JOIN USFood can satiate a person not just through the mouth or tummy. It can be a source of comfort and warmth too, especially when it can be hugged. Food is now coming in the shape of fluffy pillows, thanks to a creative campaign called ‘Happy Bellies’.
This campaign is one of the few examples of how a small idea can go a long way and lead to big, bright results.
‘Happy Bellies’ sells huggable, soft toys shaped in ubiquitous and simple Indian cuisines. Breakfast items like ‘Dozing Dosas’, ‘Lil Idlies’ and ‘Aunty and Uncle Vada’ and street food such as ‘Superstar Samosa’, ‘Jolly Jalebi’ and ‘Pani Puri’ are some of the items which come in the form of pillows.
The entire campaign is planned and executed by two American expatriates, Jackie and Diana. Graduates from Ivy League institutes, the duo are currently the founders of a social enterprise called ‘Essmart’, which works to improve and empower villages through technology dissemination.
Their story started when they were exploring the country with their friends, hitting various destinations and enjoying the local dishes. When one of their friends exclaimed that idlies look like fluffy pillows, Jackie and Diana toyed with the idea for sometime and decided to execute the plan.
Diana says, “We have been working with Avantika, a City-based designer and graduate from Stanford University to finalise our designs for ‘Happy Bellies’, which involves exercises like measuring food with rulers and calipers. She helped us look for a local manufacturer too. We found a manufacturer in Bengaluru who makes stuffed toys and we made many rounds of prototypes. The materials are soft with either felt or embroidered facial features.”
Their campaign also comes with cards and weaves delicious stories and personalities around the items that they sell.
Their idea is tried and tested and has worked well so far. Jackie adds, “People thought the combination is hilarious and adorable and everyone wanted to buy one toy. Over time, with all these responses, we have realised that these toys might be in demand. We have been doing a lot of promotion through social media but we have also been working on on-ground promotion at Indian restaurants. Anyone who doubts these ideas usually comes around to see how cute they are.”
They are excited about the launch and have more ideas up their sleeve. Diana says, “We both love Indian food and in South India, we get a variety of it. We hope to share our love for food with others. Since it’s difficult to ship a ‘masala dosa’ through the Indian post, we have settled on an alternative medium — the plush toys.”
Jackie adds, “If all goes well, we have got many more ideas on how to build on this — such as new characters and crew in different shapes and sizes. We will also introduce new ones and maybe even add on a soft toy ‘sambhar and chutney’ to go with each toy.
The campaign will kickstart on October 5 and products can be bought in individual characters or crews from yourhappybellies.com. The proceeds of the campaign will go towards ‘Essmart’.