this extremely inspiring venture:
The birth of the never-thought-before Idea
Before his entrepreneurial career, Mohit in his dissertation wrote about launching a contemporary herbal skincare brand in India. With Rajat’s background in pharmacy and the family’s Ayurvedic business, this made the brothers confident that they could manufacture herbal skincare products on their own.
The brainstorming was all worth it!
During brainstorming sessions, they used to stay at a hotel and the miniature amenity bottles they used, actually stuck in their minds. Thus, was born the idea of this startup. The brothers started examining the market. While conducting their research, they observed that more than 75% of hotel amenity products for hotel brands were imported.
There is no success without struggles
Further, hotels and resorts were unique, with different themes and special ambiances, the brothers found. But they observed that monotonous and conventional brand offerings were made for all hotels.
After they launched in 2013, they were struggling to bring any good in their tiny, single-room workspace. They were also facing a cash crunch and were denied a ₹10 lakh loan by a leading bank. The brothers had to mortgaged their house and old office, and started taking several loans from the banks.
Started with a bang!
After a lot of persistence from the entrepreneurs, the Mariott Group in India finally gave them a break. The multinational diversified hospitality company signed Kimirica as its supplier for toiletries and ancillary products in India.
Since then, Kimirica has never looked back. It grew to 400 employees working in a 70,000 sq ft room – a massive upgrade to the previous workspace.
Current Situation? On the way to Zenith
Kimirica was the first manufacturer in India to make 100-percent vegan and paraben-free hotel cosmetics that attracted hotels a lot. In just five years, Kimirica has crossed several major milestones and incorporated modern operational strategies. Kimirica Hunter is now worth ₹300 crore and records a turnover of around ₹90 crore. It also serves a large number of international hotel chains such as Mariott, Starwood, Hilton, Jumeirah, Hyatt, Sofitel, Pullman, and an array of independent luxury hotels.
In 2017, Kimirica also signed a joint venture with Canadian hospitality product manufacturer Hunter Amenities, from where originated their complete name “Kimirica Hunter”. Recently, the business also launched its retail store, Kimirica Shop which is a luxury personal care store for its B2C customers who like Kimirica products
The next game plan is to work on software products for the hospitality segment. Looks like the brothers are in no mood to hold or look back. Well, for now, they are serving as a great inspiration for all the startups and we only hope for better in the future.
