Gifting industry gives a lot of opportunities to women: Meeta Gutgutia, FNP

We, at Adgully, have always saluted and honoured women managers and leaders across diverse fields. W-SUITE is a special initiative from Adgully that has been turning the spotlight on some of the most remarkable women achievers in the M&E, Advertising, Marketing, PR and Communications industry. In the refurbished series, we seek to find out how women leaders have been managing their teams and work as well as how they have been navigating through the toughest and most challenging times brought about by the global pandemic.

Meeta Gutgutia and Vikaas Gutgutia co-founded FNP in 1994. They have pioneered the concept of flowers, plants and gifting in the online space and have systematized the unorganized wedding marketplace. Being the creative brain of FNP, Meeta has bagged many awards and accolades. Her aesthetic and design sensibility have made FNP - The Design Leader. Her baby projects, Sipping Thoughts and Women Listed are digital media brands, which focus on women centric programming and reaches to over 1 million women monthly.

In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Meeta Gutgutia, Co-Founder, FNP, and Founder Women Listed and Sipping Thoughts, shares with us about her entrepreneurial journey as a woman and the subsequent hardships faced on the way to success. She also shares about her projects, Women Listed and Sipping Thoughts, and how they are helping women to evolve as individuals.

How has your professional journey been from 1994 to 2023? How have you evolved as a business woman?

I was a Fashion Designer by profession, but when I met, fell in love and married Vikaas Gutgutia, who was a florist, my career path changed very naturally. One of the reasons was obviously because as newly married, we wanted to spend as much time together as possible, and building a business together gave us that chance. Secondly, flower industry intrigued me a lot because that time there was nothing organised about this space and we saw a huge untapped potential here.

Vikaas and I created FNP with a vision to serve the consumers with the best quality and a variety of floral arrangements. We identified the existing gaps in the largely unorganized flower market and availed the opportunity to open the first floral boutique in South Extension, Delhi, in 1994.

Initial seven years of the professional journey saw a lot of struggles. Coincidentally those were also the first seven years of our marriage as well. We have often heard of the “seven-year-itch” theory but for us it was first “seven years in career” so we never got to think about anything else apart from our business during those initial days.

It was after those struggling seven years that we found our solid footing in the space. And we knew we were on the right path, the path to success. Businesswise, there was no rulebook or guidelines for us to follow in this industry as it was such an unexplored and unorganised sector. And personally, we both didn’t have any safety net, security or anything to fall back on. So we had no other option but to hustle our way towards growth and success, not just for ourselves but for everyone else involved with us.

While we were establishing FNP, I gained all sort of experience from admin to creative to crisis management to handling orders and finances. During our first wedding anniversary, instead of celebrating with each other, I was packing boxes of flowers which had to be shipped. The journey was hard, but it also made me who I am today. We created a business which is a unique model and along with that I grew as a person and a businesswoman. It gave me a very enriching experience.

You saw success with FNP. How has the brand grown over the last two decades?

We started with one shop in 1994, which soon grew into a one-of-its-kind retail space. And then, we started ecommerce and at a time when ecommerce was a new concept. When we launched FNP.com in 2001, at that time there were hardly any other ecommerce platforms in India.

We had a desire to create an exceptional brand and this led us to introduce a new edge to the flower gifting culture in the country. From Ferns N Petals to FNP, today the brand has evolved from a single flower store to a multi-category gifting company with over 400 outlets in more than 130 cities pan India. As a brand, we have not just grown in the metros but also have been well-received in Tier 2 and 3 towns. We boast of a robust online presence with 70% of our business coming from FNP.com. Today the brand gets over 10,000 orders daily, delivering to 99% pin codes in the country. We have expanded our footsteps internationally as well to UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Singapore.

From flowers it became biggest gifting platform slowly and steadily. Today, flowers are now just one part of the business. We deliver a range of well curated, well designed products across various categories, such as cakes, plants, chocolates and personalised merchandise.

In 2017, FNP ventured into confectionary services with FNP Cakes which currently has over 160 stores across India. With a 43% YOY growth FNP wishes to be the gifting solution for all occasions.

Both I and my husband have always believed in creating multiple success stories. The brand’s other ventures – FNP Venues (which provide end to end wedding solutions), Udman Hotels, FNP Media, Baby Bless, Last Journey – which not only bear testimony to the accomplishment, but I feel that after 30 years of existence, we have managed to become a ubiquitous name closely connected with every emotion in our customer’s life.

We have always been ahead of the times and trends. And, it was our futuristic vision that contributed a lot to our brand’s success.

What are your thoughts about women in the gifting industry? Are they more apt for this profession?

There is no doubt that over the past decade the gifting industry in Indian has seen a massive growth and transformation. As far as I have observed in my journey in this space, the gifting industry is largely managed by women. Generally, women are known to have a more creative, thoughtful and patient approach which this industry needs.

