How a College Project Turned Into Surat-Based Lifestyle Brand ‘Kalla’

Surat, Gujarat: What started as a final-year Chemical Engineering project to explore natural dyes has grown into Kalla, a Surat-based lifestyle, gifting and wellness brand that gives used flowers a second life through products for rituals, fragrance and everyday use.

The journey began under the name Begin With Flowers, when founder Maitri Jariwala and her college team started collecting flowers and experimenting with natural dyes. The dyes did not work well on the synthetic fabrics commonly used in Surat’s textile industry, but instead of dropping the idea, the team looked for another way to use the flowers. Their experiments led to natural Holi colours, followed by agarbattis, soaps and other products.

That experimentation eventually became Kalla. Today, Kalla’s range includes agarbattis, dhoop, havan cups, candles, bathing products, home-fragrance products and customised gifting.

For its flower-based ritual products, collected flowers are sorted, washed, dried and turned into a fine powder, which is used as a raw material to make the products.

The company’s growth has been just as gradual.

Kalla began from its founder’s grandmother’s house, with work starting in the kitchen and veranda before gradually taking over cupboards and rooms. By September 2026, the company was working towards a dedicated facility of around 2,500 sq. ft., along with a separate space for flower processing.

“I kept thinking about how much of what nature gives us gets discarded, and whether there was a way to turn some of it into something useful and beautiful. That question became the starting point for Kalla” says Maitri Jariwala, Founder of Kalla.

Women are also an important part of Kalla’s growth story. Its first team member, Sushila Ben, started by helping for a few hours and later grew into a trainer and manager, bringing and training other women in the process.

For Kalla, the next phase is about growing beyond being seen as only an incense or gifting company and building a broader lifestyle brand rooted in sustainability, social impact, spirituality and conscious living.

About Kalla

Kalla is a Surat-based conscious lifestyle and wellness brand founded by Maitri Jariwala and Toral Jariwala. The brand works with discarded temple flowers to create handcrafted products while supporting women-led livelihoods.

Website: https://kalla.in/