Home building material platform Mistry.Store has launched a “sampling store on wheels” for building materials. The van would carry samples of building materials right to the doorstep of home-building professionals such as architects, interior decorators, builders, etc. The van would carry a wide range of samples from over 75 brands in the $25 billion home interior segment in India that reportedly employs over five million professionals. 

However, the company highlighted that the market continues to be extremely fragmented with problems like price opacity, counterfeit products, poor customer service and ad-hoc professional fees.  

“In line with our promise of simplifying building material purchases, we have launched this concept of a sampling van to make it easier for professionals to check and suggest products for their ongoing projects in and around the Delhi NCR region. In this phase the van will focus on core categories like boards and laminates, electricals and lights, sanitary and plumbing, hardware and plywood and will keep extending its categories,” said Vaibhav Poddar, co-founder of Mistry.Store.

At present, there will be samples ranging across more than eight categories, making it convenient for professionals to choose products in one go for their ongoing projects. To be able to get a sampling van, professionals need to book a slot for the same at their convenience through the centralised hotline number +91 80708 80707. Currently, there are no charges for booking the sampling van, the company said. 

Founded by Vaibhav Poddar and Bhanu Mahajan in 2022, Mistry.Store is a platform for all home building professionals, simplifying building material purchases. The start-up is backed by Waveform VC and Bharat Founders Fund along with marquee angel investors such as Maninder Gulati (OYO), Vasant Sridhar (co-founder, OfBusiness), Sumer Juneja (managing partner, SoftBank), Vikram Chopra (founder, Cars24), Rohit Kapoor (chief executive officer (CEO), Swiggy), Alok Mittal (founder, Indifi) and Sharad Goenka (chief operating officer (COO), Globalfaces) amongst others.