Pop culture consists of contemporary cultural ideas that are transmitted through mass media and aimed particularly at younger people. Though it is a very broad term, one usually associates it with fashion, music, and contemporary iconography. Now preferences may change with times, fashions and trends, but the thing that endures is a steadfast love for pop culture.
Aware of its immense popularity and potential, Siddharth Sood or MC SID as he is better known, launched Epic Stuff India in 2015, which is a platform catering to all things pop culture. It houses a large number of franchised brands to appeal to a wide variety of tastes and preferences. He says, “Our goal was to translate the essence of pop culture into products that are as innovative and distinctive as the licensed brand franchise itself. We strive to provide the best quality of cool products for pop culture fanatics, and along with that, our event decor and gifting collection provide customers with the best gifting experience for their loved ones. I felt a platform like this was necessary.”
With 15 years of experience in pop culture media, Sood started Epic Stuff by selling posters at college exhibitions. He was most inspired by his travels to New York City, particularly the Lower East Side and Williamsburg. The goal of this platform is to offer products that are an experiential extension of the brands that fans love. Epic Stuff is an official licensee of over 20 brands with a product portfolio that includes accessories, stationery, home, kitchen, and apparel. Currently, they are the leading officially licensed pop culture merchandise brand in India. Their sales growth in India has jumped 100 per cent year on year in the last two years. Exporting to international markets has yielded favourable results, and they are also the largest sellers on Amazon India and Comic Con India for licensed pop culture products.
Apart from this venture, Sood holds the distinction of being a popular and influential emcee and rapper under his chosen name MC SID. His particular brand of hosting is unique for being heavy on comedy and DJ beats. This makes him India’s first comedy rapper. His raps in English with a pinch of Hindi and Punjabi, consist of rib-tickling one-liners, and are much appreciated at corporate events and weddings. He has also created his own special brand of ‘team-building’ exercises called Comedy Rap, where he taps into the relaxing power of music by rapping with a percussionist for a wholesome experience. When asked about his unusual choice of profession, he says, “I chose this unconventional profession purely by mistake…I was part of the debating team in school and college and thoroughly enjoyed being on stage. One thing led to another, and I got the opportunity to be paid to have fun and do what I loved, hence decided to take it up as a profession!”
The concept of Epic Stuff ties in well with his persona. Further, his global exposure ensures that only the best merchandise is sold on his platform. One can access original merch featuring one-liners and characters from their favourite sitcoms and movies like Harry Potter/Game of Thrones/Friends or anything else. He adds, “This site is where you go when you have forgotten a really important birthday or anniversary and want to fake that you did not! You can also go a step further and send in an ‘epic quote’ to go along with your epic stuff. Say, you want to express your love (but not really…) to your secret crush? Or just want to let your homies or girl gang know how much they mean to you? Just browse through our collection of epic quotes on Instagram and become one of over 400k followers who have a witty slogan for every mood.”
Their most popular categories include stationery, home and kitchen products, and collectibles. They vary from bookmarks, notebooks, coffee mugs, and cushion covers to specifically themed collectibles like wands, maps, frames, etc.Epic Stuff delivers pan-India and has a strong distribution network across Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Chennai, and Bengaluru.
The next time you or someone dear to you wants to show off their allegiance to a particular pop culture theme, you know exactly where to look.
Noor Anand Chawla pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com. She can be reached on nooranand@gmail.com.