Suta: Genesis and Growth of a Slow-Fashion Saree Brand in India
Suta, a handcrafted saree brand co-founded by sisters Sujata Biswas and Taniya Biswas in 2016, quickly became a recognised name in India’s slow-fashion movement. Known for its flagship “Made in Heaven Mul” sarees and founder-led storytelling, Suta built a digitally native, community-driven brand with more than 600,000 social media followers and a loyal urban customer base. Customers valued the brand’s minimalist design, comfort and emotional authenticity. By 2021, more than 98% of Suta’s revenue came from e-commerce.
As the business matured, in 2022, the founders explored avenues for growth: They considered expanding into the menswear, jewellery and accessories categories, and planned to open physical retail outlets in select Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. The stores could be launched via a Company-Owned-Company-Operated (COCO) or Franchise-Owned-Company-Operated (FOCO) model. However, physical retail entailed significant capital investment and triggered concerns about dilution of the digital-first brand experience. The founders had to evaluate the strategic trade-offs between online growth and offline expansion.
