Our goal is to make plus size women feel confident of their personality and demeanour

Somwya Sharma, Founder, Not Size Zero, a Noida-based fashion brand, has her aim set at achieving high targets. She is a fashion designer, who designs according to consumer likes and preferences, keeping in mind the latest trends of the industry. Her fashion label - Not Size Zero focuses primarily on plus size fashion. She is also a costume designer for the performing arts, motion picture and television production industry. She is a creative and visionary fashion designer producing exceptional clothing lines for product specific clients. Somwya creates designs according to her client's body type, personality and occasion. Through her collection and her work, she is trying to convey a message to the society to accept and appreciate women of all shapes and sizes. To further this end, she also runs a platform, Plus Grooming through which she aims to instil confidence in girls and help them preset themselves

in the best manner possible. In an exclusive interview with BIZZ BUZZ, Somwya said her goal is to make plus size women feel confident in their personality and demeanour

The market segment itself is quite massive for our brand as the population of the plus-size industry in India is approx 55 per cent. The usual buyers for our brand are women especially the homemakers and even the people of millennial aged. Hence the segment of buyers aged between 18 years to 55 years. The products are made of a fabric that falls according to the body size and structure

The growth of the business in next three years is quite massive. As in terms of the plus-size industry, the people are being more open-minded and accepting their body in terms of shape and size and being the owner of a plus-size brand and magazine I personally feel this acceptance of society in terms of plus-size fashion and lifestyle is somewhere a boon for me and my business

Can you tell us about Not Size Zero and the rationale behind the unusual name?

Not Size Zero is the brand designing couture wear for plus-size women. To make them more fashionable and to break the myth for them to look more confident and presentable. The rationale behind the unusual name is that the name itself defines the size range that the brand is offering to the customers or clients.

What kind of market do you see for your products?

The market segment itself is quite massive for our brand as the population of the plus-size industry in India is approx 55 per cent. The usual buyers for our brand are women especially the homemakers and even the people of millennial aged. Hence the segment of buyers aged between 18 years to 55 years. The products are made of a fabric that falls according to the body size and structure.

How big is your business? When did it start and how has it grown?

The brand started in 2018 by Somwya Sharma in a fashion runway show. The company got registered in 2019 by the name of Not Size Zero by Somwya Sharma. Due to Covid-19 pandemic the brand was not meeting the expectation that I had before launching it. Henceforth, Not Size Zero by Somwya Sharma was relaunched in the month of June 2021.

The growth of the brand after relaunch is appreciable. The business is quite massive as the population of India is usually in different body types and shapes. The range of the business is for both the genders male and female. And as of now, we are only working in the female segment and soon we will be launching the collection for the male segment.

Can you define your target audience by age, gender, income, etc?

The target audience for Not Size Zero by Somwya Sharma in terms of age is not specific as anyone who is plus in size or is having abnormal fat in any part of the body can purchase clothing from the brand. The target audience for the brand in terms of gender as of now is women segment and soon will be launching for men segment as well and we will also be taking out unisex apparel like t-shirts etc.

The income of the brand is approximately between Rs80,000- 1,00,000 per month. Soon the income will rise as Not Size Zero by Sowmya Sharma is coming up with a rental portal for the clothing brand where the customers or clients can rent the outfits according to the occasion they go on the minimum price or cost of the outfit.

What are the other businesses you own?

The other businesses are the magazine for plus-size fashion and lifestyle along with women empowerment by the name of 'Empowering Plus' by Somwya Sharma.

'Empowering Plus' is the first and only plus-size fashion magazine in India. The magazine focuses on Messy Size Fashion, founded in 2021. Empowering Plus is a magazine that also targets women empowerment regardless of 'body image issue' like for plus-size women. Our stories and features aim to cover fashion and lifestyle issues faced by Women of all age groups. As of now we only have our presence digitally but soon will be available in the print version also.

Do you see any synergy with the other businesses?

No, I don't see any synergy with the other businesses.

What kind of growth do you see in the next three years?

The growth of the business in next three years is quite massive. As in terms of the plus-size industry, the people are being more open-minded and accepting their body in terms of shape and size and being the owner of a plus-size brand and magazine I personally feel this acceptance of society in terms of plus-size fashion and lifestyle is somewhere a boon for me and my business.

Is your clientele pan India and international too?

As of now the clientele for the brand Not Size Zero by Somwya Sharma is on Pan India level, but for the future I will take the brand and the magazine on the international level. As even out of India, the market for plus size fashion and lifestyle has huge potential.

What kind of business do you have? Is it a hybrid one like online and bricks and mortar?

As of now, we are working on online portals but soon we are planning to open an outlet depending on the further situation due to the devastating pandemic and fluctuating market in terms of clothing, fashion and industry.

What are the marketing initiatives you implement to grow your business?

The marketing initiative includes digital marketing, products placement, e-mail marketing, link building, on-page optimization, social media marketing, influencer marketing, etc.