Dubai Success Story: Angana Maheshwari couldn't find the right work bag; so she built a sustainable business

Dubai: Angana Maheshwari wasn't trying to become a fashion entrepreneur when the idea for Veganologie first took shape. She just wanted a good work bag that could fit her computer, power bank and wallet.

It was during the pandemic, when offices were largely empty and the idea of dressing for work seemed almost quaint. But Maheshwari knew people would eventually return, and she began searching for a bag that was stylish, durable, ethically made and reasonably priced. But she couldn't find one.

“What started as a basic search led to something much bigger,” Maheshwari tells me in an interview at our Gulf News studio.

“It became digging in to find where can I find the right bag, made with the right materials, durable, not costing me an arm and a leg, and something that I could have for years.”

Nothing quite worked.

“I could not find anything that I really, really liked, that I really wanted to carry with me every day.”

So she decided to build it herself. That search eventually became Veganologie, the sustainable accessories business she launched in the UAE in January 2022.

“For me, fashion is also very close to my heart,” she says. “We have to be presentable. We want to look a certain way.”

Her question was straightforward: “How do I combine a good-quality bag, make it fashionable, yet make it mindful?”

The answer turned into a business.

‘The problem is not consumption. It’s overconsumption’

Maheshwari arrived at entrepreneurship with an unusually international backstory.

Raised between London, Germany and Luxembourg, she has also lived in New York and Toronto before making Dubai home. She holds a BSc from New York University and an MSc from the London School of Economics.

What she didn't have was experience producing handbags. Building the company meant learning about materials, design, manufacturers, supply chains and certifications from scratch. What she did have was a longstanding discomfort with the way we consume fashion.

“The problem is not the consumption,” she says. “It’s the overconsumption part that I have a problem with.”

For Maheshwari, the relentless turnover encouraged by fast fashion is where things become problematic.

“You have big fashion brands, fast-fashion brands specifically, coming out every day with new styles, and people buy and then throw the next day. That’s when the problem comes in.”

Her response was to try the opposite.

“For me, it was: let’s make something that can last them a long time. It doesn’t have to be so expensive. And, of course, at the end of the day, the durability, the design is everlasting and classic.”

Her philosophy isn't that consumers should stop shopping. After all, she runs a business that needs customers to buy things.

It's that we should stop treating clothes and accessories as disposable.

“We can be mindful of what we buy,” she says.

But can everyone afford to be sustainable?

That's all very well in theory.

The uncomfortable reality is that sustainable fashion can be expensive, while fast fashion has conditioned consumers to expect remarkably low prices.

So I ask Maheshwari directly: what do you say to somebody who simply cannot afford to be sustainable?

“It’s a very valid question,” she says.

Her answer is that consumers aren't merely paying for the bag they can see.

“What you’re spending your money on is not just a bag or a product. You’re buying into a system, a supply chain that has a very clean value system.”

Maheshwari says the company works with audited factories and certified fabrics and considers how workers are treated.

“We also make sure we work with factories that pay overtime to our artisans,” she says.

Doing things that way inevitably costs more.

But, she argues, a founder cannot preach ethical production while ignoring what happens further down the supply chain.

“If I don’t do this as a brand owner, then who’s going to believe me?”

Still, she knows price matters.

A recently introduced bamboo-fibre tote, for example, is priced at around Dh600.

“It’s a fully threaded bag, with a zipper, with pockets inside, keychain, pockets on the outside,” she says. “It’s your bag that you can travel with, you can work with, you can take your kids.”

The idea is less about buying endlessly and more about keeping what you buy.

When sustainability becomes annoying

There's another inconvenient truth: the sustainable choice isn't always the most pleasant one.

I tell Maheshwari about one of my pet peeves — drinking through a paper straw that becomes progressively more limp until you're essentially sipping your drink through wet cardboard.

She laughs.

“It’s not a pleasant experience at all,” she agrees.

And that, strangely enough, gets to the heart of the challenge she is trying to solve.

“I think that’s what we’re trying to combat — making sustainable fashion a pleasant experience.”

Consumers may care about the planet, but that doesn't mean they'll happily accept an inferior product.

“You want to be a part of the journey, but sometimes it’s a paper straw, sometimes it’s a bamboo-based straw which can crack very easily.”

The solution, she believes, lies in continued experimentation.

“We’re lucky enough to be in a time and period that innovation is at its peak.”

In fashion, her team has experimented with materials including bamboo fibre and plant-derived leather alternatives.

But there are limits.

Maheshwari says the team has wanted to make a fully beaded bag but hasn't yet found the right solution because conventional beads often contain plastic.

