Modern Desi – a B2C | B2B e-commerce platform connecting 100+ South Asian small businesses with consumers through one centralized, culturally representative shopping destination.
MISSION: To create an immersive, representative shopping experience for modern South Asians by uniting independent Desi-owned businesses on a single digital platform; expanding their reach and giving consumers easier access to culturally inspired products.
ORIGIN: As I grew my own brand, I started discovering other niche creators curating culturally relevant products they wanted to see in the world. But when it came time for gifting, I realized how difficult it was to remember dozens of Instagram handles and websites. I envisioned one space where these businesses could come together, making it easier for our community to support them, so I created that space.
JOURNEY
Built an e-commerce platform with scalable backend capabilities to host an infinite number of brands.
Researched existing web-hosting platforms (Etsy, Shopify, etc.) to understand pain points and crafted a value proposition for why brands should sell with Modern Desi.
Offered a marketing bundle (social amplification, email features, event activations) to ensure partner brands gained exposure beyond the platform itself.
CHALLENGES
Ensuring partner visibility without overshadowing the Modern Desi brand identity OR diminishing partner brand identity.
Balancing platform growth with a quality curation process that maintained authenticity and cultural representation.
PRESENT DAY
Onboarded and launched 100+ South Asian brands, curating categories from home & kitchen to apparel, games, stationery, and lifestyle.
Integrated marketplace brands into Modern Desi events, creating synergy between digital presence and real-world experiential activations.
Created a centralized brand identity for the marketplace that celebrated diversity of products while maintaining a cohesive South Asian aesthetics
RESULTS
Built the first curated South Asian marketplace with scalable digital infrastructure.
Provided a direct pipeline for small businesses to access larger audiences through bundled marketing support.
Established Modern Desi as a recognized cultural shopping destination, differentiating from generic e-commerce models.
SKILLS DEMONSTRATED: E-commerce strategy | Platform building | Brand partnerships | Cross-functional collaboration | Digital infrastructure | Marketing strategy | Contract negotiations | Project management
one year
b2c/ B2B platform
creative Direction
e-commerce management
brand architecture
Ux|UI Design
