On August 12th, I went to “Azadi Mela”, an event showcasing different pop-up stores, some of them focusing on cultural products. This event took place at the Lahore Heritage Club in honor of Pakistan’s upcoming independence day which is on August 14th. At the event, I met and interviewed Tehreem Ahmed, the Chief Executive Officer of Soz and Andaz by Soz. Soz is an Urdu language based stationery brand whereas Andaz by Soz is a sister brand by the same parent company which celebrates Urdu poetry on clothes.
Ms. Ahmed started this brand knowing that there were people who wanted to see Urdu-themed stationery. Today, Soz attracts customers who are not even interested in Urdu but are attracted to Urdu-themed products, given the contemporary yet traditional touch of Soz’s products.
I asked Ms. Ahmed, “What advice would you give to people who wish to contribute to the reclamation/promotion of Pakistan’s culture/Urdu language through products?” She said to me that more people should contribute to the space of making Pakistani culture and poetry accessible, given that there is a high demand for products as long as the products are of good quality. She mentioned that due to high shipping costs, the percentage of international orders is currently low, as shipping cost exceeds the cost of the products themselves.
Overall, Ms. Ahmed has received a promising response on her products and strongly believes that there is untapped potential in this market, not only from the perspective of a business opportunity, rather, an opportunity to revive the passion for Pakistan’s culture and language in a meaningful way.
