The Art and Commerce Curator The Plated Project is a business that strives to solve the hunger crisis in India through the sale of decorative and artistic plates. Launched in 2019, the project claims to have sponsored 511,400 meals around the world.

At The Plated Project, the entire premise is to merge creativity and business to create a new impact-oriented business model. The team tries and bring design thinking and creative problem-solving techniques to everything from cost optimization to HR issues. The Plated Project is a business that strives to solve the hunger crisis in India through the sale of decorative and artistic plates. Launched in 2019, the project claims to have sponsored 511,400 meals around the world.

Talking about the inception of the brand, Chitresh Sinha, Founder, The Plated Project shares, "I think it was something I've wanted to do for over a decade. It stems from the fact that I worked as a brand consultant and my job involved helping others create new brands. I always had this desire to use my ideas to create my own brand that changed the world for the better." The Plated Project is primarily a D2C brand so a lot of its focus is on expanding its online presence. They have recently launched a dedicated global store focusing first primarily on the Middle East market. The brand has started expanding offline too so that people can touch and feel the products.

When asked about the best way to find out customer needs, Sinha says, "Nothing beats old-school immersion. You need to observe their lives as closely as you can without judging or interrupting. Also you need to look at their overall lives and needs and not just the needs/ gaps related to your product idea."

The Plated Project started with just wall plates but now they have a robust wall decor collection. They have also launched the dinnerware collection. The aim is to launch 2-3 totally innovative products and in the next 6 months the aim is to increase the range in the existing categories. Sharing his entrepreneurial learning, Sinha says, "I think the biggest learning for us as creative individuals at The Plated Project is that every single creative effort or idea needs to be measurable. It took us a while to get used to the idea of metrics and tools but once you see the magic that happens when you are able to measure impact, then you end up creating better ideas."

With a 6-word mission statement: buy a plate, fill a plate, the label amalgamates art with commerce to create unique home decor essentials with a mission to raise awareness on social issues in a way that excites people. By joining hands with artists they create oneof- a-kind plates that cost between INR 700 and INR 3,000. The proceeds from selling the plates are handed over to organizations fighting hunger. Each product's sale sponsors 10 meals for the hungry. So far, they have sponsored 550,000+ meals around the world.

Factsheet:

Amount of external funding received: Interest shown for 75 lakhs in Shark Tank India 2 but not yet completed

Number of people employed: 15

Turnover: 4 CR+ Year of Inception: 2021