D2C unicorn Mamaearth made its debut on the Indian stock exchange NSE with a nearly 2% premium. The shares were listed at INR 330, marking a listing gain of INR 6 over the issue price of INR 324.

On the BSE, Mamaearth shares listed flat at INR 324.

During the initial hours of trading, Mamaearth shares reached INR 337.60 per share but later settled at INR 331.45 on NSE. The company currently boasts a market capitalisation of $1.28 Bn.

Honasa Consumer Limited (HCL), the parent company of Mamaearth, allocated 2.36 Cr equity shares to anchor investors, raising INR 765.2 Cr as part of its initial public offering (IPO).

The IPO, however, had a lukewarm response on its first day, with a subscription rate of just 0.13X. BSE data shows that the issue received bids for 36.25 lakh shares out of the 2.88 Cr shares on offer. Notably, the portion reserved for employees was oversubscribed by 1.98X by the end of the day, with employees bidding for 67,344 shares against the 34,013 shares available.

On the final day of the public issue, the IPO was oversubscribed by a significant 7.61X due to strong interest from qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). It received bids for 22 crore shares compared to the 2.89 crore shares on offer.

Early-stage investors have profited handsomely from the listing. At the upper end of the listing price (INR 324), Snapdeal cofounders Rohit Bansal and Kunal Bahl are set to realise returns of almost 101X on their initial investment, while actor Shilpa Shetty is expected to see returns of 7.74X.

Among angel investors participating in Mamaearth’s OFS segment, the most significant winner appears to be Sharrp Ventures’ Rishabh Mariwala. He is projected to reap a windfall of INR 181.23 Cr at the peak listing price, resulting in a return of more than 53X on his initial investment of INR 6.05 per share. After the sale, he will still hold 34.2 lakh shares collectively valued at INR 110.81 Cr.

Speaking on the startup’s listing on the bourses today, Prashanth Tapse, senior VP research analyst at Mehta Equities, said, that the flat listing was in line with the brokerage’s expectation.

“…though risky investors feel the price is good for long-term as the business model has high potential of growth, we would continue to remain cautious on Mamaearth on the back of the loss-making nature of the business, high portion of OFS, high competition with margin pressure, low promoter stake, and weak financials which suggest a cautionary stand as historical listings with high valuations have often faced post-listing challenges,” Tapse added.

Mamaearth was founded by a husband-wife duo in 2016 and has since expanded to own multiple brands under the parent company, Honasa Consumer. The startup owns four beauty and personal care brands, including The Derma Co., Ayuga, Aqualogica, and Dr. Sheth’s.

Mamaearth has stated that the proceeds from the fresh issue will be used to strengthen marketing efforts, enhance brand visibility, establish new exclusive brand outlets, and expand the network of BBlunt salons.

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Reliance-owned ecommerce platform AJIO has launched a content-driven interactive ecommerce platform, AJIOGRAM. The ecommerce major will onboard 200 D2C fashion startups from India on its newly launched platform.

AJIOGRAM is available within the main AJIO app, and users can access it by switching to it from within the parent app. It would be an immersive experience for customers, with recommendations from influencers and celebrities, the company said in a release.

AJIO will also assist and offer dedicated support to the D2C brands onboarded to AJIOGRAM to scale and achieve their strategic revenue growth. The Reliance-owned company will provide a brand-centric approach wherein brands get higher visibility with an immersive discovery experience to showcase their styles on a customisable brand store within the platform.

Further, the ecommerce major will also help D2C startups with long-term brand-building support, seamless integration with AJIO’s influencer ecosystem, and access to Reliance-owned media properties and offline events. 

Commenting on the launch, Vineeth Nair, CEO of AJIO, said, “The emerging new generation of shoppers seeks more than just a product from the brand; they seek a vision and a purpose. Over the past few years, the Indian D2C revolution has produced numerous brands that have aced innovative and mindful fashion. AJIOGRAM will bring these brands under one umbrella, helping them scale and accelerate their growth while leveraging AJIO’s seamless shopping experience. With this initiative, we aim to empower the next 100 fashion startups to emerge from India.”

AJIOGRAM claims to have onboarded brands such as Urban Monkey, Supervek, Quirksmith, KRÁ Life, Creatures of Habit, Cecil, Truser, Fancypants, MIDNIGHT ANGELS BY PC, Monks of Method and Crafts and Glory, among others.

AJIO’s move comes as ecommerce players in India have shifted to include more content-led experiences on their platforms. For instance, Myntra recently launched FWD, a separate platform within the larger app to showcase more everyday, affordable and modern lifestyle brands focussed on GenZ.

The Flipkart-owned brand also launched Myntra Minis, a short video platform to enhance user engagement and further improve the shopping experience for its customers.

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D2C unicorn Mamaearth’s public issue was oversubscribed 7.61X on the last day of its initial public offering (IPO) on Thursday (November 2) on the back of huge demand from qualified institutional buyers (QIBs).

The issue received bids for 22 Cr shares as against 2.89 Cr shares on offer. The bids by QIBs accounted for 82% of the total bids.

While 1.57 Cr shares were on offer for the QIB category, it received bids for 18.11 Cr shares and was oversubscribed 11.5X. In that, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) placed bids for 14.88 Cr shares.

On the other hand, the non-institutional investors’ (NIIs) category was oversubscribed 4.02X at the end of the last day. Of the 78.72 Lakh shares on offer for the category, it received bids for 3.17 Cr shares. 

However, retail investors seemed the least interested in Mamaearth’s IPO. The portion reserved for them was oversubscribed by only 1.35X. Retail investors placed bids for 70.67 Lakh shares as against 52.48 Lakh shares on offer for the category.

At the end of day 2, the retail investors’ portion was subscribed 0.62X, QIBs quota was oversubscribed 1.02X, and the NIIs portion had the lowest subscription at 0.09X.

At the end of day 3, the employees’ portion was subscribed 4.88X, receiving bids for 1.65 Lakh shares.

Mamaearth’s IPO opened on Tuesday (October 31). The startup plans to raise up to INR 1,700 Cr via its IPO at a valuation of $1.2 Bn. 

Mamaearth’s public issue comprises a fresh issue of shares worth INR 365 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of 4.12 Cr shares. The IPO price band was set at INR 308-INR 324 per share.

Founded in 2016 by the husband-wife duo of Varun and Ghazal Alagh, Honasa Consumer, the parent of Mamaearth, retails other beauty and personal care brands including The Derma Co., Ayuga, Aqualogica and Dr Sheth’s. 

Post its listing, the company would become the fifth new-age tech startup after ideaForge, Yudiz, Zaggle, and Yatra to go public this year. Among these companies, the public issue of drone startup ideaForge saw the highest subscription at 106X. Shares of ideaForge got listed on the BSE at a 94% premium to the issue price. 

Mamaearth reported a net loss of INR 151 Cr in FY23 due to a one-time loss. The loss, along with the high OFS portion in the public issue, raised concerns in some quarters about the success of the IPO.

Some analysts also raised concerns on the valuation of the startup. 

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D2C unicorn Mamaearth’s public issue picked up pace on Day 2 of the initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday (November 1) and was subscribed 0.7X. The issue received bids for 2.01 Cr shares as against 2.88 Cr shares on offer. 

On Day 1, the issue was subscribed a mere 0.13X. 

The issue saw heavy interest from qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), with the quota reserved for them oversubscribed 1.02X on the second day. It received bids for 1.61 Cr shares as against 1.57 Cr shares on offer. Mamaearth has reserved the highest number of shares for this category.

Meanwhile, the portion reserved for retail investors was subscribed 0.62X, getting bids for 32.34 Lakh shares as against 52.48 Lakh shares on offer.

The employee portion continued to lead the charts and was oversubscribed at 3.19X. It received bids for 1.08 Lakh shares as against 34,013 shares on offer.

The non-institutional investors’ (NIIs) category received bids for 6.89 Lakh shares as against 78.72 Lakh shares reserved for them. The portion saw the lowest subscription at 0.09X.

The public issue will close on November 2. 

Mamaearth has set the price band of the public issue in the range of INR 308-INR 324. The beauty and personal care brand plans to raise up to INR 1,700 Cr through the IPO at  a valuation of $1.2 Bn. 

Mamaearth’s public issue comprises a fresh issue of shares worth INR 365 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of 4.12 Cr.

Earlier, Mamaearth secured INR 765.2 Cr from anchor investors through allocation of 2.36 Cr shares. 

Founded in 2016 by husband-wife duo Varun and Ghazal Alagh, Honasa Consumer, the parent of Mamaearth, retails a range of beauty and personal care products under brands such as Mamaearth, The Derma Co., Ayuga, Aqualogica and Dr Sheth’s. It also operates a chain of salons under the name BBlunt, which it acquired early last year.

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Honasa Consumer Limited (HCL), the parent company of the D2C unicorn Mamaearth, has allocated 2.36 Cr equity shares to anchor investors, raising INR 765.2 Cr as part of its initial public offering (IPO).

Honasa, whose IPO is opening tomorrow (October 31), said in a regulatory filing on Monday (October 30), “…in consultation with Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited, Citigroup Global Markets India Private Limited, JM Financial Limited and J.P. Morgan India Private Limited (“Book Running Lead Managers”), have finalised allocation of 23,617,228 equity shares to anchor investors at anchor investor allocation price of INR 324 per equity share (including share premium of INR 314 per equity share).”

The company allocated the equity shares to 49 anchor investors, including Fidelity Funds, ICICI Prudential FMCG Fund, Whiteoak Capital, DSP India Fund, and several others.

Seven domestic mutual funds, including Aditya Birla Sun Life and Axis Mutual Fund, applied through a total of 19 schemes for the anchor portion.

Mamaearth filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in December last year. It filed its RHP on October 23, 2023.

The company’s IPO includes a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to INR 365 Cr or $44 Mn. It also includes an offer for sale (OFS) component of 4.12 Cr shares, which would see key shareholders including Kunal Bahl, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, and Rishabh Harsh Mariwala offloading their stakes.

The IPO will close on November 2. 

Mamaearth has set the IPO price band at INR 308-INR 324. It is targeting a valuation of about $1.2 Bn through the IPO.

Founded in 2016 by the husband-wife duo of Varun and Ghazal Alagh, Mamaearth’s parent Honasa’s brands also include The Derma Co., Aqualogica, and Ayuga, and acquired stakes in BBlunt and Dr. Sheths.

However, even after the major bloodbath that the loss-making publicly listed startups faced last year, Mamaearth is taking the IPO route while being in the red. The company reported a net loss of INR 151 Cr in FY23 as against a net profit of INR 14.4 Cr in FY22 due to an exceptional loss.

Speaking on the IPO, Prashanth Tapse, senior VP of research at Mehta Equities said that new investors should be cautious as the IPO includes fresh share issuance of INR 365 Cr and a low promoter stake of 37.41%. 

