When the raging pandemic had spelt doom for small and medium businesses leading many of them to the brink of closure, there were others who decided to take the plunge during the economic upheaval and emerged as success stories. We are sharing one such success story of a startup from the northeast region. HAAT GHAR was launched by two young entrepreneurs from Darjeeling who are Engineers by profession. They attribute the idea of Haat Ghar brewing on their minds to the difficulty they faced in accessing local food products while living in different parts of the country. They were dependent on relatives and friends from back home for local food products because not everything was available online. So, they took the opportunity during lockdown to shape that idea and launched HAAT GHAR as a reliable online platform to make all the popular local food products from the hills of Darjeeling, Sikkim, Kalimpong, and northeastern region accessible to people living in different parts of the country. The name “Haat Ghar” denotes the northern region’s neighbourhood shopping experiences, often referred to as weekly HAAT’S or HAAT GHAR’S.
They made a small investment and started with the objective of covering as many regions as possible. Initially, they faced challenges in delivery and logistics due to lockdown restrictions. Still, within six months, they were able to build a functioning operation amidst overwhelming response and support from customers all over the country. Thanks to their unconventional marketing strategies and effective customer services, they are edging forward and coming up as a reliable brand. They have scaled up not only as a brand offering a wide range of popular local food products, local handicrafts, traditional dress, apparel, and books but also as an online selling platform for local businesses by onboarding local seller partners and individual business owners.
HAAT GHAR always strives to promote the quintessential experience of hills, and it’s incomplete without music. With a growing number of popular local celebrities from different OTT platforms, they are on the move to promote and feature local talent, singers, and rock bands from the northeast. The online platform also started providing ticket booking services for music concerts, stand-up shows, and dramas by local artists as well.
In a digital era where convenience and accessibility are just a click away, they are setting out to change the course of online shopping of local products for people from Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Sikkim, and the northeast residing anywhere across the country. Currently, with more than 10K plus app downloads, they are listed on both iOS and Android. Haat Ghar is a growing company that constantly strives towards providing a delightful experience for customers and definitely has bright future prospects.
App link –http://onelink.to/haatghar