“We’re trying to find beads that are not made from plastic to then create something fashionable with beads.”

It is a small example of the compromises involved in trying to build a business around sustainability rather than simply using the word in its marketing.

‘This land gave me the chance to build’

Then there is Dubai.

Maheshwari's affection for the UAE repeatedly surfaces during our conversation, particularly when she talks about how the country has shaped the business.

“This region, this land is what gave me the chance to build Veganologie,” she says.

Her response has been to weave elements of the UAE into what she creates.

One recent example is a series of bag charms inspired by wildlife associated with the country, including the Arabian leopard, hawksbill turtle, falcon and oryx.

The charms aren't purely decorative.

“One of them opens into a mirror. One is a pouch. One is a cable organiser,” Maheshwari explains.

She says proceeds from the pieces are directed towards organisations working to protect the animals.

“That’s our way of bringing the UAE into the brand, having fun with fashion, keeping it sustainable and then also giving back to the environment.”

Her team also created an AI film around the collection, imagining the animals' journey from their natural habitats into increasingly urban environments.

“In a playful way, we’re trying to educate the consumer too,” she says. “Be mindful of the endangered animals around you. We need to protect them. They’re a key part of our planet.”

There are lighter nods to the country too, including a tassel featuring the UAE flag colours and a small accessory inspired by the one-dirham coin.

For Maheshwari, it's a way of acknowledging the place where she was able to become an entrepreneur.

“It’s my small way of saying, bring the story in and actually highlight the story across different communities that don’t know about this.”

‘There are days I don’t want to think about’

The founder story, however, isn't all awards, clever materials and attractive handbags.

There are days when Maheshwari would quite happily forget she runs a company.

“There are days where you’re like, ‘Okay, this is just a day that I don’t want to think about,’” she admits.

The business has also had to navigate periods of global uncertainty when sectors such as fashion, hospitality and tourism have taken a hit.

What do you tell your team when customers aren't necessarily walking through the door?

“At this point we have to just keep positive, stay strong,” she recalls telling them. “If no one comes, that’s okay. Think of it as finding other ways to do other initiatives.”

At one point her team was scattered, and simply staying connected became important.

“Our Zoom was busy every day,” she says.

Around 80 per cent of the team is female, with three male colleagues.

“I’m proud to be surrounded by women,” Maheshwari says.

More importantly, she credits the team with sharing a common purpose even on difficult days.

“When those good days happen, you’re like, ‘Okay, yes, this is why we started this. This is why we have a mission to complete and a mission to keep going.’”

And when it gets too much? There’s Enzo

I ask Maheshwari the question that rarely makes it into glossy founder profiles.

What does she actually do when running a business becomes a nightmare?

Cry into a pillow?

“I mean, sometimes I’ve done that too,” she laughs.

But her real support system is closer to home.

“I’m very grateful for a very supportive husband who listens to me every day,” she says. Her parents and brother are part of that circle too.

And then there's Enzo.

“I also have a fur baby. His name is Enzo, so he’s a nice cuddle at the end of the day.”

A bad business day, apparently, can sometimes be improved by cuddling the dog.

“Everyone is meant to have bad days, no matter if it’s a business of your own or not,” she says. “But it’s funny, those little things that help you overcome in times of stress.”

For her, the biggest of those things isn't really little at all.

“Number one is people and your family around you. At least for me, they’re the number one strength.”

‘I’m trying to do my bit’

Maheshwari hopes the company she started in Dubai can eventually travel beyond the UAE and GCC.

“This problem is not a UAE problem, not a GCC problem,” she says.

But there's one grand claim she won't make.

Towards the end of our conversation, I ask whether she is, essentially, trying to save the planet one handbag at a time.

It's the kind of question that could produce a perfectly packaged entrepreneur quote.

Instead, she corrects the premise.

“I don’t want to say that I’m trying to save the planet,” Maheshwari says. “But I would like to believe that I’m trying to do my bit for the planet.”

Then she widens the thought beyond fashion.

“I think that if everyone starts doing their bit for the planet, the world can be a much better place.”

And perhaps that's the more compelling version of Angana Maheshwari's Dubai success story.

There was no master plan to transform fashion.

There was a woman looking for a work bag, discovering she couldn't find one that aligned with the way she wanted to consume, and deciding to see if she could build it herself.

Four years after launching the business, the ambition has grown. But Maheshwari's starting point remains remarkably simple. Buy more thoughtfully. Keep things longer. Question how they're made. And, as she puts it, do your bit.