“Conservative investors may wait and watch, while risk-takers can consider long-term investment for potential growth. However, the IPO appears to be overvalued in the current market conditions, and historical listings with high valuations have often faced post-listing challenges,” he added.

On the other hand, Girish Vanvari, founder and CEO of tax, regulatory and business advisory firm Transaction Square, told Inc42 that Mamaearth IPO is a “test case” and would be a significant and defining trend for all unicorn IPOs, which has taken a backseat.

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D2C snacking brand Sweet Karam Coffee (SKC) has raised $1.5 Mn from Fireside Ventures. 

In a statement, the Chennai-based startup said it would use the funds for offline expansion, to enter new geographies, and to strengthen its regionalised product portfolio. 

Founded in 2015 by Anand Bharadwaj, Nalini Parthiban, Srivatsan Sundararaman and Veera Raghavan, SKC offers a range of authentic south Indian sweets and snacks, which, it claims, are free from palm oil and preservatives. The D2C brand also sells filter coffee and ready meal mixes from a wide range of delicacies from Tamil Nadu and Kerala

It aims to promote the south Indian delicacies by addressing the problem of poor availability and accessibility of well-packaged traditional sweets and snacks. 

SKC also plans to expand its portfolio by adding snacks and sweets from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Commenting on the funding, cofounder Parthiban said, “With Fireside’s vast portfolio of building leading D2C brands, we are excited to partner and work together with them to make Sweet Karam Coffee a global south Indian FMCG snacking brand for those seeking the authentic flavours of south India.”

SKC sells its products primarily through its own website and app, and claims to deliver them across 32 other countries besides India. It has also partnered with farmers from Tamil Nadu to offer a range of millet-based products.

SKC claims to be doubling its revenue year-on-year since its inception in 2020. The startup competes with D2C snacking brands like id Fresh Food, DropKaffe, Chaayos, TagZ, among others. 

The increase in internet penetration and rising disposable incomes in the country have led to the rise of a number of D2C snacking brands in the country over the last few years. As per Inc42’s analysis, food and beverage makes up for 27% of the D2C segment in India.

This increase has also grabbed the attention of investors. Earlier this year, cricketer Shikhar Dhawan invested in omnichannel snack brand TagZ Foods. Prior to that, TABP Snacks and Beverages, which operates brand Tanvi Foods, raised INR 20 Cr in its pre-Series A funding round.

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The Aditya Birla Group’s house of brands business TMRW has invested INR 155 Cr (about $18.6 Mn) in D2C brand The Indian Garage Co (TIGC).  

In a statement, TMRW said the investment will help it exploit growth avenues across D2C, offline, and other channels and deepen expansion into sub-brands and categories. However, it didn’t disclose the stake acquired by TMRW in the brand.

Founded in 2012 by Anant Tanted, TIGC claims to have a leadership position in the casual wear market, with a strong presence in the men’s wear segment. Recently, it also expanded into women’s wear and plus size segments with FreeHand and HardSoda brands, respectively.

TIGC claimed to have generated a revenue of INR 300 Cr in FY23 with a healthy profit margin. “With TMRW’s investment and capabilities, TIGC has a path to become the leading brand in men & women casual wear with a path to INR 1,500 Cr in the next 5 years and a strong focus on Tier-II/III city-led growth,” the statement said.

Commenting on the latest addition in its portfolio, Prashanth Aluru, CEO and cofounder of TMRW, said, “With a deep consumer understanding & product strength, TIGC has demonstrated a compelling product-market fit, stellar scalability and strong consumer love reflected in their Top 1 to 5 ranking across e-commerce platforms. With the deep category & brand building experience as well as tech-led scaling path which TMRW brings, we are confident in establishing TIGC as the leading casual wear brand…” 

The rise in internet penetration and improving access to smartphones in the country have given a boost to online shopping, which has spawned a number of D2C brands. Bewakoof, DaMENSCH, FableStreet, The Souled Store are among the popular D2C brands in the country.

Recently, TMRW invested INR 200 Cr in Bewakoof, which is one of the eight digital-first lifestyle brands in which the company decided to invest.

The Aditya Birla Group ventured into the realm of house of brands with TMRW in June 2022, with plans to build a portfolio of fashion and lifestyle brands by acquiring and incubating over 30 brands in the next three years. Its current portfolio includes names such as Berrylush, Juneberry, Natilene, Nauti Nati, Nobero, Urbano, and Veirdo.

According to Inc42 data, the Indian ecommerce market is expected to clock a CAGR of 19% between 2022 to 2030 to reach a size of $400 Bn by 2030. Of this, the fashion and apparel market is expected to grow at the fastest rate at 24% and reach a size of $112 Bn by 2030.

Consequently, startups as well as corporates are trying to make the most of this opportunity. Recently, Reliance Retail acquired a majority stake in actor Alia Bhatt’s children’s wear brand Ed-a-Mamma, while AJIO entered into a partnership with H&M.

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Chennai-based D2C foodtech startup The Divine Foods has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from actor Nayanthara and her husband and director Vignesh Shivan. 

Founded in 2019 by Kiru Maikkapillai, The Divine Foods specialises in making products from traditional superfoods such as turmeric, moringa, millet, and others. Its portfolio includes products such as turmeric oil, turmeric golden milk, masks, turmeric drinks, turmeric powder, honey, among others.

Shivan took to social media to announce the partnership. “Happy to be a part of bringing the traditional foods of Tamil Nadu to your home. Superfoods are only Super if they’re sourced holistically! Me and Nayanthara are happy to join hands with divine foods in this pure journey,” he said in a post on Instagram.

The startup plans to use the fresh funds to scale up its infrastructure and expand its product line, Maikkapillai told Inc42.

“We are happy that Nayanthara and her husband Vignesh came forward and invested in our early-stage startup that creates rural impact,” he said.

Without disclosing the funding amount, the founder said the funds would help the startup create brand awareness among the masses and encourage other celebrities to support the growth of native businesses. 

Earlier, the D2C startup received a grant from the Tamil Nadu government under its flagship seed funding scheme TANSEED 4.0. Thereafter, it has not raised any funding from investors.

The funding comes at a time when a number of actors and other celebrities have backed homegrown companies. The popularity of the celebs has helped early-stage startups reach a wider audience and grow their revenue.   

Earlier this year, actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu invested in the D2C superfoods brand Nourish You. Shilpa Shetty also invested an undisclosed amount in agritech startup KisanKonnect, in May 2023. Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar and Virender Sehwag invested in Two Brothers Organic Farm. 

As per an Inc42 analysis, the Indian D2C market is expected to grow exponentially and reach a market size of $100 Bn by 2025.

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India’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) market, which is likely to reach a size of $100 Bn by 2025, has grown exponentially in the last few years. Several factors including the Covid pandemic, higher internet penetration, growth of digital infrastructure and rise in the number of millennials, among others, have shored up the D2C brands. 

Home to more than 190 Mn digital shoppers, India has the world’s third-largest online shopping base in the world. It is this burgeoning ecosystem that the new-age D2C brands aim to capitalise on, on the back of the growing appetite of Indian consumers for innovation and waning loyalty towards traditional players. 

Of this, fashion and clothing startups have the highest potential and are expected to grow to $43.2 Bn by 2025, according to an Inc42 report.

Some of the emerging D2C brands including Mamaearth, CaratLane and Nua merely took a couple of years to reach INR 100 Cr revenue mark. This is a testament to the success of D2C brands in the country.

Let’s take a look at some of the popular D2C brands in the country. 

The list is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. We have listed the Indian D2C startups in alphabetical order.

1. 82°E

Founded in 2021 by Bollywood Actress Deepika Padukone and Jigar Shah, 82°E is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) personal care brand. 

It sells four skincare products – moisturisers, face oil, cleanser and sunscreen – in the price range of INR 1,200 and INR 2,900, as per the company’s website. 

In December 2022, it secured $7.5 Mn in seed funding from DSG Consumer Partners, IDEO Ventures, Padukone’s family office, and some ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNIs). 

It also has a research and development lab in Bengaluru city.

2. Anveya Living

Founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur Saurav Patnaik and a former FirstCry executive Vivek Singh, Anveya Living sells sustainable hair and skin care products.

In 2022, the D2C startup launched its flagship products Colorisma and Curlvana and added a gold acne kit to its offerings. The startup clocked a revenue of about INR 11.7 Cr in the fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22).

The Bengaluru-based startup aims to clock a revenue of INR 45 Cr in 2023. It has added more hair care products to its offerings.  

In February 2022, Anveya raised INR 8 Cr in a seed funding round from Venture capital firm Rukam Capital.

3. Arata

Founded in 2017 by Dhruv Madhok and Dhruv Bhasin, ARATA’s first-ever product, a homemade hair gel, came to being around Madhok’s wedding. Madhok had made the chemical-free hair gel for Bhasin. 

24 months later, the D2C brand’s first product was sold on its website and the company took shape. The startup derives its name from the Japanese word ‘Arata’, which means ‘fresh and new.’  

ARATA finds its differentiation in the chemical-free beauty and skincare segment, and its range includes products such as hair gels, hair creams, shampoos, conditioners, toothpaste, face wash and serums. 

The D2C brand procures ingredients globally and locally from certified organic farms, which are developed into finished products after extensive research and development (R&D). The startup claims to offer zero-chemical and toxic-free personal care products that use only recycled plastic for packaging as part of its sustainability promise.

The D2C brand currently has 26 SKUs and a user base of more than 5 Lakh customers. It claims to have sold more than 7 Lakh products by mid-2022. However, a majority of its sales, around 70%, take place from ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Nykaa, Flipkart, and BigBasket.

4. Atomberg 

Set up in 2012 by Manoj Meena and Sibabrata Das, Atomberg manufactures energy-efficient fans and allied equipment, along with mixer grinders. Its product portfolio includes pedestal, wall and ceiling fans, among others.

In 2021, Deepika Padukone-led family office KA Enterprises invested in Atomberg’s Series B funding round. In May 2023, the startup raised a further $86 Mn in a Series C round.

Besides Padukone, its cap table also includes A91 Partners, Survam Partners, Trifecta Capital, and Whiteboard Capital Fund, Temasek, Steadview Capital, among others.

During the time of its last fundraising, the startup was said to have 400 service centres throughout India and clocked an annual revenue rate of INR 300 Cr.

5. Bacca Bucci

Much before the Gen Z lingo acquired buzzwords such as sneakers or running shoes, the duo of Anuj Nevatia and Natwar Agrawal was quietly working on setting up something of their own in the footwear industry.

For Nevatia, the decision to focus on footwear was primarily driven by factors such as business seasonality, the organized nature of the market, and the timeless demand for shoes, which laid the groundwork for the inception of Bacca Bucci, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) footwear brand established in 2015.

As a bootstrapped startup, Bacca Bucci leverages artificial intelligence (AI) in its backend processes for shoe manufacturing. Beyond footwear, the platform also offers a range of complementary products, including belts, wallets, and toiletry bags.

