About Mela
Indian brands, found for you
Mela is a curated home for proven Indian brands with real export experience. We look for the labels India already loves, across fashion, home, beauty, jewelry and kids, and bring them together in one place for shoppers in the US.
Browse them here. Buy from the brand itself.
How it works
Discover
Explore brands and pieces on Mela. Save the ones you like so you can find them again.
Click through
When you're ready, we send you to that brand's own store.
Buy from the brand
Checkout, shipping, returns and customer service all happen with the brand.
Mela doesn't sell products, take payments, or ship orders.
What we check
We look for brands that are proven in India and have real export experience: they already know how to get an order to a customer abroad.
On each brand's page, you'll find that brand's own US shipping cost and whether its prices include US import duties. These are the brand's policies, not ours, and we take them from the brand's own store.
Where we don't know something yet, we say so. We'd rather tell you that than guess.
Why Mela exists
I buy a lot from India. Most of it still reaches me the old way: packed into a suitcase on the way back from a visit home.
It isn't because the brands aren't good. India's independent labels are making some of the most beautiful, modern things anywhere right now. But reaching shoppers on the other side of the world is hard for a small brand. I've watched friends spend real money on Instagram ads and see almost nothing come back.
And when a shopper does find one of these brands, the name rarely sticks. Ask my friends where they got a kurta they love, and the answer is often "some small brand on Instagram." They loved it. They can't find it again.
Mela is my answer to both problems: one place to discover modern Indian brands, and to find them again. Along the way, I want to learn what actually helps these brands reach US shoppers, and share it openly.
You probably know where to look for something handmade. I want Mela to be the place you go for modern Indian brands.
Who's behind it
Mela is a personal project by Sanjot Sawhney. Brands don't pay to be featured.
Get in touch
Have a question about Mela, or a brand you think we should feature? Email us at shopatmela@gmail.com.
For anything about an order, contact the brand directly. They handle it from checkout to delivery.
Browse the brands