From Immigrant to Entrepreneur: The White Mulberry's Story of Empowering Women
Female Founder Story
Welcome to The White Mulberry, your go-to online gifting platform for high-quality, artisan gifts.
The White Mulberry - Who We Are
Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, we are an online marketplace featuring an ever-growing range of artisan products for corporate gifting and personal shopping.
But besides being a platform that brings you beautiful gifts year-round, we are also a community of makers and creatives, and we're so excited you're here!
Although we've been in the gifting business for a while, and we've shared our origin story many times with friends and new acquaintances, or in speeches at business events, it's time we share our story with you, our wonderful customers (past, present, and future!).
Without further ado, here it is! From Immigrant to Entrepreneur: The White Mulberry's Story of Empowering Women
How The White Mulberry Was Born
The White Mulberry is more than just an online marketplace and corporate gifting platform; it's a community that was built by immigrants, for immigrants + other women feeling isolated at home.
Founder & CEO Tanu Pant arrived to California from India years ago and faced the challenges many immigrants encounter: cultural differences, language barriers, and limited connections.
With a small child to raise and unable to work professionally due to visa restrictions, Tanu struggled with the desire to follow her dreams, many of which she felt she'd given up when she left both her home and her professional career behind.
As she navigated these personal struggles, she worked to make connections where and how she could. She started talking to other stay-at-home moms in her neighborhood, connecting with them over shared experiences and discovering a common thread.
Here's what she found: while they were all very talented in their own ways, they hesitated to go out and explore the possibilities due to the many doubts, fears, and lack of connections in a strange, new country.
As she started to think about possible solutions to these problems, the idea of The White Mulberry began to take shape as a way to address the specific challenges faced by immigrant women.
It would be a platform that empowered talented stay-at-home moms, many of them immigrants navigating a new life, to utilize their skills and achieve their aspirations.
A Supportive Community of Makers
The White Mulberry isn't just about selling products - even though we excel at creating unique gifts in bulk or one-by-one! - we have always been and continue to be all about community.
From the very beginning, founder Tanu has worked tirelessly in The White Mulberry to bring together women who wanted to do more - more with their creativity, more with their talents, and more to achieve financial independence.
Even during the covid pandemic, Tanu was able to help support over 50 makers make ends meet for their families as she pivoted the business to sewing and providing handmade masks (you can read more about how the White Mulberry has evolved on our blog!)
As a company that puts people first, we strive to connect customers with talented makers in their local communities and around the globe through the power of handmade gifts.
Within our own community of makers, we strive to offer guidance, encouragement, and a network of supportive women who share similar experiences of not feeling able to pursue their dreams due to family and other commitments.
Tanu's story, and the story of The White Mulberry, is one of resilience, community, and a commitment to empowering immigrant women.
Together, we at the The White Mulberry have blossomed to create a corporate gifting platform featuring handcrafted products by small businesses from around the world.
Our unique selection of handcrafted gifts is brimming with thoughtful intention and emotional connection – a stark contrast to the mass-produced items that too-often dominate online marketplaces.
This is one of the many things we are proud of at The White Mulberry - the intentionality behind our gifting and what we are building.
Corporate Gifting Platform
Why "The White Mulberry"
There's so much power in a name, and there's almost always a story behind the name. The name of our company, The White Mulberry, is no exception.
The story behind our company name is one that Tanu says never lets her forget why she started the business.
Silk - one of the world's most desirable fabrics and a key element of our economy over the centuries - is produced by the humble silkworm, a talented creature that works tirelessly to give us its beautiful creation.
Despite its hard work and the luxurious material it creates for people to enjoy, the highly skilled silkworm is never thought of, always forgotten.
But here's the thing. The industrious silkworm only needs one thing to thrive - the white mulberry tree, whose leaves it feeds on exclusively to sustain itself.
Our organization’s mission is exactly that - to be the nourishing force for the ladies in our community, providing them with the resources and support they need to flourish and their gifts with the world.
Together, we are The White Mulberry.
We invite you to join us on our journey: explore our collection of unique, handmade gifts crafted with love, support our talented makers, and celebrate the irreplaceable contributions of immigrant women in our society.
