Mivraa entered a market where 9KT gold had no regulatory standing and little consumer vocabulary. Two years in, the brand has helped shift both. With BIS hallmarking now in place and a growing customer base, founder Aishwarya Priyadharshni Vummidi makes the case for everyday gold on its own terms.
Edited Excerpts:
Q. You entered the market with 9KT jewellery at a time when it wasn’t even hallmarked in India. What gave you the conviction to build a digital brand around an unregulated category?
Our conviction came from a very personal consumer insight. We noticed a clear behavioural shift — while younger consumers still appreciated gold, they were moving towards fashion jewellery for everyday wear. Gold felt too expensive and occasion-led, while fashion jewellery lacked longevity.
Mivraa was built to bridge that gap. Globally, 9KT and 10KT gold are widely accepted — particularly in the US and UK — which gave us confidence that Indian consumers would evolve similarly. India’s strong silver jewellery market, despite its own absence of hallmarking at the time, told us consumers were willing to trust design, brand, and pricing beyond just regulation.
Q. As a digital-native brand, how did you balance consumer education and design-led selling?
Education was important but never the primary driver. About 20% of our content focuses on explaining 9KT, while the remaining 80% is design-led. Customers don’t come looking to understand metallurgy; they come because they like what they see. Design and pricing draw them in, and once that interest is established, we address questions around caratage and value. Word of mouth has done considerable heavy lifting — once customers experience the product, they become advocates for the category.
Q. What were the key digital channels that drove your initial traction, and how has that evolved?
Discovery is driven largely by Instagram, while conversions happen through a combination of our website, calls, and WhatsApp. Nearly 60% of customers discover us on Instagram and then move to the website to complete their purchase. Reviews, social proof, and product visibility play a critical role in this journey. We have not relied heavily on large marketing spends — product-market fit, pricing, and organic traction have driven growth. The brand is currently growing at around 50% year-on-year.
Q. Now that 9KT is BIS hallmarked, how has that changed the business?
Hallmarking has been a significant positive. The ability to point customers to a verified HUID number has simplified the trust-building process considerably. Post-hallmarking, website traffic has increased by around 80%, and average order values have risen by approximately 20–30% — though I would attribute that to a combination of hallmarking and overall brand maturation. Repeat purchases have strengthened noticeably.
Q. Who does 9kt jewellery appeal to? Has the customer profile surprised you?
Our customer profile has also expanded. We began with working professionals — informed buyers open to everyday 9KT wear. Today the audience spans younger consumers, first-time gold buyers, and a surprisingly active 60-plus segment who come primarily for gifting and lightweight daily wear. A customer who might have spent Rs 1.5 lakh on a traditional piece is now spending Rs 40,000–50,000 on a well-designed 9KT option and appreciating the freedom of choice that comes with the lower price point.
Q. What are the most unexpected findings regarding the online demand for this category and how are you adapting to it?
One of the more interesting patterns has been the disproportionate traction from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, which have outpaced the metros in demand. More specifically, orders from the Northeast have stood out — cities and towns we had not initially planned around. When we looked into it, we found that online purchasing behaviour in much of the Northeast is considerably more developed relative to other regions. That insight has shaped how we think about reaching customers beyond the obvious urban clusters.
On the product side, we introduced lab-grown diamond jewellery about four months ago in direct response to customer demand — people were calling in and asking for existing designs executed in lab-grown. We had to adapt. The category is still evolving for us, but the signal from the market was clear enough to move quickly.
Q. The brand operates on a lean inventory model supported by a semi-made-to-order structure. What are the challenges of managing online orders within this model?
The core challenge is scale versus readiness. We have close to 200 designs, most available in three colour options — yellow, rose, and white gold — which makes maintaining full ready inventory across the range impractical for a young brand. Currently, about 55% of our inventory is ready stock; the balance is fulfilled on order. What stays in ready stock is determined by consistent movement, not assumptions.
The more nuanced challenge is the gifting segment. A gifting customer does not — the occasion has a date, and expectations around delivery are considerably less forgiving. That is an area where we are actively working to tighten our processes, both on turnaround time and on communicating timelines more clearly to customers at the point of purchase.
Q. As you scale, do you see Mivraa moving beyond digital, and what will drive the next phase of growth?
While we remain fundamentally digital-first, we are exploring an omnichannel presence. Jewellery is a tactile category and offline touchpoints can meaningfully strengthen brand recall and trust. At this stage, the bigger priority is building a distinct brand identity and ensuring that when a consumer thinks of everyday gold jewellery, Mivraa is the first name that comes to mind. Category expansion and deeper market penetration will follow, but brand recall is the unlock we are focused on right now.
By Maithili Patange
The Retail Jeweller
