Partially sticky, elastic and non-breakable glue toys called slimes are super fun to play with. When Avi Natesan saw the craze for slimes in the U.S, she couldn’t wait to experiment and make her own slimes back in her hometown, Chennai.
A first year Computer Science student at SSN College, Avi, 17, started her first business earlier this year. Called ‘The Slime Space’, the youngster manufactures in her small workstation at home, colourful and new kinds of slimes for sale. “The liquid substance is actually a mixture of glue and borax and other different things that give it new textures and colours. I wanted to make it safe and organic as children will play with them a lot. I can’t reveal my secret ingredients, but the slimes I make are tested and safe for use!” exclaims Avi.
Cool whip
Starting off by promoting her business in her apartment, Avi found that not just the kids, but their parents liked the idea of slime too. It helped them relieve their stress and take their mind off things.
“When I knew that it wasn’t a toy just for kids, I started an Instagram page, ‘the .slime.space’, through which I got a lot of orders. Then I created my own website to promote it further to non-instagram users,” she adds.
Gold splash
Being the first online slime seller in India, she delivers pan India with a delivery charge of Rs 50, for all Indian states. “I am planning to make the Cash on Delivery option available soon!” she adds.
Avi’s slimes can be customised. “You can specify the mixture of colours and textures you need or choose from the options on the website. Cool whip that smells of the ocean breeze, crushed cherries, lavender swirls and clear slime that smells like bubble gum are the few popular ones. I also add scents like chocolate, peppermint, strawberry, apple, vanilla and more. The scents are according to the colours you choose and every time you squish and squeeze and pull your slime, the scents will fill the air around you. They last for a good few months,” Avi reveals.
Unlike other slimes, Avi’s products come with a clear instructions page too! Stating that the slimes need to be stored properly after playing, she adds that they are short-lived and the scents will vanish if kept for too long in the open. “Ifyour slimes become hard or something, all you need to do is put them in hot water and they’ll be back to their form!”she says.
Crushed cherries
Talking about the challenges of setting up a business at such an early age, Avi shares, “Sometimes no one believes you even when you’re serious. You have a hard task of making them understand and since slimes are an unusual idea for a business, I did research about getting the right combination of products and ended up wasting many resources. At first I had to do all the jobs — making the slimes, packing, shipping and accounting. Now my family helps. I just manufacture them and keep innovating!”
Also delivering in bulk for birthday parties and events, Avi shares that it is a fun way to keep the party lively. The smell soothes and it is a distraction from the mundane things. She also plans to introduce shower jellies and more interesting twists to the concept soon.
