Our Story
From a Tokyo idea to a global fashion group
Hula Global officially started in 2018 — but our journey began long before, in the headquarters of one of the world's largest fashion companies.
Est.
2018
"Success is not a straight line. Our journey from 2014 to today has been full of ups and downs — and add Covid to the mix, you have a story worth telling."
The foundation for Hula Global was laid in 2013, when our founder Karan Bose was working with Uniqlo at their Tokyo headquarters. Sitting inside one of the world's most disciplined fashion machines, Karan saw both how a great retail business runs — and the gap that existed back home.
He pitched the idea of launching Uniqlo in India in 2013. It didn't find many takers within the Fast Retailing board of directors. So Karan took matters into his own hands.
He moved back to India, started a fashion brand, and quickly realised the basic support functions for running a fashion brand — reliable sourcing, sampling, quality, manufacturing — were almost non-existent. That gap became Hula Global.
The Timeline
A decade in the making
2013
Inside Uniqlo, Tokyo
Karan Bose works at the Uniqlo / Fast Retailing headquarters in Tokyo and pitches the idea of launching Uniqlo in India. The board doesn't bite.
2014
Back home — first fashion brand
Karan moves back to India and starts his own fashion brand. A year in, the cracks in the supply side of Indian fashion become impossible to ignore.
2015
Trifuku is born
Karan builds Trifuku — a support backbone for fashion brands. Sourcing, sampling, manufacturing, the unglamorous infrastructure every brand needs.
2018
Hula Global, officially
Trifuku rebrands as Hula Global and starts consolidating sibling brands — Ultra Uniform, Tulip Digital and others — under one umbrella.
2020
Covid — and a reset
Like every garment business worldwide, we got thrown into the deep end. Hard year. We came out leaner, sharper, and a lot more international.
TODAY
A group, not a brand
Hula Global is now a group — Hula Global (manufacturing), Ultra Uniforms (workwear), Glam-brands (minority investments) and Pepper-fund (majority investments). Plus Masterclass & Bootcamp for the next generation of fashion founders.
The Hula Global Group
What sits under the umbrella
Today the group spans manufacturing, workwear, investment and education — four sides of the same fashion-industry coin.
Hula Global
The flagship — clothing manufacturing and supplier services for fashion brands worldwide.
Ultra Uniforms
Workwear and uniform manufacturing — built for the businesses that need their teams in the right kit, every day.
Glam-brands
Our minority-investment vehicle — backing emerging fashion brands we believe in with capital and operational support.
Pepper-fund
Majority-investment arm — taking controlling stakes in fashion businesses with breakout potential.
Giving back
Teaching the next wave
Everything we've learned the hard way — from a Tokyo board pitch to running a global manufacturing group — we now pass on to fashion founders through our Masterclass and Bootcamp programmes.
No fluff. No theory. Just the real, often messy reality of building a fashion brand that lasts.
What's next
Want to build your fashion brand with us?
Whether you need a manufacturing partner, want to join a programme, or are curious about how we work — we'd love to hear from you.