Presently, Bacca Bucci markets its products through its official website and various ecommerce platforms.

6. Beco

Founded in 2019 by Aditya Ruia, Akshay Varma, and Anuj Ruia, Beco is a sustainable kitchen, home, and personal care brand. It sells biodegradable and combustible products such as tissue rolls, bamboo facial tissues, dishwashing liquid, toothbrushes, and garbage bags.

In September 2022, the startup secured $3 Mn in its Series A round led by Rukam Capital along with  Prashant Pittie, Titan Capital, Priyavrata Mafatlal and Better Capital. 

While announcing its Series A fundraise, it claimed that it would expand its retail stores to 10K across India.

Prior to this, it had raised INR 4 Cr in its seed funding round from Climate Angels Fund, Rukam Capital, Sequoia Sprout, and Zivame founder Richa Kar, among others. 

7. Bewakoof

Founded in 2012 by Prabhkiran Singh and Siddharth Munot, Bewakoof sells a wide variety of clothes, stationery items, footwear and mobile accessories on its website. The D2C brand also sells a host of merchandise clothes and accessories in partnership with Marvel, F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Star Wars, Disney, DC and Looney Tunes.

In August 2021, it secured $8.09 Mn in its Pre-Series B funding round and in December 2022, Aditya Birla Group’s house of brands business TMRW invested INR 200 Cr in the D2C startup Bewakoof. 

In total, Bewakoof has raised a total funding of INR 23.6 Mn to date. Its cap table includes IvyCap Ventures, Spring Marketing Capital, Investcorp and Klub-led accelr8 fund, among others. 

At the time of its last fundraising activity, it was said to have sold more than 1 Cr products and served 60 Lakh customers. It also aimed to record INR 2000 Cr in sales by 2025.  

8. BlissClub

Set up in 2020 by Minu Margeret, BlissClub sells a host of women’s activewear including bottom wear, sports bras, tops, tees and co-ords, among others. Under the BlissQueen Royalty Program, the D2C startup offers reward points to its loyal customers. 

In May, the Bengaluru-based D2C startup secured $15 Mn in its Series A funding round. It has raised a total funding of $17.25 Mn to date.

The startup claims to have grown its sales by 25X over the last year. It aims to attain an annualised revenue of INR 100 Cr by the end of 2022.

Eight Roads Ventures, Elevation Capital, Swiggy’ Sriharsha Majety, Mamaearth’s Ghazal Alagh, Licious’ Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura, SoftBank’s Munish Varma and Sumer Juneja, Shopify’s Brennan Loh are among its investors.

9. Bluestone

Set up in 2011 by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha and Vidya Nataraj, Bluestone offers more than 8000 jewellery designs in rings, pendants and other allied products. It follows an omnichannel approach to selling its products. 

In March this year, the D2C jewellery brand secured $30 Mn from Hero Enterprise’s Sunil Kant Munjal and other investors at a post-money valuation of $410 Mn. So far, it has raised $87.8 Mn from investors including Ratan Tata, Accel, IvyCap, Saama Capital, Kalaari and Iron Pillar, among others. 

In the financial year 2020-21, it narrowed its consolidated losses by nearly 43% to INR 13.8 Cr. Meanwhile, its revenue from operations grew by 5% year-on-year to INR 269 Cr in the corresponding period.

10. boAt 

Launched in 2016 by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, boAt is an audio direct-to-consumer brand that manufactures a host of audio products such as earphones, headphones and speakers, among others. It retails these products on its website and ecommerce marketplaces. 

In October 2022, boAT secured nearly $61 Mn from Warburg Pincus and Malabar Investments. With this fundraising, the startup also decided to delay its IPO plans. 

Its cap table includes InnoVen Capital, Qualcomm Ventures and Fireside Ventures, among others. 

In the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), its profit dipped 20% YoY to INR 68.7 Cr in FY22 against INR 86.5 Cr in FY21. Revenue of the New Delhi-based D2C electronics brand surged 117.5% YoY to INR 2,886.4 Cr in FY22. 

11. BoldFit 

Fitness startup BoldFit, which was founded in December 2018 by Pallav Bihani, sells nutritional supplements and fitness equipment to consumers. 

The startup sells Food Safety and Standards Authority of India-certified (FSSAI) products in the market and works with WHO-GMP-approved manufacturing firms to implement quality checks at every stage. 

The fitness startup has created more than 400 SKUs across health and ayurvedic supplements, healthy foods, home gym equipment and accessories in the last three years. 

In the financial year 2022, it reported a revenue of INR 63 Cr and sold over 5 Mn products.

With an annual revenue rate (ARR) of 205%, BoldFit has served more than 2.5 Mn customers to date. 

12. Bombay Shirt Company

Founded in 2012 by Akshay Narvekar, Bombay Shirt Company is an online clothing brand. The startup sells bespoke apparel for men and women. It presently leads four brands–Bombay Shirt Company, cityof_, Pause and Korra. It has a presence in India, Dubai and New York.

In 2019, the Mumbai-based clothing startup reportedly raised $9 Mn in its Series B funding round. It has raised a total of $11 Mn in funding to date. 

Its cap table includes venture capital firm Lightbox and individual investors Amit Patni and Arihant Patni.

13. Bombay Shaving Company

Founded in 2016, Bombay Shaving Company initially started as a men-focussed D2C personal care brand but later started offering a range of products in hair removal and hair care categories. It has a portfolio of over 100 SKUs including shaving regimens, trimmers, beard products, razors for women, wax strips, hair removal creams, and other allied personal care products.

Earlier in 2022, it secured INR 30 Cr in its then-ongoing Series C funding round. So far, it has a total of $45.6 Mn in funding. It counts Gulf Islamic Investments, Malabar Investments, Patni Advisors, Singularity AMC and Reckitt Benckiser as its investors.

It claims to have served over 3 Mn customers till date and has clocked INR 150 Cr annual revenue rate, expanding 35% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

14. CaratLane

Founded in 2008 by Mithun Sacheti and Srinivasa Gopalan, CaratLane offers a host of jewellery, right from bracelets to kids-focussed pendants to customised pieces of jewellery. It retails its products through an omnichannel marketing strategy.

In 2019, Tata Group-led Titan Company infused INR 99.9 Cr in CaratLane thereby, increasing its stakeholding to 66.39% in the startup.  Subsequently, the conglomerate, in August 2023, announced plan to acquire an additional 27.18% stake in CaratLane for INR 4,621 Cr.

Once the deal goes through, Tata will effectively own 98.28% of the company with the jewellery startup acquiring a valuation of INR 17,000 Cr ($2 Bn).  

The jewellery brands reported a consolidated revenue of INR 2,169 Cr in FY23. Besides, CaratLane’s net sales value (NSV) also surged to INR 571 Cr in FY23, up 56.7% compared to FY22. 

15. Chaayos

Founded in 2012 by Nitin Saluja and Raghav Verma, Chaayos sells a wide variety of tea and packaged food products. It sells tea at its physical stores while other packaged food products are sold via ecommerce marketplaces and physical stores.

In June 2022, it secured $53 Mn in its Series C funding round from investors including Elevation Capital, Think Investments, Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Ventures. It has raised $85.5M in funding to date. 

16. Chai Point 

Set up in 2010 by Amuleek Singh Bijral and Professor Tarun Khanna, Chai Point follows an omnichannel approach to selling tea varieties and other snacks. It opened its first retail store in 2010 followed by introducing home delivery of its flagship teas in 2014 and rolling out tea and coffee vending machines in 2016.

In 2018, the D2C F&B brand secured $20 Mn in its Series C funding round. So far, it has raised $36 Mn in funding from investors including Paragon Partners, Eight Roads, Saama Capital and DSG.  

In the financial year 2020-21, it reported revenues from operations at INR 55.64 Cr and loss after tax stood at INR 78.49 Cr, according to Tofler.

17. Chumbak 

Founded in 2010 by husband-wife duo Vivek Prabhakar and Shubhra Chadda, Chumbak is a home and lifestyle brand that sells furniture, home decor items, jewellery and footwear, among others. It has an omnichannel presence across India, particularly in Tier-1 cities.

In 2019, the Bengaluru-based D2C brand secured INR 7.39 Cr in its Pre-Series E funding round from Gaja Capital Fund. So far, it has bagged $23.5 Mn in funding from investors. 

It looks to set up over 50 physical retail stores across India and further aims to have more than 100 retail stores in the country in the next one to two years.

18. Clensta

During his eight-year-long stint with the Indian defence startup ecosystem, Puneet Gupta came across a peculiar problem — soldiers stationed at the high-altitude areas of Drass and Siachen would go for months without a bath due to freezing weather conditions and extreme water scarcity. 

Gupta, an IIM-Calcutta alumnus, developed a waterless body bath and shampoo that can be used by people to take baths sans water while maintaining proper personal hygiene. 

Featured in the 2022 edition of Inc42’s Fast42 list, Clensta claims to offer more than 14 SKUs and sold more than 3.8 Mn products in 2022. It clocked revenues to the tune of INR 13.3 Cr in FY21. Clensta claims to have seen a 100% increase in its FY23 top line, which its plans to further grow 3X in FY24. 

Founded in 2016, the startup is backed by the likes of IAN Fund, N+1 Capital, IPV Fund, HEM Securities and Venture Catalysts. It has so far raised INR 105 Cr in a mix of debt and equity across multiple rounds.

19. Clovia

Founded in 2013 by Suman Choudhary and husband-wife duo Neha Kant and Pankaj Vermani, Clovia is a women’s lingerie brand that offers over 3,500 intimate wear styles. Recently, it has added Soumya Kant and Abhay Batra to its founding team.

In March 2022, Reliance Retail invested INR 950 Cr in Clovia’s parent company Purple Panda Fashions for an 89% stakeholding in the startup. So far, Clovia has raised $24.7 Mn from investors.

Its cap table includes AT Capital, IvyCap Ventures, Singularity Ventures and Ravi Dhariwal, Ex-CEO of Bennett, Coleman and Company Ltd, among others.

20. Country Delight 

Founded in 2013 by Chakradhar Gade and Nitin Kaushal, Country Delight sources milk and other food products such as ghee, cottage cheese, fruits and vegetables from farmers and delivers them to customers’ doorstep.

In May 2022, it secured $108 Mn in its Series D funding round from Venturi Partners, Temasek, SWC Global, Trifecta Capital and a slew of other investors. Prior to this, it had also raised $25 Mn in a Series C round led by Elevation Capital. So far, it has raised a total of $133 Mn in funding.

It claims to have grown 10x in the past three years and has served more than 1.5 Mn customers across the country. It further asserts to be delivering over 8 Bn orders every month across 11 Indian states.

Its cap table includes Matrix Partners, Orios Venture Partners, Elevation Capital, and IIFL PE Fund, among others.

21. Curefoods

Founded in 2020 by Ankit Nagori, Curefoods is a cloud kitchen aggregator that houses several brands–EatFit, Sharief Bhai, Aligarh House Biryani and CakeZone, to name a few. It manages over 150 cloud kitchens in 15 Indian cities.

