Famita Latheef is redefining the art of gifting with her brand Tohfa
Words: Rochelle DSouza Images: Tohfa
There’s a certain joy associated with being handed a gift, beautifully wrapped, with your name on it, with bows and ribbons draped over it, with shimmery paper. Most of us turn into little children when we’re handed a beautifully wrapped present, shaking it to guess the contents, impatiently picking away at the tape, unable to contain the anticipation and wishing we could just rip up the paper and find out what’s inside. One of life’s greatest pleasures is exchanging gifts. Giving of gifts is a way of expressing love, gratitude, appreciation and recognising special occasions and achievements and the act of gifting isn’t necessarily about the object itself, but more about the emotion and sentiment behind it.
When Famita Abdul Latheef started Tohfa, she wanted to not provide unique gifts, but turn the act of gifting into a thoughtful and beautiful art. “Tohfa is a Gifting and Wrapistry Studio that creates re-usable and thoughtful Gifting alternatives to what we currently have available in the market,” says Famita who runs her business in Kochi. A fashion designer by profession, Famita has been operating her own label for the past 5 years before she began this new venture of hers. “Over the years, while I was running my brand, I have personally noticed the lack of gifting alternatives available here, hence the foray into gifting.” Tohfa means ‘Gift’ in Urdu, the language of the Mughals. The idea of gifting is huge in the Persian culture, much like Japan, and Famita felt that this would be a good benchmark to base her business and work culture on.
Wrapistry and gifting isn’t a new concept and we have all been doing it for as long as we have been giving gifts. What Tohfa offers is a professional touch to the wrapping using different types of paper, cards, ribbons small tags, baubles and so on. “We can add value and personalize your small or big gift. It’s not what you receive, it’s how you receive it that matters”, Famita says.
“I draw inspiration from things around me since Kerala and its culture in itself is so beautiful and deep. For instance one of the top sellers in our gifting range is the “Palahara Petti” which is a miniature version of the wooden box we find in tea shops around Kerala. It doubles up as a great centrepiece for 4:00 pm tea at home. We worked with a couple of really good carpenters and came up with a few sample pieces and it was almost an immediate sellout. We also have quite a few customers who approach us for baby ‘arrival’ gifts. ‘Diaper baskets’ are what we recommend as that’s something every mother would use. We work with mostly natural material like wood, coir and so on”, she says.
When asked about her creative process, Famita says that being a mother of two children, her creative process is fuelled by “last minute panic”.
But bearing in mind the products and services that we offer and the small and niche market for the same, one can’t help but wonder of the response that Tohfa has garnered so far. Though Famita says (and we agree) that it’s a little too early to gauge the success of her company which is still in its nascent stage, Famita says that the potential for growth is quite tremendous.
“Thoughtful gifting culture might take a while to catch on in the market, but these days’ people are always on the lookout for something out of the box, something unique and something very arty and aesthetically pleasing. No one wants to just throw some wrapping paper on and hand over a gift. There’s a bit more finesse that everyone is after. For us, breaking into the market and garnering our spot there will only happen once we are able to consistently deliver a good product to our customers over a long period of time, maybe 3 or 4 years. The responses so far are mixed, to be honest. A lot of our customers loved our designs and have applauded it because it’s well within an affordable price range for what we offer, but many others also find what we do to be excessive or irrelevant. It is a very subjective issue because gifting is a way of expression. You can buy someone a very expensive bottle of single malt and give it to them in the ‘duty-free’ bag or you can present it in a beautiful reusable wooden case which costs approximately Rs.2,000. It all depends on the person.”
So what about the market for her products here in Kochi? Famita says that she’s in the process of testing the waters but they seem hopeful. “I have only been working here for the past 5 years, but even within that time, especially the past two or three years, there seems to be more acceptance amongst people of new things and ideas. It’s just that with a 100 percent literate state, we have customers who are more demanding than other states, which is also good in the sense that it will raise the bar (hopefully) in every industry.”
The gifting industry in India has grown tremendously over the past decade. With the income level risen demand has widened and customer base has been enhanced. Today, apart from personal gifting, the corporate gifting segment is rapidly growing with every organisation distributing gifts on festivals and special occasions to their clients, associates and employees. The corporate gifting segment is a very lucrative one, especially in the city of Kochi, which is home to many large companies and centres like Infopark. “We haven’t done any corporate gifting as of yet but would definitely love to venture into that segment. Just an example, I’ve seen people who buy really expensive cars be handed just a regular box of cake by the company personnel at the showroom. I think if I buy a car worth 2 crores (or even half that price) I would rather prefer to be presented with a nice wooden box filled with an assortment of delicious jams, or a nice case for my new car keys rather than some random cake in a box, which is the trend here now. This is a culture which really ought to change and develop into something more refined.” she says.
We live in the world of the digital boom and everything arrives to us from a simple swipe or touch of our fingers. Social media has the power to make or break a business today and Famita says that she too has tapped into the immense potential of the digital space to help her reach out to her audiences and make sure that they know about what she does, Famita says that social media is ever so important in today’s day and age, irrespective of what business you run. “Social Media is relevant in all lines of work because it has become the new medium of communication. Our target audiences are people who are looking to genuinely give a gift with no ulterior motive because most gifts have “strings attached” (if you know what I mean). We are yet to find out how many of these people exist in Kerala, and if there is a number which makes it financially feasible for the future. We have created an Instagram page to update our designs and gifting options, however, most of our business happens through word of mouth, from customers who have already had a good experience with Tohfa.”
When asked about the pros and cons of being a woman entrepreneur who is trying to start a small business in India today, Famita says that it all boils down to just one thing – ‘Dignity of Labour’. “I think it’s a problem faced by most people around the world, so it’s not specific to India, but that is the most critical problem here. It’s almost as if you will not be taken seriously unless you are an engineer or doctor. Having said that, the good part is that more and more people realize this now and come forward to support small businesses in their own way.”
You can find Famita’s work @tohfaindia on Instagram.