In our relentless pursuit to identify and share with our community some of the unique and compelling startup stories from the ecosystem, this week we spoke to Team Aorom to understand more about their journey, their vision and the way forward. But first, more about Aorom. Aarom Herbotech is a Tobacco and Nicotine Free Herbal Cigarettes Brand which uses organic and eco-friendly blends. Team Aorom is on a mission to make smoking a non-addictive and less harmful activity. Let’s read their unique story!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with the team:
Tell us a little bit about your startup and the problems you guys are solving, please;
Well, this thought did generate from years of the torment of tobacco as my father is a chain-smoker for almost 30 years now; I have seen how nicotine makes a person its slave and have firsthand seen the exact thing happening to my father. Even after years of trying to quit, he couldn’t do so.
As one can get the nicotine replacements available in various forms, such as chewing gums or patches, but it is hard to control the urge of the smoking sensation, and I think that is what made him try to smoke just one to end the carving, but we all know that one smoke is all it takes.
This thought cultivated in our heads during this lockdown. We finalized it once we studied how the Indian people used to smoke herbs as a medicine for many diseases in the past. After doing thorough research, we reached the final decision we can provide herbal cigarettes that will give a feel of tobacco to our smokers but will not be harmful.”
We wanted to make this blessing of product available to as many chain-smokers and new smokers to drive them away from the harms of tobacco and nicotine. Also, our owner comes from a family of manufacturers. It made our way clearer, and Aorom Herbotech was born.
‘Aorom’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving with the help of your startup?
The Aorom name is a synonym for purity; we finalized this name for our organization to bring sincerity and purity to our products, as the purity is associated with gold, i.e., Aurum.
We also wanted to identify our brand for its uniqueness and one of a kind nature, which we linked to the Northern lights, i.e., aurora borealis. We played around with these two words and ended up with Aorom, which stands for uniqueness and purity.
Where do you see your organization after 10 to 20 years? What are your goals and vision for the future?
We, as a team, are on a mission to make smoking a non-addictive and less harmful activity.
To achieve this goal, we’re slowly building ourselves to be a top-quality brand of herbal cigarettes, not only locally but internationally as well. Our goal is to make our products as easy to get as possible. We hope we can achieve this feat in the next 10 to 20 years.”
What makes you so sure that this new invention can help people curb the nicotine addictiveness of smoking? How can smokers trust your product?
The invention of utilizing herbs & plants instead of harmful nicotine substances in cigarettes is not new. It was practiced in ancient India as well as Medically advanced countries of Europe, North America, or even Asian countries like China and South Korea have been producing and selling these new types of cigarettes.
Medical studies have shown these new cigarettes help give up the harmful conventional cigarettes and cause lesser harm than the common ones. These study results and increased product demand in the mentioned countries make us believe that these cigarettes made up of various herbs are the future.”
Moreover, the Aorom herbal smokes are no lesser than the tobacco cigarettes available in the market in terms of quality. Our herbal product for smokers is economical as well as medically tested to cause less harm. Besides the price element, what triggered our need for action in this new field is— our desire to provide Indian-made herbal cigarettes to Indian smokers and the International community.
We as a country always believe in producing quality products with lesser price tags than the global market. So, to ace in this new niche, we had to jump into it as well; and we’re proud of doing so.
Providing a variety regarding smoking flavours is key to developing a brand; how many options— in terms of different options— do you provide with Aorom herbal cigarettes? How are you planning to expand your herbal cigarette flavours as a brand?
We have planned to provide multiple flavours in herbal cigarettes with our brand name, but currently, we’ve made three flavours available to our smokers. These flavours are Clove, Cinnamon, and Mint. Each type has its unique taste. You may check out the product description of these variants on our website’s main page.
How do you manage to keep moving despite the challenges? What drives the team of Aorom?
It is always challenging to start as a new organization in this world of competition.
It was especially very challenging for us in the beginning stage when we were making our composition. getting a perfect blend with the right proportions was probably the toughest part of the whole process but our professional and disciplined team held hands, and we stayed positive. The best thing about our team is self-responsibility.
They work as creative entrepreneurs and are devoted to the cause of making smoking a harmless habit. We have just placed our trust in our team members, the same way they have trusted us. We have a professional environment, and still, we look out for each other as a family.
Hence, Aorom has a very positive environment for working as well as learning. It is a 360-degree decision-making centre with transparent policies. These factors make us an excellent place to work in and drives productivity.
We would love to know from where we can grab your products? Will it be available online or at retailers’?
Our products will be available online and in physical stores by the end of February. We are planning to create an on-ground strong distribution network and as we believe that is the key to triumph FMCG market but at the same time, looking at the current trend of consumers, it is very beneficial to sell the products on online platforms as well hence you may also purchase our products from Amazon as well as our website.
In your opinion – what is more necessary: An idea or a good team for a successful startup? Guide us through this while keeping the context of the Aorom.
Both, Idea and qualifying team to convert that vision or thought into reality are essential. You can never achieve your desired goals without the absence of any of the two. We have seen many startups with great ideas fail, as they keep dwelling on their vision only or have not put the proper process in place, or lack the expertise to mould that vision into reality.
Timely execution with a simple but workable process & passion—7 to achieve your desired targets are needed for startups to be successful brands; luckily, we have such professionals around us. They understand the needs of Aorom as an organization and the needs of our clients at the same time. Individuals of the Aorom organization are aware of our prime goal— to make smoking less harmful.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