In 2023, it raised  $37 Mn from Binny Bansal’s fund Three State Ventures. In addition, Bollywood actress Nora Fatehi invested in Curefoods and, also, became the brand ambassador of its sub-brand CakeZone. 

Its cap table includes Iron Pillar, Chiratae Ventures, Accel Partners, Sixteenth Street Capital, Iron Pillar and Bollywood Actor Varun Dhawan, among others.

In the financial year 2021-22, it reported revenue from operations at INR 1.3 Cr while its consolidated losses were INR 7.4 Cr, according to Tofler.

22. DaMENSCH

Founded in 2018 by Anurag Saboo and Gaurav Pushkar, DaMENSCH is a men’s clothing brand that sells a range of clothing styles such as odour-cancelling men’s underwear, polo-t-shirts, t-shirts, hoodies, joggers, tank tops, and chino shorts, among others.

In February 2022, it raised $16.4 Mn from A91 Partners, Matrix Partners, Whiteboard Venture Partners, and Saama Capital. So far, it has raised a total of $23.1 Mn from investors.

In the financial year 2021, it reported losses of INR 5.8 Cr whilst its revenue from operations stood at INR 22 Cr, as per Tofler.

23. Desi Farms

Set up in 2016 by Prateek Gupta and Sunil Shahi, D2C startup Desi Farms sells dairy products such as Malai Dahi, whole buffalo milk, Shrikhand, and Amrakhand, among others. 

To eliminate intermediaries, the dairy startup partners with local farmers and procures fresh milk and milk products from them. Later, these products undergo rigorous quality checks at the processing unit, wherein the milk is treated without using chemical preservatives. 

It delivers dairy products to customers without levying any charges and also provides customised subscription services to its users.

The startup currently offers 48 SKUs and claims to have more than 10K paid-up customers. In 2022, it set up over 50 offline outlets in Pune and Navi Mumbai, while in fiscal year 2022, it generated a revenue of INR 8.8 Cr.   

24. Dogsee Chew

Founded in 2015 by Bhupendra Khanal and Sneh Sharma, the Bengaluru-based pet food startup offers vegetarian dog treats that are prepared from yak milk, sourced from villagers residing in Nepal, Sikkim, and Darjeeling.

Dogsee Chew raised $6.7 Mn in its Series A funding round in 2021, and in 2022, it raised $60.59 Mn from Mankind Pharma along with the existing backers. In total, the startup has raised funding of $67.29 Mn so far. 

It claims to be the fourth-largest pet food exporter in India and currently operates in more than 30 countries. 

25. Dr. Vaidya’s 

Founded in 2016 by Arjun Vaidya, Dr. Vaidya’s is an Ayurvedic products startup. It claims to sell over 100 FDA-certified products and has a manufacturing facility in Silvassa, Mumbai. Its offerings include LIVitup, HERBOfit, Chakaash. 

The Mumbai-based startup also manufactures products to cure chronic ailments such as diabetes, asthma and arthritis, among others. It sells products through its website and ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal. 

In 2021, the startup reportedly got acquired by RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group’s venture capital arm for $6.9 Mn. Following this, its valuation soared to nearly INR 144 Cr.

26. Drink Prime

Founded in 2016 by software engineer Vijender Reddy Muthyala and corporate executive Manas Ranjan Hota, DrinkPrime is a watertech startup that allows users to rent IoT-enabled water purifiers via the platform’s app and website. 

Operating on a monthly and daily subscription basis, DrinkPrime came into being after the duo failed to find a reliable and affordable water purifier. Since inception, the startup’s purifiers have installed more than 72,000 water purifiers and has more than 1 Lakh subscribers. 

Backed by names such as Omidyar Network India, Sequoia Surge and 9Unicorns, DrinkPrime has so far raised capital in excess of $11.5 Mn across multiple rounds. It competes directly with homegrown startups in the watertech arena, including names such as Swajal and OwO.

The startup was also featured in the 2023 edition of Inc42’s Fast42 list. 

The startup is looking to turn EBITDA-positive and gain more than 3 Lakh subscribers in 2023. With an eye on pan-India expansion, the startup is targeting 1 Mn households in the country. 

27. Earth Rhythm

Founded in October 2020 by Harini Sivakumar, Earth Rhythm is a beauty and personal care brand that sells a host of haircare, skincare and body care products. It also sells zero-waste products including toothbrushes, vanity bags, combs and soap dishes, among others.

The Delhi NCR-based claims to have 160 stock-keeping units (SKUs) and has served over 150K users to date. It has raised a total of $1.2 Mn in funding from Anicut Capital. It aims to reduce the carbon footprint and at the same time, use sustainable ingredients in making its products. 

In the financial year 2021-22, it posted earnings from operations at INR 6 Cr. It asserts to have witnessed a 3x rise in its customer orders since its inception. In January this year, it received 15K orders.

28. Ecosoul

Rahul Singh and Arvind Ganesan first met each other during their stint at the American furniture goods company, Wayfair, where they worked on the sustainable product categories. Realising that there was a huge gap in the market for eco-friendly products, the duo left their high-paying jobs in the US and founded EcoSoul in 2020.

EcoSoul Home sells eco-friendly home products such as crockery, cutlery, garbage bags, and tableware. Headquartered in the US, with operational presence in countries like China and Vietnam, the company forayed into India earlier this year.

The D2C eco-friendly home essentials brand sells its products primarily through its website as well as ecommerce platforms. It currently offers 43 product varieties and 1,800 SKUs.

Since its inception, EcoSoul has secured more than $15 Mn in funding from notable investors, including venture capital firm Accel. Furthermore, actor Bhumi Pednekar recently made an undisclosed investment in the startup.

29. FableStreet 

Founded in 2016 by Ayushi Gudwani, FableStreet is a women-focused clothing brand. It offers readymade as well as bespoke clothes for female working professionals. It claims to use a three-body measurement algorithm for creating customised apparel.

In 2019, it raised $2.95 Mn in its Series A funding round. Prior to that, it secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding in 2017.

Its cap table includes Fireside Ventures, Pradeep Parameswaran from Uber India and South Asia, Dilip Khandelwal from Deutsche Bank, Suhail Sameer from RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, and Fusiontech Ventures, among others.

30. FabAlley 

FabAlley, founded in 2012 by Shivani Poddar and Tanvi Malik, is a brand of High Street Essentials (HSE). It sells a wide range of women’s Western apparel via online marketplaces, physical retail stores, multi-brand outlets (MBOs), and its own website. 

In May, FabAlley’s parent company HSE secured INR 40 Cr from Stride Ventures. So far, HSE has raised $14.02 Mn in funding from investors including Elevational Capital, India Quotient, Dominor Holding, Trifecta Capital Advisors, SenseAI Venture, Baird Capital, and Institutional Venture Partners. 

In the financial year 2020-21, FabAlley reported a profit of INR 27.5 Cr, while its revenue from operations stood at INR 105 Cr, according to Tofler. 

31. Flistaa 

Founded in 2021 by CA Harshvardhan Chhatbar, Flistaa is a beverage brand that offers premix beverages in sachets. It offers a wide range of Indian beverages such as street juices, milkshakes and sharbat, etc. 

In December 2021, the Ahmedabad-based D2C startup reportedly received an undisclosed amount of investment from ah! Ventures’ First Gear Platform.

32. Flo Sleep Solutions

With an aim to offer good quality mattresses and other sleep essentials to Indian consumers, Gaurav Zatakia founded D2C startup Flo Sleep Solutions in 2018.

Flo primarily sells varied types of mattresses and pillows such as ortho mattresses, ergo mattresses, anti-gravity latex mattresses, baby mattresses, fibre pillows and memory foam pillows. It counts Mistry Ventures as its investor.

Flo’s founder Zatakia is also leading a B2B firm Hush for over 13 years now. Hush mainly supplies mattresses and allied sleep essentials to luxury hotel chains such as Taj Hotels, JW Marriott and the Hyatt Group. 

33. FreshToHome

FreshToHome was incorporated in 2015 by serial entrepreneur Shan Kadavil and Mathew Joseph. The inspiration to venture into the direct-to-consumer (D2C) meat and fish industry struck Kadavil when his personal fish supply was disrupted due to the impending closure of Sea To Home, an ecommerce platform based in Kerala.

Collaborating with Joseph, one of the cofounder of Sea To Home and an angel investor, Kadavil embarked on his new venture. Since then, the direct-to-consumer (D2C) meat startup has significantly expanded, now serving 160 cities in India and all seven emirates in the UAE.

With investors such as Amazon Sambhav Venture Fund, E20 Investment, Mount Judi Ventures, Investcorp and Iron Pillar in its kitty, the D2C meat startup has so far raised $256 Mn in funding across multiple rounds. 

The company competes with the likes of Licious, Zappfresh, and Meatigio, among others. To fuel its growth, FreshToHome plans to expand its store count to 100 across all major metros by 2024-end. 

34. GIVA

Founded in 2019 by Ishendra Agarwal, Nikita Prasa and Sachin Shetty, GIVA is a D2C brand that sells budget-friendly fine jewellery to its customers — both men and women. The startup largely prices its offerings in the price range of INR 1,000 to INR 20,000. 

Competing with the likes of homegrown brands such as CaratLane, Melorra, Tanishq and BlueStone, the omnichannel brand derives 90% of its revenue from online channels. 

The startup’s revenue saw a 100% YoY rise in FY22. GIVA claims to have a customer base of 1.2 Mn. The D2C brand, which currently operates more than 40 exclusive brand outlets in the country, aims to launch 100 retail outlets in tier II and tier III Indian cities by FY24. 

The startup has raised INR 130 Cr in equity funding since its inception. In March this year, it secured INR 40 Cr in debt from Alteria Capital. 

35. Good Health Company (GHC)

Founded in 2021 by Samarth Sindhi and Saurav Panda, Good Health Company (GHC) is a subsidiary of Raksha Health. 

GHC sells a range of men-focussed wellness and personal care products, including anti-hair thinning kits, hair regrowth, beard care kit, and glowing skin kits, among others. 

It also offers free consultations to customers regarding their skincare, haircare and sexual health problems.

So far, it has raised $20.7 Mn funding from a number of investors, including Left Lane Capital, Khosla Ventures, Quiet Capital, and Weekend Fund, among others. 

36. Gynoveda

After suffering from lifestyle disorders for more than a decade, Vishal Gupta eventually found respite in the ancient science of Ayurveda. During his research, Gupta discovered effective remedies for a host of gynaecological problems such as PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), abnormal discharge, and umpteen, among other issues. 

Realising a prevailing gap in the market, Gupta, along with his wife Rachana and Dr Aarati Patil, founded Gynoveda in 2019, blending the age-old science with modern technology and content. 

