I launched Brooklyn Delhi with my fiance in December of 2013 to offer up handmade achaars, a spicy Indian condiment made from local fruits and vegetables that I produce in Brooklyn, NY. I have been writing, teaching cooking classes and hosting pop-ups featuring Indian recipes using local ingredients since 2009 at The ABCD's of Cooking and am currently writing my first cookbook with Ten Speed/Random House.
I always served my achaars at my cooking classes and events, but didn't think to package them until Ben gave me the idea to. He has been a food packaging designer for over a decade so we launched the product and brand together.
How did you earn your first sales? Which channels are now generating the most traffic and sales for you?
I earned my first sales by announcing the Brooklyn Delhi Shopify shop on my food blog, The ABCD's of Cooking. It was such an exciting moment to get my first order! Since then the web and social media have been really helpful in driving more traffic to my shop.
Tell us about the back-end of your business. What tools and apps do you use to run your store? How do you handle shipping and fulfillment?
I actually pack and ship all of the orders on my own. Each week, I download the list of orders from my Shopify shop and then package and mail them out. I love how easy the page tools are and am always updating with new blog posts, new store announcements, etc.
I also like how easy it is to see where the most traffic is coming from to my store in the reporting section. This tells me where I can focus my attention and sometimes where we are getting mentioned or press.
What are your top recommendations for new ecommerce entrepreneurs?
My biggest piece of advice for a new shop owner is to get your store up and running as soon as possible.
I didn't realize how easy it would be and almost overnight, I had a storefront. Having the ability to sell products to people all over the world in such a short amount of time, wouldn't have been possible without Shopify.
Once your store is up, make sure to mention your URL in all of your social profiles and marketing materials to help get the word out.