Building Linen Trail | Part 1: The Real Story

Every brand has a story. This is ours. The real version.

Why are we doing this series now?

 

After 11 years of building Linen Trail, it felt like the right time to open up. We’ve seen the highs, the lows, the mistakes, the small wins, and the moments that tested us. At this point, it’s safe to say we’ve seen most of it. And we know there’s still a lot more to come.

This series is our way of being vulnerable and honest about what it really takes to build a brand. We’re putting ourselves out there, open to questions, criticism, motivation, well wishes, and conversations because growth doesn’t happen in isolation.

So here’s the real story. No filters.

Linen Trail began in 2015 with a simple vision: to build a premium 100% pure linen brand from Kerala. Coming from a traditional retail textile background, the belief was clear, premium linen couldn’t be sold online.

An early suggestion to go digital-first was brushed aside. Instead, the brand expanded into 8 franchise stores across 6 cities. When sales didn’t take off, we doubled down opening exclusive outlets in Thrissur in 2018) and later on MG Road, Kochi in 2019.

Great locations. Big hopes. But sales still didn’t scale. Costs kept rising. Losses followed.

Then came Covid.

The stores shut down. What remained was ₹5 lakhs, after nearly ₹10 crore had already gone into the brand.

That moment forced a reset and changed the direction of Linen Trail completely.

This series will take you through what happened next, what we unlearned, and how we’re continuing to build knowing fully well that growth comes with new hurdles, and we’re ready for them.