Gynoveda sells products ranging from moisturisers to Ayurvedic capsules via its website and ecommerce marketplaces. Of its total revenue, 80% comes from its own website while the rest comes from ecommerce websites. 

With a customer base of 3 Lakh women, the startup is eyeing scaling this number to 10 Lakh in the next three years. It claims to have annualised revenue of INR 100 Cr. 

The startup has so far raised funding in excess of $11 Mn and counts names such as India Alternatives Fund, Fireside Ventures, Wipro Enterprises, Alteria Capital and RPG Ventures as its backers. 

37. Happilo 

Founded in 2016 by Vikas Nahar, Happilo sells a host of healthy snacks such as nuts, dry fruits, seeds and dry roasted snacks, among others, via its website and offline stores. It also offers an option to pay through EMIs.

In February, the Bengaluru-based D2C brand secured $25 Mn from Motilal Oswal Private Equity. The startup then claimed that it had expanded over 4x in the previous 24 months. It also said that it was aiming for a revenue of INR 2,000 Cr over the next four years. 

So far, Happilo has bagged total funding of $38 Mn.  

38. Happy Nature

Founded in 2022 by Sahil Chopra, Parth Birendra, Vikas Singh and Vishal Rastogi, Happy Nature is a farm-to-fork dairy startup. It runs a dairy farm in Jhajjar, Haryana. 

The startup has developed its standard operating procedures (SOPs) to keep aflatoxin levels low in cow’s milk, without adding chemical preservatives and antibiotics. It currently sells more than 35 SKUs to over 80K customers across Delhi-NCR, Punjab and Haryana.  

In the fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22), it reported a 69% YoY rise in its revenue to INR 14.4 Cr. Further, it plans to generate INR 150 Cr in annual revenue by 2025. 

39. Heads Up For Tails 

Founded in 2008 by Rashi Narag, Heads Up For Tails sells a wide range of pet products such as preservative-free pet treats, organic supplements, and orthopaedic beds. It aims to increase awareness among pet parents regarding the need for pet care and wellness. 

In August 2021, the Delhi-based pet care brand secured $37 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Verlinvest and Sequoia Capital India. It had a headcount of 350 employees then. Back then, it was looking to launch new product offerings across India and expand its product portfolio in international markets.

The startup has raised $50.3 Mn in aggregate to date. 

40. Himalayan Organics

Himalayan Organics is a D2C nutraceutical startup that was founded in 2018 by Vaibhav Raghuwanshi and Suditi Sharma. The company offers a variety of products across several categories, including beauty, skincare, immunity boosters, and haircare.

To provide the best service to its customers, Himalayan Organics collaborates with nutritionists and dieticians to offer free consultations. The company mainly sources raw materials from the Himalayan region and uses natural ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, herbs, seeds, and nuts to manufacture its products.

In FY22, Himalayan Organics achieved revenue growth of 37%, increasing from INR 24 Cr in FY21 to INR 33 Cr. 

41. iD Fresh Food

Set up in 2005 by PC Musthafa, Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar and Noushad TA, iD Fresh Food offers a slew of ready-to-make food – dosa and idli batter, rice rava idli batter – in India as well as abroad. 

In January 2022, the Bengaluru-based D2C startup raised $68 Mn in its Series D funding round, thereby accumulating a total funding of $104 Mn. 

Currently, it is operating in more than 45 cities across the world such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Dubai, among others.

Its investors include NewQuest Capital Partner, Premji Invest, Sequoia Capital, Helion Ventures and Azim Premji.

42. Innovist

Innovist (formerly known as Onesto Labs), set up in 2018 by Rohit Chawla, Sifat Khurana, and Vimal Bhola, sells personal care products under three brands – Bare Anatomy, Chemist at Play, and SunScoop.

In June 2022, Innovist secured $3.5 Mn in its pre-series A funding round led by Accel Partners and 72 Ventures. Manu Chandra from Sauce.vc, Jani Ventures Inc, CRED founder Kunal Shah and Alok Mittal from Indifi Technologies, among others, also participated in the round. 

In 2021, the startup had raised $2.5 Mn from 72 Ventures, Ramakant Sharma of Livspace, Suhail Sameer of BharatPe, and Sauce.vc. 

The startup mainly sells products via its website and ecommerce marketplaces. It also has an offline presence. 

43. Juicy Chemistry

Set up in 2014 by Megha Asher and Pritesh Asher, clean beauty startup Juicy Chemistry sells organic skin, hair and body care products. 

To manufacture these products, it procures ingredients from organic farmers in 20 countries. It develops these products at its ECOCERT-certified manufacturing unit, where it conducts rigorous quality checks to ensure that everything complies with ECOCERT’s organic standards.

To date, it has raised $7 in funding from a bunch of investors, including Verlinvest, Spring Marketing Capital, and Manoj Lifestyle. 

In November 2022, it launched an organic makeup range viz Color Chemistry. In FY22, it generated INR 29 Cr in revenue and sold nearly 75K products every month. 

In 2023, it aims to open 10 retail outlets and nearly 20 kiosks in major Tier-1 cities. It further aims to enter international markets like the Middle East, the UK and the US by 2025.

44. Kapiva

When the pandemic locked millions of Indians indoors back in 2020, the ancient Indian science of health Ayurveda suddenly turned into the flavour of the season. For Ameve Sharma, Ayurveda was never relegated to the margins. 

Hailing from the iconic 103-year-old Baidyanath family, the INSEAD and New York University-educated scion grew up witnessing how the age-old science helped people from all walks of people. After being inundated with queries from friends about ayurvedic medications, Sharma realised that there was a huge whitespace in the market and he sat down to build Kapiva. 

With more than 100 SKUs in its kitty, Kapiva sells Ayurvedic consumables and products such as juices, Shilajit, hair oil, shampoos, and resins, among others. 

At the heart of Kapiva’s operations is sourcing high-quality raw materials and ensuring global-standard processing. The startup is betting big on raising awareness, scaling product categories and enhancing quality for large-scale adoption. As a result of these, the startup claims to have seen 7.5X growth over the last three years.

Sharma recently told Inc42 that the company achieved revenue of INR 115 cr in the last financial year from its India business, while it is eyeing an annual revenue of INR 850 Cr by FY26 from its consolidated global operations, including India. 

Backed by names such as Vertex Ventures, Fireside Ventures, and 3one4 Capital, Kapiva has so far raised $15.77 Mn across multiple rounds. 

45. Koparo Clean

When the use of chemical-laden sanitisers for groceries and home cleaning saw an uptick during the pandemic, Simran Khara realised that these products could harm kids, pets and even adults.

Responding to the challenge, Khara, who hails from Delhi, launched a range of natural, toxin-free cleaning products under the brand name Koparo Clean in 2020. The D2C brand sells more than 15 products across categories such as core cleaning, speciality cleaning, and accessories.

It claims its products to be free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), synthetic dyes, ammonia, and parabens, among others. 

Opting for an omnichannel strategy, the company sells the products through ecommerce marketplaces, its website and more than 70 retail stores of Reliance Retail and Modern Bazaar.

The D2C brand recently disclosed plans to grow 8X by mid-2025. It is also looking at expanding its distribution points and introducing products.

In July 2023, the D2C brand raised a Pre-Series A funding of $1.5 Mn led by Saama Capital.

46. Lahori

Lahori, founded in 2017 by Saurabh Munjal, Saurabh Bhutna and Nikhil Doda, sells Indian beverages in four flavours – Zeera (cumin), Nimboo (lemon), Kacha Aam (raw mango) and Shikanji (lemonade) – across India. 

Lahori’s parent company Archian Foods creates approximately 1 Mn bottles in its manufacturing facility that are certified by FSSAI, ISI, HACCP, RoHS and Make In India. 

In January 2022, the Punjab-based startup received its first institutional funding of $15 Mn from Verlinvest for a minority stake in it. 

47. Lenskart 

Founded in 2010 by Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhury, and Sumeet Kapahi, Lenskart is an omnichannel eyewear brand. It has nearly 750 retail outlets in more than 175 cities. It claims to serve over 7 Mn customers annually. 

The eyewear unicorn has been on a spree of fundraising this year. In June, it secured a $100 Mn investment from private equity player ChrysCapital. This followed a capital infusion of $500 Mn from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for a 10% stake. Overall, Lenskart has raised nearly $850 Mn in the past year.

The unicorn is backed by marquee investors such as Chiratae Ventures, TPG, Premji Invest and Unilazer Ventures, among others.

Lenskart reported a consolidated loss of INR 102.3 Cr in FY22 versus a profit of INR 28.9 Cr in FY21. On the other hand, the startup’s revenue from operations zoomed 66% YoY to INR 1,502.7 Cr in the year ended March 2022, compared to INR 905.3 Cr in FY21.

48. Licious 

Licious, founded in 2015 by Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta, sells a wide range of meat and seafood products such as mutton, prawns and kebabs. 

In March, the Bengaluru-based unicorn raised $150 Mn from Amansa Capital, Kotak PE, Axis Growth Avenues AIF – I, Nithin and Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, Aman Gupta from boAt and Haresh Chawla from True North. So far, it has raised a total funding of $488 Mn from investors.

49. Mamaearth 

Mamaearth, founded in 2016 by Ghazal Alagh and Varun Alagh, started as a baby care products brand but later pivoted to become a personal care brand. Its product offerings include haircare, skincare and body care products.

The IPO-bound startup counts Fireside Ventures, Sequoia India, Rishabh Mariwala from Marico and Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal from Snapdeal among its investors. It has so far raised $111 Mn in funding across multiple rounds.

50. mCaffeine 

mCaffeine, founded in 2016 by Tarun Sharma, Mohit Jain, Saurabh Singhal, Vikas Lachhwani and Vaishali Gupta, sells a host of caffeine-based skin and hair care products ranging from soaps to scrubs to oil through its website and physical retail outlets.

In March 2022, the D2C startup secured over $31 Mn in its Series C funding round led by Paragon Partners. Singularity Growth Opportunities Fund, Sharrp Ventures, Amicus Capital Partners and RPSG Capital Ventures also participated in the round.

The startup has raised a total funding of $37.5 Mn to date. 

51. Melorra

Founded in 2016 by Saroja Yeramilli, Melorra sells a wide variety of gold jewellery for women via its website and offline stores. It claims to have a presence in 718 districts and over 2,800 towns in the country. 

In May 2022, it raised $16 Mn in its Series D funding round from Axis Growth Avenues AIF-I, SRF Family Office, N+1 and a slew of existing investors. The startup has so far raised a funding of $66.9 Mn.  

Mellora reported an operational revenue of INR 364.4 Cr in FY22, up 4.6X from INR 78.6 Cr during the previous fiscal year. Alongside, losses spiked 73.5% YoY to INR 106.7 Cr in FY22.

52. Minimalist 

Founded in 2020 by Mohit and Rahul Yadav, the Jaipur-based D2C startup sells a host of skin care products ranging from serums to moisturisers to toners. It retails products via its website and ecommerce marketplaces. 

