Anjni Singh's brand that brings style, function and a badass attitude to the sportswear industry.
Kali Active is a women's activewear brand inspired by intense workouts such as boxing, kickboxing, martial arts and spin. A brand that brings style, function and a badass attitude to the sportswear industry.
What was the inspiration behind starting Kali Active?
My inspiration was this growing demographic of women who were redefining and breaking stereotypes of what women's roles in society should be. Words like "strong', "fighter", "smart" and "fearless" are being normalized by these women and that just gave me motivation to explore what that was in the sportswear industry. I felt like there was more room to explore and celebrate these women from a brand perspective.
What excites you about the fashion industry?
I've been in this industry for a long time and even though I've seen it go through it's stages the current change in the past few years have been the most exciting. The innovation, technology and content story telling is really what's redefining it. I think the new ways of bringing product to market and the less is more mentality is also something I'm happy to see.
What are the opportunities and challenges when branching out into the contemporary woman's activewear space that Kali Active is in?
For Kali Active, the opportunity to have no real boundaries on how we came to market was something of getting used to for us. Not having to follow the traditional route of other fashion companies because we decided to go straight to consumer was great. Once we figured that out, it was better for us to focus on sales and content. Since we design boxing/kickboxing equipment as our main product, our biggest challenge is the boxing product industry as a whole. They are used to doing things a certain way and calling it a day. So having to get them to think about their process in a different way and embracing new innovations has been a big challenge.
Why do you think now is the time to be a female entrepreneur?
I remember when the financial crash happened and getting super angry about it. I had switched jobs a few times and it was pretty much the same mentality and the same type of men still leading these executive teams. It was frustrating. How about we try something new or give people who have some great ideas a chance at the table?! Something had to break and women embracing their own needs that were underserved in the market place was one of the catalysts to embrace more female entrepreneurs. I also think women motivate other women more and with the way social media is, it's easier to find that support system than before.
What do you envision for your future with Kali Active?
We are hoping to branch out more and really work to establish a full lifestyle brand. We want to keep building a community of strong and fearless men, women, and kids! One of the biggest motivators for us is to be in a position to help with more charities and programs. We like to embrace the "keep on fighting" attitude so we have to fight for the needs of people who really need that inspiration.