How Nasher Miles founder Abhishek Daga is building an Indian travel brand around design, value and the simple idea of being there for the customer
Introduction
There is something quietly personal about the things we carry while travelling.
A suitcase waits beside the door before a holiday begins. A backpack becomes part of college life. A cabin bag moves through airports, hotel lobbies and unfamiliar streets, collecting memories almost as naturally as photographs do. For Abhishek Daga, founder of Nasher Miles, this everyday relationship with luggage became the starting point for a larger question: why couldn’t a bag be something people genuinely enjoyed choosing and carrying?
That thought became Nasher Miles, an Indian travel brand built around colour, design, functionality and accessible value. What began with luggage has gradually expanded into a broader travel and lifestyle proposition, with Daga imagining a brand that becomes instinctive whenever someone says, “I’m travelling. I need a bag.”
Building for the traveller, not just the shelf
For Abhishek, the future of Nasher Miles is closely connected to understanding the person behind every purchase.
A first suitcase, a backpack for college, luggage for a family holiday or a bag for someone who travels every week, each represents a different lifestyle and a different expectation. The modern Indian traveller, he believes, wants both visual appeal and practical value.
That balance sits at the heart of his approach.
A suitcase can photograph beautifully, but its wheels also need to glide through an airport. A backpack can look distinctive, but it needs to fit seamlessly into everyday life. The product, ultimately, has to make sense once it leaves the screen or showroom and becomes part of someone’s journey.
For him, this is where listening becomes a form of innovation.
Customer reviews, conversations and experiences after purchase offer a continuous stream of insight. They reveal how people actually use a product, which details become meaningful and where there is an opportunity to make the next version even better.
Where instinct meets information
Entrepreneurship, for Abhishek, is not about choosing between intuition and data. It is about allowing both to have a place at the table.
Instinct can spark the idea: a colour, a silhouette, a new product possibility. Information then helps determine how far that idea should travel.
His preferred approach is to begin with a measured experiment, observe what customers choose, understand their response and then build with greater conviction. Inventory, cash flow and execution form an important part of that decision-making process.
There is a certain elegance in this philosophy: dream boldly, test thoughtfully and scale with understanding.
It is also reflective of how Daga’s own leadership has evolved.
From being everywhere to creating ownership
Like many founders, Abhishek began with his hands in almost every part of the business. Growth gradually changed that equation.
Today, his role is increasingly about identifying what deserves attention, helping the team focus and creating enough space for people to take ownership of their work.
The aspiration is simple: build an organisation where decisions can move forward with clarity, where teams have confidence in their responsibilities and where the founder’s presence strengthens the business without becoming its centre of gravity.
It is a shift from doing everything to building something that can move with many people.
The real currency of a brand
For Abhishek, brand loyalty ultimately comes down to trust.
A campaign may create curiosity. Design may inspire the first purchase. But the deeper relationship begins when the customer actually travels with the product.
And when they need assistance, that relationship becomes even more meaningful.
If a customer knows that the brand will be accessible, responsive and fair, a purchase can become familiar, and familiarity can become a recommendation. In this sense, loyalty is built one journey at a time.
Making longevity part of the sustainability conversation
Abhishek’s view of sustainability begins with something fundamental: make products that last.
Durability, repairability and replaceable components can influence the life of a product just as meaningfully as the materials used to create it. Helping customers select what genuinely suits their travel needs and offering guidance on maintaining their luggage can also encourage more conscious consumption.
For him, responsible branding also means being precise about sustainability claims, being able to clearly communicate what has been done and why it matters.
Building a brand people are proud to carry
Looking towards 2035, Abhishek sees technology and AI becoming increasingly influential in how consumers discover products and how brands understand design, inventory and demand.
Yet beneath all that innovation, he believes the fundamentals will remain beautifully familiar: a product should work well, offer genuine value and make the customer feel cared for.
Perhaps that is also the philosophy he wants Nasher Miles to carry into the future.
His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is equally uncomplicated: stay close to the customer, focus on what matters most, give ideas room to evolve and remain open to changing your mind.
And his own definition of legacy is refreshingly human.
He hopes people will remember Nasher Miles as a brand that made good bags and looked after the people who carried them. A brand that demonstrated how an Indian company could create travel products people felt proud to take around the world.
Because perhaps the most enduring brands are not simply the ones we buy.
They are the ones that quietly become part of where we are going.
-By Muskan Dengra