In 2021, Minimalist secured $15 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital India and Unilever Ventures. A bunch of international investors also participated in the funding round. 

53. Mosaic Wellness

Mosaic Wellness, founded in 2020 by Revant Bhate and Dhyanesh Shah, sells men and women-focused health and wellness products under the brands Manmatters and Bodywise. Both brands offer telemedicine services along with medicines, supplements and other allied products. 

The Mumbai-based D2C startup has built a content community for people to confer about their health and other related subjects. 

In 2021, it secured $24 Mn in its Series A funding round from Sequoia Capital India, Elevation Capital and Matrix Partners India. In total, it has raised a capital of $35.2 Mn to date. 

54. Mylo

Mylo, founded in 2018 by Vinit Garg, started as a community-based platform for new and expecting mothers and gradually turned into a personal care brand. Last year, it pivoted into a personal care startup offering over 100 stock-keeping units of ayurvedic products. 

In April, Mylo secured $17 Mn in its Series B funding round led by W Health Ventures, ITC Ltd and Endiya Partners. Riverwalk Holdings, Alteria Capital and Innoven Capital also participated in the funding round.

The D2C personal care startup has raised a funding of $24 Mn so far. 

55. Neemans

Founded in 2018 by Taran Chhabra and Amar Preet Singh, Neemans aims to upend the Indian shoe industry with natural, renewable, recycled and biodegradable fibres in its shoes. 

The company claims that its products have a considerably lower carbon footprint and lower impact on the water table compared to conventional products, which are dominated by synthetic fibres.

The startup has so far raised $9.8 Mn in funding and is backed by names such as Anicut Capital and Sixth Sense Ventures. With more than 3 Lakh users under its belt, the omnichannel brand prices its products anywhere between INR 2,999 and INR 6,999.

Earlier this year, the company also ventured into the apparel industry with the launch of its collection of clothes. 

The Hyderabad-based startup locks horns with the likes of international giants in the shoe industry such as Skechers, Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Puma, AJIo, among others.

56. Nestasia

Home decor brand Nestasia is the brainchild of Anurag Agarwal and Aditi Murarka Agarwal, whose passion for decorating and designing homes spawned the rise of the startup in 2019.

The D2C brand sells a range of home decor products such as crockery garden accessories, and kitchen utilities, among others. Unlike other marketplaces, which connect buyers and sellers, Nestasia operates a full-fledged D2C business that buys products from Indian artisans and then sells them directly to customers.

The startup last raised $4 Mn as part of its Series A funding round in December 2021, which saw participation from Stellaris Venture Partners, Mamaearth’s Varun Alagh, Delhivery’s Sahil Barua, and Livspace’s Anuj Srivastava and Ramakant Sharma, among others. 

The D2C brand currently lists more than 6,000 products across eight key product categories and has so far fulfilled more than 1 Lakh orders. 

57. Noise

Founded in 2014 by Amit Khatri & Gaurav Khatri, Noise is a smart wearable and wireless headphones brand. It sells products on its website and ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart. 

The bootstrapped startup reported a 8% year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit to INR 35.5 Cr in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) against a total income of INR 804.9 Cr during the same period, up over 2.2X YoY.

58. Nua 

Founded in 2017 by Ravi Ramachandran, Nua is a women-focused wellness brand. Its offerings include sanitary pads, skin care and intimate hygiene products. 

So far, it has raised $12.5 Mn in aggregate from the last four funding rounds. Its cap table includes Lightbox VC, Kae Capital and actor Deepika Padukone, among others. 

It claims to have served more than 5 Mn customers so far. It further asserts to have 10 SKUs and witnessing 50% of its customer base revisiting its website.

59. NutriGlow

Set up in 2011 by Aditi Suneja and Ashish Aggarwal, Nutriglow sells men and women-focused haircare, skincare, body care and make-up products via its website and ecommerce platforms. 

The Noida-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup claims that its beauty products have natural and certified organic ingredients and vegan-friendly and paraben-free formulations.

In June 2022, it secured an undisclosed amount of funding from ecommerce rollup GOAT Brand Labs for developing its infra and research and development (R&D). 

60. Organic Harvest

Founded in 2013 by Rahul Agarwal, Organic Harvest is an organic personal care brand that offers plant-based skincare, haircare, body care products and essential oils via online and offline channels.

According to its website, It claims to use ingredients and raw materials that are approved by international organisations – EcoCert, OneCert, and Natrue.  

At the beginning of 2022, it received a capital infusion of INR 75 Cr from Good Glamm Group in exchange for a majority equity. In March 2023, it was reported that the content-to-commerce unicorn was all set to buy out the entire 100% stake in Organic Harvest and would give an exit to the D2C brand’s founders by the end of next year.

It said that it operated 25K retail outlets as of October 2022 and looked to increase the number of its retail outlets to 1 Lakh by 2024.

61. Perfora

Jatan Bawa and Tushar Khurana crossed paths during the Jagriti Yatra, a two-week long entrepreneurship train journey, in 2016. With a wealth of experience garnered from startups such as OYO, Cure Fit, and Vahdam Teas, the two found common ground during the journey and eventually conceived the idea for an oral care brand, Perfora, in 2021.

Perfora offering a diverse range of oral care products, including electric toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwashes, flossers, teeth whitening products, and more.

This direct-to-consumer (D2C) oral care brand distributes its products through its official website and various e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, Blinkit, and others. Since its incorporation, Perfora boasts of serving over 2 Lakh customers.

Backed by notable investors such as RPSG Capital Ventures, Sauce.VC, Lotus Herbals Family Office, Huddle, and others, Gurugram-based Perfora has successfully raised a total of $3.7 Mn in funding through multiple rounds.

62. Pilgrim

After a combined experience of over two decades in the beauty and wellness industry, Anurag Kedia joined forces with fellow IIT Bombay alumni, Gagandeep Makker, to embark on an entrepreneurial journey.

At the core of their mission was the vision to craft vegan, cruelty-free, and toxin-free beauty products that would be accessible to the Indian market at affordable prices.

Together, they established Pilgrim in 2019. This D2C beauty brand distinguishes itself through the use of carefully sourced ingredients from around the world, spanning from South Korea to France. Pilgrim’s product range comprises items like hair growth serums, night serums, day creams, night gel creams, facial masks, and more.
With a portfolio of over 90 SKUs, Pilgrim earned recognition as one of the fastest-growing D2C brands, earning a place on the 2022 edition of Inc42’s FAST42 list. Pilgrim claims to have served more than 50 Lakh customers and add over 5 Lakh new customers every month.

Supported by prominent investors such as Fireside Ventures, Temasek, and Rukam Capital, Pilgrim has successfully secured nearly INR 214 crore in funding to date.

63. Pluckk

Incorporated in 2021 by Pratik Gupta, Pluckk is a D2C fruit and vegetable brand, which distinguishes itself by offering users a diverse selection of over 400 products spanning 15+ categories. These offerings include salads, dips, juices, cuts, mixes, and exotic fruits and vegetables.

Currently, Pluckk operates in major cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Pune. It has plans to extend its presence to more cities in the coming years. The brand distributes its products through its dedicated app, website, and quick commerce platforms like Amazon, Swiggy, Dunzo, Zepto, and Reliance Signature Stores. 

In early 2023, Pluckk secured $5 Mn in seed funding from Exponentia Ventures. It has also secured an undisclosed amount of funding from actor Kareena Kapoor Khan.

64. Plum

Founded in 2013 by Shankar Prasad, Plum sells a wide variety of beauty products in skin care, hair care, personal care and makeup categories via its website and ecommerce marketplaces. It claims to operate nearly 1,500 assisted retail outlets and over 15,000 unassisted outlets throughout India.

In March 2022, the D2C beauty brand secured $35 Mn in its Series C funding round from A91 Partners, Unilever Ventures and Faering Capital. 

The startup generated revenue to the tune of INR 250 Cr in FY22 and has set its eyes on doubling its revenues in FY23 to INR 500 Cr. 

65. Power Gummies 

Founded in March 2018 by Divij Bajaj, nutraceutical startup Power Gummies sells flavoured and chewable vitamins for hair, nail and skin problems. Its products are gluten-free and certified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Its revenue soared by over 6X to INR 54 Cr in FY22 as compared to INR 8.8 Cr a year ago. So far, it has sold over 40 Lakh products to more than 10 Lakh customers.

It plans to launch 40+ SKUs in the next five years, including a dedicated range for kids. It also looks to ramp up its presence in the UK and other international markets and build more manufacturing facilities to regulate production, daily operations and logistics.

To date, the startup has raised a total of INR $12.9 Mn in funding. Power Gummies’ cap table includes 9Unicorns, Venture Catalysts, DSG Consumer Partners, Wipro Consumer Care Ventures, and Sharpp Ventures.

66. Rage Coffee

Founded in 2018 by Bharat Sethi, Rage Coffee sells a host of coffee-based products across India. Certified by FDA, FSSAI and ISO, Rage Coffee claims to have so far served more than 7.5 Lakh customers and has 18 SKUs in its kitty.

In March, this Delhi-based food and beverage D2C brand received an undisclosed investment from Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. Prior to that, it secured nearly $5 Mn in its Series A funding round. 

In total, it has raised $7 Mn in capital from marquee names such as Sixth Sense Ventures, 9Unicorns, Refex Capital and Keiretsu Forum Chenna. 

Rage Coffee logged revenues of INR 23.5 Cr in FY22 and is targeting a revenue of INR 92 Cr by FY23-end. Earlier, it had also underlined plans to double down on its physical presence and scale its number of outlets to 10,000 by March 2023. 

67. Revour Consumers

Revour Consumers was founded in 2019 by Jaideep Singh Gaur and Ranjit Singh and specialises in selling kitchen and home-based electrical appliances. 

The startup partners with various OEMs to produce consumer electronics, including light bulbs, electric kettles, fans, and irons. 

Revour Consumer clocked a  revenue of INR 17.5 Cr FY22 and has so far served more than 30 Lakh customers across the length and breadth of the country. 

The startup has so far raised $1 Mn in funding and counts Oriano Clean Energy as its key investor. Going forward, the D2C brand plans to deepen its focus on consumer electronics and intends to introduce new product lines.

68. Sanfe

Founded in 2018 by Archit Aggarwal and Harry Sehrawat, Sanfe is a D2C femtech brand that started with the vision of addressing the stigma around women’s health and hygiene. After debuting with a roll-on to tackle period pain, the brand has now forayed into the beauty segment. 

In addition to sanitary and hygiene products, the company sells skin and hair products. The company claims to have catered to more than 10 Mn customers and sold 28 Mn-plus products by the end of FY21. 

Targeting Gen-Z and millennials, the company sells its products through its website and other ecommerce marketplaces. Backed by S Chand Family Office, Seeders and Lets Venture,  the D2C brand has raised $4.5 Mn in funding since its inception. 

