Riddhi And Sudiksha Jain Of NeceSera On Working With Siblings

NeceSera is a homegrown brand that provides sustainable and functional loungewear and apparel to the Indian market. Founded in 2017 by Riddhi and Sudiksha Jain, they aim to educate price-sensitive Indian consumers on the value they can get by considering the cost per use of a product and how loungewear can improve the quality of their sleep. 

In an interview with BrandSutra, they tell us about the fundamentals of their brand, their value proposition and what building a company with a sibling looks like. 

Edited excerpts…

How did the idea of NeceSera come about?

Riddhi Jain: We have a family garment export house. We saw that a lot of research was being done on fabrics and blends but no one was really looking at creating quality products in the loungewear space. 

We wanted to develop the most comfortable loungewear since we spend most of our time in it, whether while sleeping, after work or on weekends. Our modal fabric is moisture-wicking and breathable and can enhance sleep quality. That was our first launch.

Certain international brands are making similar products, but their price points are a lot higher than ours. So that was the gap in the market we started to fill. 

Now, we’re more of a transition wear brand where we also have clothes for a casual day or a work day, as well as night and sleep. 

Sudiksha Jain: Our name comes from a fusion of the words necessary and sera, which means evening in Italian. Necessary because we’re only looking at essentials. We’re not interested in venturing into fast fashion but focus on the durability of our products. And sera because of our love for the evening. 

What were some early challenges in setting up the brand?

RJ: Loungewear as a category was not very spoken of or understood. Focusing on the initial education of getting customers to understand why a certain fabric is important for sleep and getting them to try it for the first time was difficult. Our product costs are also high because of the kind of fabrics we use. But then what helped us was that our retention was very high once a customer tried our product.

What have been some key milestones in your journey?

SJ: During Covid, we went from having one month of zero sales to suddenly having loungewear become ‘the thing’. Since then, we’ve established a set of loyal customers. We’ve recently been featured on the Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 List and received a few other recognitions. The work we’ve been doing is being recognised, and it is validating.

RJ: Our innerwear launch is also a big milestone because we’ve been researching for over a year. We put a lot of thought into our loungewear because of how close to the skin it is. And with innerwear, we were going even closer. We spent a lot of time getting the fit, elastic and threads right. We needed to ensure that every aspect of the product was perfect. 

Tell us about the R&D process used to develop products.

SJ: The best way to do R&D is to talk to people. We’ve learned so much by engaging with our existing customers. We try to understand pain points and build products for different kinds of people because, in India, we’re part of a very diverse community. 

RJ: For example, I recently learned that people like to wear joggers rather than straight or flared pants when travelling because when you’re going into unsanitary places, the joggers won’t touch the floor. This is something we never considered before in the design process. 

Apart from that, we’re constantly researching new blends, keeping in mind our brand ethos, which is sustainability, functionality and quality. We test our fabrics to ensure they are crease-resistant, breathable and trans-seasonal. 

How are you eyeing expansion in terms of sales?

SJ: An omnichannel approach is the future, so having a physical presence will be important going forward. Q-com is another major focus right now. While many brands are focused on performance marketing, our main goal has been to create a better connection with our customers. We are not trying to compete on price. 

Do you have any advice for someone who plans to work with their sibling?

RJ: Since we’re siblings, we understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. You will inevitably have differences when you’re working together, but the level of trust is a lot higher when you’re working with a sibling or a family member. 

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SJ: I would also say don’t mix work and personal emotions. 

RJ: On a side note, we also work with our brother, who does our SEO. We’re always bouncing ideas off each other. It’s like our in-house start-up incubator. So, it’s always a yes for me to work with siblings!