Advertisment

Mokobara addresses white labelling allegations with 10% discount using ‘WHITELABEL’ code

The former chief of staff responded by defending the brand's originality and intellectual property integrity amid the white-labelling allegations.

author-image
afaqs! news bureau
New Update
Mokobara

A direct-to-consumer (D2C) luggage brand Mokobara has addressed growing criticism after a social media influencer highlighted that visually similar bags were available on other e-commerce platforms at significantly lower prices, potentially manufactured in China.

Advertisment

Linkedin post

The controversy raised questions about whether Mokobara was “white labelling” Chinese-manufactured bags and reselling them at premium prices or if the cheaper alternatives were counterfeit.

In response, Mokobara took to X (formerly Twitter), stating: “While the world debates the chicken or the egg, we’re focused on what we do best – creating originals worth imitating.”

To turn the narrative, Mokobara announced the launch of its Moko x Naruto Series and introduced a 10 % “originality” discount using the code “WHITELABEL.”

Amid all this, the former chief of staff responded to this and said, he used to handle design, trademark, and other copyright registrations for the Bengaluru-based company. He said on LinekdIn, that the brand worked closely with one of India’s leading intellectual property (IP) law firms to ensure its designs and trademarks were legally protected. This meticulous process, they noted, often came at the expense of revenue and product launch timelines. 

"We spent months, delayed and even lost revenue to ensure everything was (and still is) done by the book," the statement read.

The former team member emphasised the challenges involved in creating ergonomic and functional products that resonate with consumers, contrasting the effort with the ease of white labelling. They detailed the exhaustive process behind Mokobara’s product development, which includes user testing, persona-based validation, material testing, and iterative improvements to ensure a superior user experience.

Building a D2C brand in India, the former employee noted, is fraught with difficulties. Indian consumers demand quality and value, making it challenging for startups to compete against established industry giants. 

The statement also addressed recent allegations against Mokobara, urging critics to verify claims through publicly available government design and trademark registration platforms before propagating misinformation.

“White-labelling is easy, but creating long-lasting, ergonomic, functional yet beautifully designed products is damn hard,” they said. “I personally feel attacked when my almost two years of hard work is frivolously targeted by folks who can’t even bother to search publicly available data.”

The statement concluded with a call to action for startups to focus on innovation and collaboration rather than bringing competitors down. The former employee lauded Mokobara’s ethos of being consumer-centric and expressed confidence in the brand’s continued pursuit of delivering value to its customers.

Mokobara
Advertisment