69. Slurrp Farms

A dearth of healthy snacking options in the market for their kids brought two mothers —   Meghana Narayan and Shauravi Malik — to the discussion table. The duo found a big gap staring right at them in the kids’ snacks market. 

To fill in this gap, they founded Slurrp Farm in October 2016. The D2C brand sells a range of healthy products from ready-to-mix pancakes and dosas to noodles and pastas.

Slurrp Farms, which sells its products via its website and ecommerce marketplaces, caters to users in countries such as the UAE, the US, and the UK, apart from India.

Backed by the likes of the Investment Corporation of Dubai, Fireside Ventures and actor Anushka Sharma, Slurrp Farms has so far lapped up a total of around $9 Mn in funding. 

Building on its current growth momentum, the D2C snacks brand is eyeing a revenue of INR 500 Cr by 2025.

70. Soothe Healthcare

Set up in 2012 by Sahil Dharia, Soothe Healthcare sells sanitary napkin products and baby diapers under the brand Paree and Super Cute, respectively. It retails its products through various distribution channels including direct selling and selling through intermediaries.

In October 2022, Soothe Healthcare secured INR 175 Cr as part of a strategic funding round from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and other existing investors. With the funding round, the startup’s cumulative fundraise reached INR 301 Cr. 

Symphony International Holdings, Sixth Sense Ventures and badminton player Saina Nehwal are among its investors. 

71. SUGAR Cosmetics

SUGAR Cosmetics, founded in 2015 by Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee, is an omnichannel D2C brand that sells products in lips, skin, eyes and nail care categories. It claims to operate more than 45,000 multi-brand stores spread across 500+ cities in the country. The D2C brand also has 125+ exclusive outlets in its kitty.

In May, the Mumbai-based D2C brand closed its $50 Mn Series D fundraising round led by L Catterton’s Asia fund. Existing investors A91 Partners, Elevation Capital and India Quotient also participated in the funding round.

The startup has so far raised a cumulative funding of $87.5 Mn from investors.

In the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), it widened its loss to INR 75 Cr, while revenue from operations stood at INR 221.1 Cr during the same period.

72. Super Bottoms

SuperBottoms, founded in 2018 by Pallavi Utagi, is a company that sells eco-friendly baby diapers made from 100% organic cotton. 

The company’s products are Oeko-certified and comply with the guidelines of the US CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act), meaning that they do not contain harmful chemicals such as lead and phthalates.

SuperBottoms has received a total of INR 41.6 Cr in funding to date, with notable investors including DSG Consumer Partners, Saama Capital, Titan Capital, and Venture Catalysts.

73. TagZ

The D2C snack brand came into the limelight after featuring in the maiden season of the TV show Shark Tank India and has not looked back since then. Founded in 2019 by Anish Basu Roy and Sagar Bhalotia, the company sells popped chips, which are neither baked nor fried.

The idea came from Roy’s experiences during his international travels, which pushed him to tinker around in the healthy snacks category. 

From the cricketer Shikhar Dhawan to 9 Unicorns, the backers of TagZ have pumped in over $4.2 Mn in the startup to date. The growth has also seen an uptick as the D2C brand claims to have logged a 30X increase in volumes in the past 18 months, ending May 2023. 

Retailed through 5,000 stores across 22 cities and via quick commerce platforms, TagZ also sells its products overseas in markets such as Kuwait, Dubai, Maldives and Australia.

74. Tailor And Circus

Back in 2016, Vasanth Sampath, Gaurav Durasamy and Abishek Elango came together to explore the idea of making antimicrobial, self-cleaning underwear for astronauts. In the subsequent months of research, they found that the homegrown men’s and women’s undergarment segment was plagued by basic issues such as lack of comfort and style.

After much deliberations, the idea of Tailor and Circus took shape and the startup was launched in 2016. The D2C brand manufactures underwear for both men and women, offering products such as trunks, bralettes and maternity undies. The startup also sells tops for both men and women and allows users to customise their products and build a matching underwear cart. 

The startup last raised seed funding of $241K from multiple angel and institutional investors in April 2021. It competes with the likes of homegrown brands such as Freecultr, XYXX, and DaMensch, among others.

The startup sells its products on marketplaces such as Amazon India and Myntra and through its own website. 

75. TenderCuts

Founded in 2016 by Nishanth Chandran, TenderCuts sells a wide variety of meat and seafood products such as chicken, mutton, eggs and frozen food products via its website and offline stores.

The startup last raised INR 110 Cr in a round led by Paragon Partners in February 2021. To date, it has raised $29.1 Mn in funding from marquee names such as Stride Ventures and Nabventures. 

In August 2023, the D2C meat delivery brand was acquired by omnichannel meat brand Good To Go in what appeared to be a distress sale for an undisclosed amount.

76. The Ayurveda Co. (T.A.C)

Founded in 2021 by Param Bhargava and Shreedha Singh, The Ayurveda Company manufactures and retails products across multiple categories such as haircare, wellness, skincare, immunity boosters and health supplements.

Opting for an omnichannel strategy, its 5,000 physical touchpoints traverse 18 cities across 15 Indian states, including Delhi NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. The startup is targeting to grow these retail points to more than 20,000 by FY25.

In March 2023, the D2C ayurvedic beauty and personal care brand raised INR 100 Cr in a Series A funding round led by consumer-centric venture fund Sixth Sense Ventures. 

Since its inception, T.A.C has raised $16 Mn in funding, across debt and equity, from marquee names such as Sixth Sense Ventures, Wipro Consumer Care Ventures and Vector NXG. 

77. The Beauty Co

Founded in 2018 by Suraj Raj Vazirani, The Beauty Co is a D2C personal care startup, which sells toxin-free body care, haircare, skincare and essential oils via its website and ecommerce marketplace such as Nykaa, Myntra, Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm Mall, BigBasket and Snapdeal.

The startup’s founder claims that at least 99% of the ingredients used in The Beauty Co’s products are natural. It operated more than 40 stock keeping units as of 2022.

78. The Moms Co

The Moms Co, founded in 2016 by Malika Sadani, sells organic products for expecting mothers and babies in the face, hair, pregnancy, and body care categories. It claims to have catered to more than a million customers since its inception. 

In 2021, the Delhi-based D2C brand was acquired by beauty unicorn Good Glamm Group. In March 2022, Inc42 reported that Good Glamm Group had increased its stake in The Moms Co to 90% from 75%.

At the end of September 2022, the brand claims to have had an offline presence in 5,000 retail outlets spanning 20,000 pin codes across the country.

79. The Pant Project

The Pant Project was founded by siblings Dhruv and Udit Toshniwal and offers customised bottom wear for both men and women, with free alterations and monogramming services provided to customers. 

Its products are primarily sold through its website and other e-commerce marketplaces, including Amazon.

In the fiscal year 2021-2022 (FY22), The Pant Project reported a revenue of INR 7.3 Cr, a significant increase compared to the INR 1 Cr earned in the previous fiscal year FY21.

80. The Sleep Company

The story of The Sleep Company starts with a baby. After taking care of their newborn at odd hours, entrepreneur couple Priyanka Salot and Harshil Salot were left aghast when their multiple attempts to buy a new mattress met a dead end. 

Realising the prevailing gaps in the sleep market, especially the lack of innovation, the duo decided to start their own venture and that’s how The Sleep Company was born. 

Since the startup’s inception in 2019, the Salots have scaled up the platform, grabbing the interest of multiple investors, including Fireside Ventures, Premji Invests and Alteria Capital.

The Sleep Company has so far raised INR 190 Cr and is eyeing to create an INR 1,000 Cr brand. With two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Maharashtra and Karnataka, the D2C brand claims to produce 1.2 Lakh mattresses daily. 

The Sleep Company clocked a revenue of INR 58 Cr in FY22 and plans to open more than 100 stores across the country by March 2024. 

81. The Souled Store

Founded in 2013 by Vedang Patel, Harsh Lal, Aditya Sharma and Rohin Samtaney, The Souled Store is a casual wear and pop-culture D2C startup. It is said to have over 180 licences–Disney, Warner Bros, WWE, and Viacom18, to name a few. 

The omnichannel lifestyle brand recently raised INR 135 Cr in a strategic funding round led by Xponentia Capital. To date, the company has raised a total of INR 220 Cr from multiple investors.

Its cap table includes Elevation Capital, Sahil Barua from Delhivery, Gunjan Soni from Zalora, Revant Bhate from Mosaic Wellness and Ramakant Sharma from Livspace, among others. Its product offerings include top wear, bottom wear, innerwear and activewear.

82. The Woman’s Company

The moment Anika Parashar’s daughter hit puberty, she was gripped by questions about which feminine products were good enough. While researching, Parashar found that there was a huge gap in the market for female hygiene products, and it was this epiphany that set the ball rolling for her new venture, The Woman’s Company. 

After working as the COO of Fortis La Femme Hospitals for decades, she founded the startup in 2020, along with Roopam Gupta. The D2C brand operates in the women’s hygiene space and sells products such as sanitary pads, tampons, menstrual cups, and bamboo razors, among others. 

The D2C startup last raised $1.4 Mn in 2021 from marquee names such as Pradip Burman of Dabur. 

The startup sells its products through its website and marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Nykaa, among others. 

83. Vahdam Teas

Vahdam, founded in 2015 by Bala Sarda, is an online tea brand. It sells its products in domestic as well as international markets.

In September 2021, Vahdam reportedly secured INR 174 Cr in its Series D round led by IIFL AMC’s PE Fund. After the round, the startup claimed that it had raised INR 290 Cr in total funding from investors.

In FY22, it clocked a revenue of over INR 200 Cr, up from INR 161 Cr in FY21. However, the D2C brand slipped into the red as it reported a loss of INR 16 Cr in FY22 against a profit of INR 1.94 Cr in profit in FY21.

The startup aims to clock a net revenue of INR 500 Cr by 2024.

84. Voylla  

Voylla, founded in 2011 by Vishwas Shringi, is an online artificial and silver jewellery brand. It sells jewellery and other allied products through its website and ecommerce marketplaces. 

In 2021, Voylla was acquired by Thrasio-style D2C aggregator GOAT Brand Labs. Besides Voylla, GOAT Brand Labs also acquired 14 other brands, including Label Life, trueBrowns & Abhishti, Frangipani, Neemli and Nutriglow, among others.

Prior to the acquisition, Voylla had raised a total of $16.9 Mn funding in Series B and Series A funding rounds. Its cap table includes Peepul Capital, Snow Leopard Technology Ventures and a slew of other angel investors.

85. Wakefit 

Founded in 2016 by Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Wakefit sells a host of sleep and home decor products such as mattresses, pillows, bed frames, comforters, and back cushions, among others. It sells these products via its website and ecommerce marketplaces.

The Bengaluru-based startup manufactures products at its facilities in Bengaluru, Jodhpur and Delhi. In FY23, the startup launched 22 physical stores across 15 cities in the country. The brand clocked a revenue of INR 825 Cr in FY23 and is eyeing a revenue of INR 1,000 Cr by FY24. 

