Street stall to sales boom: How a fruit vendor drove ₹1 lakh+ bills at SUGAR Cosmetics’s Colaba store

When SUGAR Cosmetics opened its Colaba Causeway store in Mumbai, CEO and Shark Tank India judge Vineeta Singh had one major concern — street stalls blocking the store’s visibility. A year later, that very concern turned into an unexpected business win.

Sharing the experience on LinkedIn, Vineeta wrote, “Before we signed the lease of our Colaba Causeway store, we had apprehensions about street stalls blocking our visibility from the main road. But Colaba is Colaba — every store has a stall in front, and it is the stalls that have more legacy than the stores, so we decided to give it a try.”

Over the next 12 months, sales at the store skyrocketed, with frequent purchases exceeding ₹1 lakh. Curious about this trend, Vineeta decided to investigate.

She found that the store’s fastest-growing customer base was Arab women visiting Mumbai for medical tourism. “They love Indian makeup because they also have warm undertones like us and need products that suit hot weather, but how do they discover us?” she wrote.

The answer lay just outside the store — Suraj, a fruit vendor whose stall had been there for years. Many Arab women stopped by his stall to buy local fruits, preferring them over imported ones. Having picked up Arabic over time, Suraj would ask them if they wanted "Kahaal Al Hindi" (Indian kajal), leading them to explore SUGAR’s products. The result? Bulk purchases, with each customer picking up 15–20 pieces of their favorite shades.

The collaboration wasn’t one-sided. Megha, who runs the SUGAR store, also directs customers to Suraj’s fruit stall. When business is slow, she invites Suraj and his father inside for tea, using the time to learn Arabic — especially makeup-related words. “So, when Megha has foreign customers, she, in her broken Arabic, is also able to remind them to shop some authentic Indian fruits before they head out,” Vineeta shared.

Concluding her post, she wrote, “India is truly a land of entrepreneurs. And while we must have processes and systems, in my limited retail experience, it is the people that make the biggest difference — sometimes, people who don’t even belong to the system.”

The story resonated with many, who praised the organic, human-driven success.

"This is such a brilliant example of how human connections drive business in ways no strategy deck ever could! Sometimes, the best brand ambassadors aren’t on the payroll but right outside the door,"* one user commented.

Another called it “a masterclass in organic marketing,” applauding Suraj’s initiative and Megha’s cultural adaptability.

A third summed it up perfectly: "Wonderful example of community-driven entrepreneurship! Insights like Arab women loving Indian makeup are gold — something no market research could fully capture."

In an era of data-driven strategies, this story is a reminder that sometimes, the best business growth happens through simple human connections.