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SILK THRILL
I got the idea for my £2 million side hustle in Primark – it started in my childhood bedroom, now I’ve quit my law job
Sofia Panwar has turned her initial £5,000 investment into £2 million of profit in just three years
BROWSING through Primark’s lingerie section in 2020, Sofia Panwar had no idea that this moment would spark her multi-million pound business.
The 27-year-old, who was once a self-styled “basic girl” when it came to underwear, was buying her first colourful matching bra and pants set.
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When she tried it on in the mirror at home, her confidence skyrocketed and she felt “absolutely unreal” - something she “hadn’t felt for a long time”.
Sofia spent the next year growing her personal underwear collection with matching sets, to fuel her newfound body positivity.
And in that time she noticed a gap in the market: there were no monthly lingerie subscription services in the UK delivering this confidence straight to women's’ doors.
With £5,000 and a mission to redefine self care, she founded Unndr.
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The brand is a lingerie subscription service that sends out a new bra and knickers set every month or quarter for £37 - or you can buy the sets on their own after the release for £45.
Sofia, from London, wanted to create a brand that was part of womens' self-care rituals and encouraged them to embrace their confidence and individuality for themselves; not for anyone else.
In just two years of trading, Unndr has accrued over 4,000 monthly subscribers.
It made a whopping £1.2 million in revenue last year and is set to make over £2 million this year - “and that’s me being respectful with the growth”, Sofia says.
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The brand was launched in 2022 with £5,000 - some of which was savings from Sofia’s nine to five paralegal job and some of which was borrowed from her boyfriend.
“That’s a lot of money to play around with,” she tells Fabulous for our exclusive series, Bossing It.
I have a £47 million business - and it all started with posting bikini pics at age 22
“It was scary, I'll be honest.”
The money was injected into the company over the space of three months, and it was spent on stock, branding and packaging.
Amid the tumult of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sofia noticed that women were turning inward for comfort and care, as well as adopting new rituals to keep them sane throughout the various lockdowns.
“We were all really focused on self care because we were all in our homes, and we didn't have anything else to do,” she recalls.
Sofia's Top 5 Business Tips
- Get your trademark sorted for your brand name, concept and logo early on
- Understand your branding - including brand colours, fonts and symbols - as it will help you map out the best way to portray your business to the world
- Put yourself out there on social media and try not to care what people think
- Make sure your first hire is someone in customer service who can filter through the negativity without it directly affecting you
- Don't rush the launch of your brand. Instead, make sure that product is perfect, because once you've nailed that product, you'll get loyal customers
“I was just spending so much money on self care products and really just becoming that best version of myself.”
The catalyst for Unndr was a random trip to Primark in 2020.
Sofia was a self-styled “basic girl” who opted for plain black and white bras before the pandemic struck.
But one day when restrictions had lifted, she headed to Primark and decided to pick up a colourful lingerie set from the affordable fashion giant.
Feeling underrepresented was such a pain point for me throughout my life - and I think those experiences have crafted quite a nice way of how we do Unndr
Sofia Panwar
“I put it on for myself when I got home, and I was like, ‘oh, my God! I feel absolutely unreal right now”,” she tells.
“I felt over the moon, and so confident.
"It was something I hadn’t felt for a long time in my own body.”
Unbeknownst to Sofia, that Primark trip was going to define her career as an entrepreneur.
The Unndr Dog
As her personal lingerie collection grew, Sofia came to the realisation that there wasn’t a brand delivering weekly sets to women’s front doors - AND encouraging them to just wear lingerie for themselves.
“I just felt that in this world of lingerie, it’s never really marketed for buying it for yourself,” she says.
“It's always like, ‘buy this to impress your partner’ or for other reasons.”
Sofia spent four years of her life chasing a law degree in hope of a high-flying corporate career as a paralegal.
Being an entrepreneur was never what I intended to do for a lot of my life. During childhood and growing up, I was very much in the mindset of going into a 9 to 5 style of career
Sofia Panwar
But when the work became gruelling and she had unlocked her passion for lingerie, she quit to pursue Unndr.
In fact, the now-seven-figure empire was started in her childhood bedroom at her parent’s house.
“Being an entrepreneur was never what I intended to do for a lot of my life,” Sofia recalls.
“During childhood and growing up, I was very much in the mindset of going into a 9 to 5 style of career."
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Sofia adds: “I come from a South Asian background, and I think it's quite expected in the culture to go into a career that's going to give you some kind of stability.
“Business is kind of the complete opposite of that, in the sense it's risky.”
Overcoming Adversity
Sofia’s Indian heritage has also fuelled how she runs her multi-million pound business.
The entrepreneur remembers feeling underrepresented as a young girl when she would go shopping, which has sparked a fully inclusive marketing strategy and e-commerce function at Unndr.
“I almost felt that I wasn't kind in society for my skin tone,” she says.
“So, I knew that when I then started this business, being inclusive with sizing and models and all the rest of it was something that was going to be at the forefront.
I almost felt that I wasn't kind in society for my skin tone growing up. So, I knew that when I then started this business, being inclusive was something that was going to be at the forefront
Sofia Panwar
“Feeling underrepresented was such a pain point for me throughout my life.
"And I think those experiences have crafted quite a nice way of how we do Unndr.”
This message clearly resonates with thousands of women, as Sofia recalls the brand going viral for months in a row at the start of her journey.
So much so, that she was even unable to keep up with the demand at times.
Over N Out
In the early days of Unndr, Sofia was running the entirety of the business from her childhood bedroom in her parents' home.
Orders would be fulfilled from the table in her parents' dining room, or even at the bottom of the stairs when space was of the essence.
"At one point my mum was like, 'when are you moving out? Because your stock is taking over the whole house'," Sofia jokes.
Now, Unndr has a fulfillment centre in Bristol and an office in London, which Sofia took a lease out on in August this year.
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It hasn't all been plain sailing to success, though.
In 2022, Sofia found herself embroiled in a tricky legal battle as someone tried to copy her brand.
Now, she urges any new business founders to always trademark their branding and concepts to save themselves “a lot of back and forth” from brand thieves.
When asked how Unndr stands out amongst fast fashion giants, Sofia chalked the brand’s success up to its “storytelling”.
I think us women in business, we've got such a story to tell
Sofia Panwar
“On social media, we do a real build up and generate hype towards what that next set is going to be.
“We give it a theme… And I think it becomes so hyped on social media that people just want to be a part of it.”
October featured a lacy navy set with sparkly silver hardware inspired by the city lights of New York, while November’s set has been teased on Instagram with beige and white hues to mark the incoming cosy season.
In the future, Sofia sees Unndr becoming a household name and having a physical shop in London for her customers to come in and browse, as well as receive their monthly boxes.
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"I think us women in business, we've got such a story to tell," Sofia says.
"I think we've got such an important platform to use and I think just leverage it as much as you can is important."
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