Miss Fashionista She candidly admits that while building a brand from a tier-III city was not easy, "it has been worth it."

In 2018, siblings Shivani and Shivam Soni set out to build a brand that would bridge the fashion gap between urban India and smaller towns. What started as an idea between a fashion designer and a commerce graduate in Udaipur has become Beyoung—a brand dedicated to empowering the "Real Bharat" by making trendy, value-for-money fashion accessible to tier-II, tier-III and tier-IV regions.

"We come from a small town in Rajasthan," Shivani recalls. "Whenever we wanted to buy something, we had to move out—and even then, we were rarely satisfied. That's when it struck us: why not stay in Udaipur, create a fashion ecosystem, and offer employment opportunities within our hometown?" The duo was later joined by Sakshi Soni and Shankar Mali as co-founders. "When we started, 99 per cent of fashion brands were serving just one per cent of Bharat. We decided to cater not just 20 per cent but 80 per cent—the real Bharat—where fashion is often inaccessible and unaffordable," Shivani explains.

Beyoung's strategy was rooted in staying connected with its audience and understanding their needs. "Our products resonate with customers across tier-II, tier-III, and tier-IV cities, but we also see strong demand from tier-I cities. Many of our customers are people from smaller towns who have migrated to big cities," she adds.

Launching a brand from a tier-III city like Udaipur presented significant challenges, including logistics. "Getting fast delivery to smaller towns was tough, but we tried to make it happen. Another challenge was convincing talent to join us and build something meaningful in Udaipur," she shares.

Over the years, Beyoung has grown into a team of over 300 members, with stitching units employing locals, with a male to female ratio of 80 to 20. "It's still hard for women here to get permission to work, but things are changing. We've recently hired multiple female managers in leadership roles," Shivani added.

The brand's success lies in its omnichannel approach, "Our journey began online, but we are now expanding into offline retail. We plan to open 300 stores across India by 2026 to bring our products closer to the people we serve and build trust."

She candidly admits that while building a brand from a tier-III city was not easy, "it has been worth it."

Recently, Beyoung raised funding to fuel its expansion into Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets. In the coming month it will go live in the UAE. "There is a mass market in India, but it is also in the UAE. We have seen the scope for value-for-money products all over the world," Shivani shares. She adds that Beyoung plans to expand into Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions. She also gave a hint towards coming up with a women's category next year.