Earlier this year, Sindhiya Ravi, a Coimbatore-based mother was looking for eco-friendly party favours for her son Ved’s third birthday party. “The gifting market for children is currently trending with made-in-China products that are quirky, but made of plastic, and have a short shelf life,“ she says, adding how her search landed on the steel rattle tumbler (a stainless steel tumbler with a hidden rattle). “I chanced upon them at a local store and it was great that I could customise them according to the party’s theme and get names inscribed on the tumblers.”
This product fuelled the idea to launch a venture that made gifting for children easy and sustainable. Sindhiya adds how she went on to create Happie Hive along with Nikila Perumal and Indhuja Gautham. “Three of us had quit our full-time jobs to become stay-at-home moms, but now that our children have started school, we want to work in the children’s space,” she says, adding that their focus was to launch a venture that was “eco-friendly and rooted in Indian tradition”.
Launched in April, the brand’s catalogue features rattle tumblers, wooden kitchen sets, hand-painted terracotta water bottles, and more. Last month, the brand launched steel bottles and has just brought out engraved steel tiffin boxes just in time for the back-to-school season.
Another bestseller is their Montessori-inspired wooden kitchen essentials set that comprises a hand masher, churner, pan, cutting board, rolling pin, etc. “Designed in Indian rosewood, the pieces are large enough to ensure meaningful play and are compact, making them ideal for travel too,” says Sindhiya, who says the team is now looking at launching cotton quilts .
Products are priced upwards of ₹299 on @happiehive on Instagram