Even at homes, it is largely women who take charge of “gift giving”, be it selecting the gifts or packing them. Even when it comes to the small ‘homepreneurs’ in the gifting industry, it is mostly women. This industry gives a lot of opportunities to women and, I have observed, they are good at it given their creativity and organizational skills.

What made you to start Sipping Thoughts and Women Listed? How does it empower women?

Sipping Thoughts started with challenges I saw around me as a woman entrepreneur, wife, mother, and even as a woman in general. I have always been very observant of things around me, and every conversation, dialogue, roadblock that I experienced made me think of the challenges that everyday women are facing which nobody understands. I found the lack of conversations that meant for Indian women or that Indian women could relate too. Whatever content we found was mostly coming to us from International sources and speakers, which was not too relevant for us and other Indian women.

Thus came, Sipping Thoughts, a multi-platform digital media and conversation channel for women with a tag line - 'Real Women Real Lives' as its aim to have an open dialogue without any judgment.

It was my journey as the Co-Founder of FNP and Sipping Thoughts that led me to gain insights into the issues that working women and female entrepreneurs face in India, leading to the launch of Women Listed. I built Women Listed with a mission to create a listing platform for professional women, which will facilitate them in their journey towards financial freedom. It is a first of its kind visibility platform for women entrepreneurs, homepreneurs, and practitioners.

With Women Listed, the aim is to bring every working Indian woman on this app and provide them with a strong support system. But, we are also dedicated to providing a platform that goes beyond mere listing, building a supportive environment where women can learn, connect, market their ventures, and network with like-minded individuals. By promoting visibility, learning, marketing, and networking, we aspire to catalyse positive change, creating opportunities for women to excel, innovate, and leave an indelible mark on the global business landscape.

Talking about “empowering” women, I do not believe in the word “empower” per say. I believe in creating an open space that encourages conversations and discussions that are relevant to women, be it their personal or professional lives. And maybe that is what and how, Sipping Thoughts and Women Listed, bring their own sense of comforting and relatable empowerment that everyone can feel together and share. And, this is reflected in the fact that we are reaching more than 5 million women and have had conversations with more than thousand women experts from diverse background guiding and supporting the audience to navigate the challenges of modern world.

You are multifaceted. FNP, Women listed, Sipping Thoughts, TEDX Speaker, a mother, what all do you have in your plate?

Some people feel that you should be good in one thing, but I believe, if you are able to do more and do justice to it, then why not. I’ve multiple sides and roles, then why should I restrict myself to one. Yes, currently I have FNP, FNP Flagship, Sipping Thoughts, Women Listed, my family, the women community groups, and more on my plate, but these are not separate parts for me. It is all a beautiful amalgamation for me and I do not wish to change that.

It is difficult to achieve work-home balance. How do you manage to balance all these brands along with your home?

Honestly, I feel maintaining a work-life balance is a challenge regardless of gender. And yes, it is even tougher for women, because of the social expectations from them.For me it is about being where it is important. If I am working, it doesn’t mean I cannot be there for my children. Some days, work takes precedence and other times, maybe your kids and family need you more.

Being an entrepreneur is actually a 24X7 job, but yes, I take out my windows during the day to do justice to my work and family. I start my day early, and work towards prioritising my tasks based on their importance or urgency. Also, thanks to digital advancements you can handle your work from any place, at any time. Technology allows us to be more flexible with our time and availability.

And, as I said before, I have created a space for myself where everything in my personal and professional life compliments each other, and that’s how I am able to manage everything and enjoy it as well.

Out of all these ventures, which is one is the dearest to you as a woman entrepreneur?

This I feel would be the toughest question to answer for an entrepreneur. It is like asking a mother to choose favourites among her kids. All my ventures are dear to me and I tend to give them equal time. But yes, whichever is the newest one or still in growing stages, might require a bit more attention and time than the others.

Like, Women Listed is a start-up and each day we are scaling newer heights, so it might need more of my attention right now at times. With mission and vision that we have for Women Listed and its growth, we know that this special attention on this is the need of the hour for me and the entire team. But yes, having said that, I am equally involved with each and everything related to all the other ventures as well.

Being a mother, do you think it is difficult for women to achieve perfect work-life balance?

Yes, I feel there is no exact concept of work-life balance for an entrepreneur. Being a working mother you are always questioning and doubting yourself. Whatever you give to your work or your child never feels enough, and you always live in guilt. Balancing work and life is not a problem, but guilt at times becomes a second nature as a working mother. Perfect work-life balance is a myth, and that’s what fuels this guilt that women have even further.

In your life has there been any moment in which you felt your child needs you more?

Yes, a few times I had to take the decision to change gears in my career because my kids needed me more. There was a time when my daughter told me that she needed me to be more present, and I consciously decided to step away from the wedding and events side of the business which was a bit time consuming, so I could dedicate my time. That, I feel, was a major turning point in my life. But even if I had to step away from some aspects of the business, I made those decisions knowingly and on my own.