Mumbai witnessed a glamorous evening as entrepreneur Ria Mandial celebrated the soft launch of her gifting app, GiftTara, alongside her birthday. The occasion brought together popular television celebrities for an evening of celebrations, marking an important milestone in Ria’s entrepreneurial journey.
The event was attended by Anita Raaj, Rohit Purohit, Samridhii Shukla, Adrija Roy, Shivam Khajuria, Nidhi Shetty, Varun Kasturia, Alka Kaushal, Romit Raaj, Mehul Nisar, Nishi Saxena, Sagar Parekh, Niyati Joshi, Aryan Arora, Sikander Kharbanda, Charushree Singh, Akshita Vatsayan, James Ghadge, Arshiya Sharma and Parth Samthaan, among others.
Ria’s husband, Rishi Mandial, who works as a director on Rajan Shahi’s popular television show Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, is also an important part of her personal journey. While Rishi is associated with the television industry, Ria is now exploring her passion for entrepreneurship with GiftTara, turning an everyday challenge into a business venture. The occasion was particularly special as the couple celebrated Ria’s birthday alongside the beginning of her new professional journey.
GiftTara aims to simplify gifting by bringing together options for birthdays, children’s return gifts, festive hampers, customised presents and corporate occasions. The idea emerged from a familiar dilemma: finding the right gift for every occasion.
Talking about the inspiration behind the app, Ria shared, “There are so many apps for different things, but when it comes to gifting, we still have to think so much about what to buy. Whether it is someone’s birthday, Valentine’s Day or children’s return gifts, we often struggle to find something different. As a mother, I understand this particularly well because children’s birthdays happen regularly at school, and parents are always looking for fresh gifting ideas.”
Interestingly, the idea came to Ria while organising her daughter’s grand 10th birthday celebration. After managing the arrangements, she realised that buying gifts was still on her to-do list. When her daughter asked why there wasn’t an app dedicated to gifting, the question stayed with Ria and eventually inspired GiftTara. Developing the concept took approximately two years, with new ideas and features gradually shaping the platform.
Explaining the app’s target audience, Ria said, “My primary target audience is schools and parents looking for return gifts for children between three and eight years of age. We also want to cater to festive hampers, corporate gifting and customised presents.”
The platform also aims to address the challenge of finding customised gifts in single pieces while offering flexible options for bulk orders.
Reflecting on her transition from acting to entrepreneurship, Ria said, “Business has always been my dream. I am much more passionate about it. Acting was a part of my journey, but building something of my own is what I truly wanted to pursue.”
Summing up her vision, she added, “GiftTara is all about ‘Your Celebration, Our Creation.’ You celebrate, and we create what you need.”
With its soft launch coinciding with Ria’s birthday, the evening marked a memorable beginning for the entrepreneur and her vision of making gifting more convenient, personalised and meaningful.
GiftTara — Your Celebration, Our Creation
