Why Actress Dia Mirza Invested in this Toy Start-up by IIT Alumni

IIT Alumni Meeta Sharma Gupta founded the toy brand Shumee, IIT Alumni Meeta Sharma Gupta founded the toy brand Shumee,  

Meeta Sharma Gupta is an alumnus of Harward and IIT Delhi, and when she became a mother and returned back to India in 2012, she found a lack of sustainable toys for her two-year-old son. She wanted toys that did not have mechanical parts and did not use plastic. But there was a glaring lack of sustainable toys in the market. This is when Meeta decided to start a toy store that produced toys from sustainable material which triggered the child’s imaginations. And like this, Shumee was launched in 2016.

Actress Dia Mirza was in search of sustainable and environment-friendly toys for her own child when she came across the name Shumee on the internet. She read more about the brand and was instantly intrigued by the concept of sustainable toys. She wanted to invest in the brand and help women entrepreneurs like Meeta. So her team spoke with Meeta and soon Dia was on board with Shumee.

Dia is presently the ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme, Wildlife Trust of India, Save the Children, and the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Shumee makes toys that are great for children’s cognitive development. They are not educational toys. A child can play with them using their own imagination and the imagination of a child is endless. Also, Shumee’s products are natural in and out and are very environment-friendly. They are made using wood, cotton, and other natural child-safe materials and are made by a design team from India’s top design schools including NID and NIFT. Currently, there are about 100 designs of toys and games at Shumee which are priced between Rs 250 and Rs 500. 

-Staff Reporter