How Kerala housewife started own lingerie brand at home, now runs Rs 500 crore company competing with Zivame, Clovia

Homemakers across India don’t often have the opportunity and resources to venture out on their own and start their own business, but one such housewife from Kerala made her own name by starting a lingerie and innerwear brand right inside her house.

Sheela Kochouseph, the wife of a businessman, started the company V-Star Creations in 1995. While her family was well established, her husband has set two conditions for her to start her own business – no family money to bank on, and an empty office with monthly rent.

Sheela, who had been a homemaker for several years, took her husband’s challenge and decided to take out a small loan from a bank and open her own lingerie brand called V-Star Creations, which offered simple and discreet designs to both women and men.

Sheela decided to take out a loan and employ 10 people in her new business, which initially started out as a clothing business in 1995. Later, she realized that most of the innerwear and lingerie in Kerala is sourced from Mumbai and Bengaluru, and there is no homegrown brand in the state itself.

Sheela Kochouseph soon decided that her startup company V-Star Creations will start making lingerie and innerwear, keeping the designs and colours simple. Initially, the bras and panties were hand stitched by the 10 employees, putting a personal touch on each piece of clothing.

Specialising in ‘less flashy designs’, Sheela decided to manufacture innerwear for women in her small company. Due to her simple style and affordable prices, V-Star Creations started to grow and has now established itself as a multi-million dollar company.

As of 2022, the revenue generation of V-Star Creations, established by Sheela Kochouseph in 1995, has reached around Rs 500 crore, according to Tofler. According to Zee Business, the total net worth of Sheela Kochouseph was around Rs 540 crore in 2020.

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