Before Vaibhav Global Limited (VGL) evolved into a multinational retailer offering affordable fine jewelry and natural and laboratory-grown diamonds, founder Sunil Agrawal made a decision that would redefine the company’s purpose: Every purchase would help feed a child in need. This simple idea, now known as Your Purchase Feeds, has since provided nearly 100 million meals and currently supports approximately 50,000 children per day, with a long-term goal to reach one million meals daily by 2040.
Agrawal’s professional roots trace back to Jaipur, India, historically one of the world’s leading centers for gemstone cutting and ethical jewelry manufacturing. Early in his career, he spent time in the city’s workshops and markets, observing artisans who relied on fluctuating export demand for their livelihoods. This experience highlighted a persistent disparity: The communities producing fine gemstones often remained economically distant from the markets that sold them. Agrawal responded with a reimagination of the traditional supply chain. Instead of relying on multiple intermediaries, he sought to build an end-to-end enterprise encompassing sourcing, cutting, manufacturing, broadcasting, and direct-to-consumer e-commerce.
Today, VGL employs more than 4,000 people worldwide and operates through Shop LC in the United States, The Jewellery Channel (TJC) in the United Kingdom, and Shop LC Germany in Europe. This integrated structure allows the company to maintain shorter supply chains, improve cost transparency, and preserve craftsmanship while offering more accessible pricing for consumers seeking affordable, high-quality jewelry (figure 1) and laboratory-grown diamond pieces. By consolidating operations, VGL not only streamlined production but also created steadier employment for artisans, protecting generational skills that are increasingly at risk of automation or outsourcing. The result is a dual-impact model: for consumers, increased transparency and affordability, and for artisans, stable employment and recognition for their craftsmanship.
The jewelry sector has long valued legacy, the transmission of skills, materials, and traditions from one generation to the next. Agrawal sought to expand this idea beyond the object itself. If jewelry marks life’s most meaningful moments, he reasoned, then part of its value should also sustain the communities that bring it to life. Out of this philosophy emerged Your Purchase Feeds. Instead of building a proprietary foundation, VGL partnered with established hunger-relief organizations that already had deep community reach and operational infrastructure. Key partnerships include Akshaya Patra in India, which provides large-scale school meals (figure 2); No Kid Hungry and Backpack Friends in the United States, addressing child hunger during weekends and holidays; and Magic Breakfast and The Felix Project in the United Kingdom, ensuring students start their day with nutritious meals. This partnership model allows VGL to measure direct outcomes, such as meals funded per item sold, creating a tangible link between commerce and community.
As global consumers increasingly align their purchasing behavior with ethical and social values, the definition of value within the jewelry sector continues to evolve. For some, value remains rooted in rarity and provenance. For others, it is now inseparable from purpose, sustainability, and accessibility. VGL’s case illustrates a shift toward integration over separation, positioning responsible practices as central to operations rather than peripheral initiatives. The company’s example underscores how vertical integration can simultaneously address efficiency, traceability, and social responsibility while helping consumers find affordable, ethically sourced jewelry with verified quality. This approach has also earned recognition within the broader business community. In recent years, VGL and its subsidiaries have been honored for sustainability and social impact, including the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s Bold Giver Award and the Community Catalyst Award at the 2025 Jewellery World Awards. In 2026, ShopLC was ranked 24th out of 125 top impact companies by Real Leaders.
Your Purchase Feeds reframes the relationship between luxury and responsibility, positioning nourishment—not just ornamentation—as part of jewelry’s value chain. For Agrawal and his team, the initiative is more than a corporate responsibility program; it is a guiding principle that merges commerce, compassion, and continuity, a model of what responsible retail and ethical jewelry sourcing can look like in the decades ahead.
Francesca Kennedy is head of public relations and corporate social responsibility at Shop LC in Austin, Texas.
Before Vaibhav Global Limited (VGL) evolved into a multinational retailer offering affordable fine jewelry and natural and laboratory-grown diamonds, founder Sunil Agrawal made a decision that would redefine the company’s purpose: Every purchase would help feed a child in need. This simple idea, now known as Your Purchase Feeds, has since provided nearly 100 million meals and currently supports approximately 50,000 children per day, with a long-term goal to reach one million meals daily by 2040.
Agrawal’s professional roots trace back to Jaipur, India, historically one of the world’s leading centers for gemstone cutting and ethical jewelry manufacturing. Early in his career, he spent time in the city’s workshops and markets, observing artisans who relied on fluctuating export demand for their livelihoods. This experience highlighted a persistent disparity: The communities producing fine gemstones often remained economically distant from the markets that sold them. Agrawal responded with a reimagination of the traditional supply chain. Instead of relying on multiple intermediaries, he sought to build an end-to-end enterprise encompassing sourcing, cutting, manufacturing, broadcasting, and direct-to-consumer e-commerce.
Today, VGL employs more than 4,000 people worldwide and operates through Shop LC in the United States, The Jewellery Channel (TJC) in the United Kingdom, and Shop LC Germany in Europe. This integrated structure allows the company to maintain shorter supply chains, improve cost transparency, and preserve craftsmanship while offering more accessible pricing for consumers seeking affordable, high-quality jewelry (figure 1) and laboratory-grown diamond pieces. By consolidating operations, VGL not only streamlined production but also created steadier employment for artisans, protecting generational skills that are increasingly at risk of automation or outsourcing. The result is a dual-impact model: for consumers, increased transparency and affordability, and for artisans, stable employment and recognition for their craftsmanship.
The jewelry sector has long valued legacy, the transmission of skills, materials, and traditions from one generation to the next. Agrawal sought to expand this idea beyond the object itself. If jewelry marks life’s most meaningful moments, he reasoned, then part of its value should also sustain the communities that bring it to life. Out of this philosophy emerged Your Purchase Feeds. Instead of building a proprietary foundation, VGL partnered with established hunger-relief organizations that already had deep community reach and operational infrastructure. Key partnerships include Akshaya Patra in India, which provides large-scale school meals (figure 2); No Kid Hungry and Backpack Friends in the United States, addressing child hunger during weekends and holidays; and Magic Breakfast and The Felix Project in the United Kingdom, ensuring students start their day with nutritious meals. This partnership model allows VGL to measure direct outcomes, such as meals funded per item sold, creating a tangible link between commerce and community.
As global consumers increasingly align their purchasing behavior with ethical and social values, the definition of value within the jewelry sector continues to evolve. For some, value remains rooted in rarity and provenance. For others, it is now inseparable from purpose, sustainability, and accessibility. VGL’s case illustrates a shift toward integration over separation, positioning responsible practices as central to operations rather than peripheral initiatives. The company’s example underscores how vertical integration can simultaneously address efficiency, traceability, and social responsibility while helping consumers find affordable, ethically sourced jewelry with verified quality. This approach has also earned recognition within the broader business community. In recent years, VGL and its subsidiaries have been honored for sustainability and social impact, including the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s Bold Giver Award and the Community Catalyst Award at the 2025 Jewellery World Awards. In 2026, ShopLC was ranked 24th out of 125 top impact companies by Real Leaders.
Your Purchase Feeds reframes the relationship between luxury and responsibility, positioning nourishment—not just ornamentation—as part of jewelry’s value chain. For Agrawal and his team, the initiative is more than a corporate responsibility program; it is a guiding principle that merges commerce, compassion, and continuity, a model of what responsible retail and ethical jewelry sourcing can look like in the decades ahead.
Francesca Kennedy is head of public relations and corporate social responsibility at Shop LC in Austin, Texas.
