KOTAI
Throughout my time at University, I sought to build a brand. The pandemic served as a window of opportunity for this undertaking; a study by Pandya and Lodha found that, with global societies under lockdown measures, consumer screen-time had increased drastically and in turn derived a surge in e-commerce.
Thus, Kotai (meaning living-being, substance, reality; words conscious of soul and sonder) was born and launched as a one-man-mission streetwear brand on the 12th July 2021.
The Kotai brand offered consumers three clear product qualities:
The first and most important, sustainability.
All clothing is made from 100% cotton and shipped in 100% recycled, biodegradable packaging. As we become more aware of the implications of pollutants, it became clear that it was paramount to keep sustainability at the heart of Kotai.
The second, quality.
Sample upon sample of cotton t-shirts had been tried and tested before finding the perfect fit for the market. The t-shirts are heavy-weight and long-lasting, and boast unique designs embroidered by industry-grade machines. Finding the right neck shape, sleeve length and body width were also key in this process, as the most important part of any item of clothing is how the consumer feels when wearing it - the quality and designs could be nailed, but if its an inch too tight, too loose or too long... you'll never see it worn.
Finally, the price.
£20. Free shipping. All in.
100% cotton, 100% recycled, biodegradable packaging, the right fit, unique quality designs. This is what consumers want, and what they deserve.
Products could be set at this highly competitive price due to the stringent minimisation of costs of production. Countless contact with different UK producers via email and telephone resulted in production costs being negotiated to the absolute minimum.
After 2 months, Kotai broke-even. Most of the stock had been sold, with a third of all items selling out within the first 4 weeks.
My final year of university started shortly after this, and so I was forced to take my foot off the gas... but Kotai kept rolling - sales for t-shirts kept coming in, even into the colder months that followed. Demand for cold-weather-wear grew, with plenty of requests for sweatshirts and hoodies, but University pressures stripped me of time to respond.
I believe that Kotai served its purpose; I had established a brand, broke-even (with some beer money spare), and learnt skills about business and marketing that I'd be unlikely to learn through a textbook - I have used CMS, negotiated costs, conducted market research, directed photo-shoots, manufactured and sold stock.