Perfumes gifted by relatives returning from abroad sparked lively discussions in Bilimora, Gujarat, for Mohamadadil Asif Malkani ‘Adil’ and his friends.
The captivating aromas of these perfumes deeply influenced the young man, inspiring him to venture into the perfume industry, which thrives today.
In 2019, Adil launched his namesake perfume venture, specialising in attars and perfumes, aiming to provide customers with the same premium fragrances he admired.
Adil’s tryst with the traditional fragrance started as a young boy, seeing his father work at an attar company for over three decades.
Having to drop out of school in Class 5 due to a rare, serious strain of asthma, the now 29-year-old spent much of his childhood in the hospital.
After a few years, as Adil got better, he wished to support himself and his family, and did a few computer and mobile repairing courses, working in a few local shops.
His life changed for the better when his uncle introduced him to SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and website designing in 2014.
Adil marked his foray into digital marketing by first building a mehendi designs website. He tried his hand at many digital ventures in the next four years, but nothing worked.
As he looked for an answer to a sustainable business, he found it was right in front of his eyes: attar. So he decided to make attar ‘cool’ and relatable to youngsters.
Starting in 2019, he spent months at home perfecting the formulations and fragrances which would be liked by his buyers.
Starting with free samples, orders slowly started coming in. From 20 to 50 to 100, the Adil Qadri perfumes saw steady growth in the first year.
Today, his brand sells over 80,000 orders per month, and has attars, perfumes, and incense sticks with an average revenue of Rs 7 crore per month.
He has opened 15 stores in India and Dubai, and sells online too. He even received an investment of Rs 1 crore from Vineeta Singh on Season 3 of Shark Tank India.
“I faced a lot of negativity when I started. People in my town said that big businesses are built from big towns. I was told that I couldn’t make it big because I’m not educated and don’t know English well,” he says.
“I never listened to the naysayers. I never stopped. No problem or challenge scared me. I wanted to stand apart and so I took the risk,” he adds.
He currently works out of a 10,000-square-foot warehouse and office, and employs 50 people. With an Instagram following of 2.97 lakh, he is the face of the brand.