TURNING HEADS. Alpana Parida, founder of designer helmet brand Tvarra

Pivots have transformed the fates of several companies. It certainly saved Alpana Parida’s helmet start-up from a big crash. Parida, a well-known marketing professional with stints at Singer, Tanishq and Future Brands’ design firm DY Works (which she led), plunged into entrepreneurship some six years ago with a company called Tiivra Ventures to produce high-performance, composite fibre helmets for serious bike riders. But the making cost was too steep to sustain sales in the niche segment. She then pivoted to producing stylish and safe helmets for women and children riding pillion.

“If I had not already finished it, my book would definitely have had this case in it,” exclaims Tata Play CEO Harit Nagpal, an early investor in Parida’s startup and the author of Pivot. He says he knew little about helmets but knew Alpana well and invested in the person, rather than the idea. “If you invest in the person, you know they will steer the company well or, when it hits an obstacle, re-steer it,” he says. Parida confesses that in December 2024 she was staring at failure until her focus pivoted to the pillion rider.

From Tiivra to Tvarra

“Every time I went into a helmet shop, I would wonder where was the women’s helmet? Even when available they would be made from the men’s moulds — the shapes were not right,” she says. She thought of focusing on women’s helmet but realised the market was small, with just 20-30 lakh women two-wheeler owners. “Then I thought of the pillion rider and the market suddenly became 30 crore plus,” she says.

The catch, however, was that most pillion riders were buying cheap helmets just to stay within the law, not focusing on safety. “This was a big market, a white space and a problem worth solving,” she says. Creating a new brand, Tvarra, Parida set out to unlock the market through design and marketing innovations.

To start with, Tvarra helmets are like fashion accessories — in vibrant colours with eye-catching designs and floral motifs. They are convenient, aesthetic and safe. She solved for common problems women face when wearing helmets — such as providing notches for earrings, which otherwise get jammed in a regular helmet. A range of accessories, such as matching arm sleeves, funky coloured helmet locks, scarves or balaclavas to keep hair unruffled (soon to be launched) show that beauty and safety can be companions. There’s a tiny pocket within the helmet for an ‘intention card’. “We ask women to write their intention and ride with it,” says Parida.

Incidentally, Tvarra’s logo has two butterflies (the two Rs are shaped like wings) to denote someone taking flight. “Because if you think of the moment a girl sits on a scooter and the agency she has, it’s that moment of genuinely taking flight,” explains Parida. The tagline “wear a little magic” is pushed home through compelling storytelling.

Content, community

Parida says she has absorbed many lessons from the people she has worked or studied with. From Falguni Nayar, her IIM-Ahmedabad classmate, she learnt that content and community are crucial to building a brand. Incidentally, it was Parida who coined the brand name Nykaa. “Content and community is what built Nykaa. That’s what I am doing at Tvarra too,” she says.

From CaratLane and its Founder Mithun Sacheti (he is an investor in Parida’s startup), she has imbibed a collection-based approach. “The fact that in the jewellery category, where there are huge numbers of products, CaratLane broke it down with a collection-based approach, creating stores with minimal products but lots of storytelling, was inspiring,” she says. So Tvarra helmets are grouped into collections with attractive names like Dreamcatcher, Blossom, Lotus, Daisy, Lilt and Flora.

While the D2C brand relies on online channels, including quick commerce, Parida has thought creatively about offline distribution.

The kids’ helmets are distributed at bookstores (Crossword) rather than scooter showrooms to catch the eye of parents shopping with their kids. The storytelling and positioning is one where men will gift the women and children in their life the helmet to keep them safe. The brand film echoes this, heroing such men. With cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues recently padding up for Tvarra as investor-partner, Parida’s venture is now on the fast lane.

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Published on May 4, 2026