Wakefit has raised a total funding of $145 Mn so far. Its cap table includes Sequoia Capital, Verlinvest and SIG. 

86. Wellbeing Nutrition

An avid runner, Avnish Chhabria used to rue the lack of homegrown options for organic and plant-based nutritional supplements in India, which were necessary for him to stay at the top of his game. 

His dependence on global brands ignited the idea of building a desi plant-based vitamin and mineral supplements brand. With an eye on offering a better-priced alternative to a majority of Indians who could not afford to import plant-based supplements, Chhabria founded Wellbeing Nutrition at the fag end of 2019. 

Since then, it has rapidly scaled operations. It currently offers more than 53 SKUs and deploys an omnichannel strategy to woo customers. The brand manufactures plant-based vitamin and mineral supplements in the form of capsules, oral strips, and effervescents, among others. 

The startup partners with a global team of gastroenterologists to nutritionists to build its line of products. Besides, it sources its raw materials from more than 200 organic farms and certified companies from across 19 countries.

Its multi-pronged omnichannel strategy helped it clock a revenue of INR 19.5 Cr in FY22. The Mumbai-based D2C brand is eyeing 100 Mn customers and INR 100 Cr revenue in 2023. It plans to foray into the US, the UK and the UAE by 2025. 

Backed by the likes of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and Fireside Ventures, Wellbeing Nutrition has so far raised $10Mn from multiple investors. Last year, HUL acquired a 19.8% equity in the startup.

87. Wellversed 

Founded in 2018 by Aanan Khurma, Aditya Seth and Ripunjay Chachan, Wellversed is a health and wellness brand. Its products are sold via its website and ecommerce marketplaces.

On an acquisition spree, the umbrella brand has acquired three startups – Sportfit, Rimoy Naturals and Ketofy – in the past four years to strengthen its house of brands. It claims to have offered over 12K health plans for weight loss, skin nourishment and other ailments to customers. 

It has raised a total of $3.2 Mn in funding from investors such as Jubilant Foodworks, Yuvraj Singh, KLUB Works and Velocity.

In the financial year 2021, it reported earnings from operations at INR 20 Cr.

88. Wingreens Farms 

Founded in 2011 by Anju Srivastava and Arun Srivastava, Wingreens Farms sells packaged food products such as sauces and spreads, spice mixes, breakfast cereals, non-dairy milk, and protein shakes, among others. It sells these products via its website and offline distribution network in more than 200 Indian cities.

In May 2022, the D2C food brand acquired Postcard’s parent company Dharmya Business Ventures for about $2.1 Mn in a cash and share swap deal.

In December 2021, it raised $17 Mn in its Series C funding round led by Investcorp. Subsequently, it also reportedly bagged INR 22 Cr in funding from Anicut Capital. So far, it has secured a total funding of $49.8 Mn from investors. 

89. Wonderchef 

Wonderchef, founded in 2009 by Ravi Saxena and celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, offers cookware, kitchen appliances, bakeware, and other allied culinary tools. It claims to operate 22 exclusive retail outlets and has served over 3 Cr customers so far.

In 2021, it secured INR 150 Cr in a funding round led by Sixth Sense Ventures. Godrej Family Office, Malpani Group, and other high-net-worth individuals also participated in the funding round.

It claims to have over 500 SKUs and a presence in India, the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada, among others. It is looking to increase the count of its exclusive outlets to 100 by 2025.

90. Wooden Street 

Wooden Street, founded in 2015 by Lokendra Ranawat, Dinesh Pratap Singh, Virendra Ranawat and Vikas Baheti, sells furniture and home decor products such as modular furniture, kitchen and wardrobe, lighting and office furniture, among others, via its website.

It operates over 100 experience stores and 30+ warehouses across the length and breadth of the country. With 30,000 home furniture products in its kitty, the D2C brand claims to have served more than 15 Lakh customers in more than 300 Indian cities. It has several manufacturing facilities and R&D units in the country.

In April 2022, it secured around $30 Mn in its Series B funding round led by Westbridge Capital. Wooden Street then claimed that it grew its business 100% year-on-year over the previous three years, and aimed to attain a turnover of INR 600 Cr in the next two years. 

91. Wow Skin Science

Founded in 2014 by Manish Chowdhary and Karan Chowdhary, WOW Skin Science is a beauty and personal care brand. It sells a host of skincare, haircare, body care and nutraceutical products via its website. It claims to have 400 SKUs and has a presence in 30,000 general trade stores across the country.

In June 2022, the Bengaluru-based D2C skincare brand secured $48.02 Mn from Singapore-based GIC at a post-money valuation of $280 Mn. Prior to that, it raised $50 Mn from ChrysCapital.

In the financial year 2021-22, it reported losses of INR 135.83 Cr while its revenues grew 3.4X YoY to INR 343.94 Cr.

92. XYXX

Founded in 2017, XYXX is a D2C menswear brand that sells a range of products across categories such as underwear, loungewear and athleisure. It is also the brainchild of Yogesh Kabra. 

What works in favour of the brand is its fashionable touch and skin-friendly fabrics that it claims is suitable for India’s humid climate. The idea germinated after Kabra realised that there was a big gap in the Indian men’s innerwear market, which suffered across the board from style to comfort. 

Leaving aside his father’s textile business, Kabra jumped into the fray and pursued his entrepreneurial talent, the result of which is XYXX. 

The D2C brand has also seen a warm response from investors. It recently bagged INR 110 Cr as part of its Series C funding round led by Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund. Since its inception, the startup has raised INR 390 Cr in multiple rounds of funding. 

With 1,000-plus SKUs, XYXX sells its products online on 14 ecommerce platforms as well as its website. It also claims to operate multi-brand outlets (MBOs) and exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) across more than 18,000 touchpoints in 150+ Indian cities. The startup closed FY22 with a revenue of INR 57 Cr.

93. Zappfresh

Founded in 2015 by Deepanshu Manchanda and Shruti Gochhwal, ZappFresh is a Gurugram-based D2C meat delivery startup. The startup grew in prominence as customers preferred online avenues to order their meat as pandemic locked people indoors. 

Backed by names such as SIDBI Venture Capital, Dabur Family Office, LetsVenture and Keiretsu Forum, ZappFresh has so far raised $7.9 Mn in funding. The startup recently acquired Dr. Meat for an undisclosed amount to mark its foray into Bengaluru. 

Banking on its growth numbers, Zappfresh is targeting INR 300 Cr in overall revenue by end of FY24 as it eyes deeper penetration in Southern India. It competes with the likes of players such as Licious as well as quick commerce players such as Swiggy Instamart, and Blinikit, among others.

94. Zivame 

Zivame, founded in 2011 by Richa Kar and Kapil Karekar, sells lingerie, activewear, shapewear and sleepwear via its website and offline retail stores. 

The startup had earlier claimed that nearly 42% of its sales come from Tier-2 and 3 cities in India. 

In 2020, Reliance Brands acquired a 15% stake in Zivame. Following this, the conglomerate also announced the acquisition of an 89% stake in the lingerie brand for a consideration of INR 950 Cr last year.

Zivame claims to have built an offline presence in more than 30 retail stores and more than 800 partner stores across the country.

This is a running article, we will keep adding more names to the list.

Last Updated: October 11, 2023. The listicle has been updated to add five new brands.

The post 94 D2C Brands That Are Disrupting India’s Consumer Market appeared first on Inc42 Media.

D2C lifestyle brand Eske has raised $1.5 Mn in its pre-Series A funding round led by Mistry Ventures. The round also saw participation from existing investor Fluid Ventures.

Eske said it plans to use the fresh funds to expand its product portfolio, open experience centres, enhance its technology platform, and enter new markets. 

Founded in 2018 by Shivam Khanna, Mumbai-based Eske offers a range of handbags, briefcases, and accessories in the price range of INR 3,000 to INR 10,000. 

Eske sells its products through its own website, ecommerce platforms such as Amazon and Myntra, and offline stores in cities like Delhi, and Mumbai. 

Commenting on the fund raise, Eske founder and CEO Khanna said, “Leveraging our decades of manufacturing expertise producing for the world’s finest brands, we will unleash our manufacturing capabilities, combining it with technology, to build a globally recognized lifestyle brand from India.”

Earlier, the D2C startup raised seed funding from Fluid Ventures in April 2022. 

Eske competes against the likes of Zouk and Scarters. Earlier this year, Zouk raised $3 Mn in a funding round led by Stellaris Venture Partners.

With rising penetration of internet and smartphone, India has the third-largest online shopping base in the world. This, along with the increase in disposable incomes, has led to the emergence of a number of D2C brands in the country over the last few years. This has also drawn investors’ attention.

Last month, D2C personal care brand Pilgrim bagged $20 Mn in a funding round led by Temasek’s Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India. Before that, mother and baby care D2C brand SuperBottoms raised $5 Mn from Lok Capital and Sharrp Ventures.

The burgeoning Indian D2C market is likely to reach a size of $100 Bn by 2025 and is expected to account for 75% or $300 Bn of the $400 Bn ecommerce market opportunity by 2030, making it the largest and fastest-growing segment within the ecommerce landscape, as per an Inc42 analysis.

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India is renowned worldwide for its rich culinary delights, with each state offering a diverse array of food and beverage (F&B) experiences. Despite this, the Indian palate craves more for fresh and exotic cuisines and flavours.

With over 140 Cr people having such affinity for a variety of food and beverages, Indian entrepreneurs have seemingly found a lucrative market, which, as per Inc42, is expected to grow to $68 Bn by 2030. Notably, startups have picked up this opportunity by catering to the requirements of people, through the D2C channels.

According to Inc42’s analysis, the F&B industry commands a 27% share in the Indian D2C space, just after the beauty and personal care segment at 28.6%.

From established brands like Pedigree Petfoods, Amul, Baskin Robbins, and McDonald’s to startups like iD Fresh Foods, Chaayos, Coolberg, and Paper Boat, there is no dearth of choices for Indian consumers, and still, there is enough headroom for both the existing and new players to flourish in the sector.

The above statement can be substantiated by the fact that several F&B startups, including Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, Plix, Pluckk, and TagZ have been making waves in the industry, backed by investors’ trust.   

The influx of new startups with innovative product ranges has revitalised the sector, prompting Inc42 to compile a list of the F&B brands that are disrupting the Indian market.

(Note: The list below is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. We have listed the Indian F&B startups in alphabetical order.)

F&B D2C Brands Reshaping Indian Consumer Market

1. Burger Singh

• Year Of Inception: 2014
• Founders: Nitin Rana, Rahul Seth
• Funding Raised To Date: INR 30 Cr + undisclosed
• Investors: RB Investments, Rukam Capital, KCT Family Office, and V.M. SALGAOCAR family office
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Established in 2014 by Kabir Jeet Singh, Nitin Rana, and Rahul Seth, Burger Singh is a Gurugram-based quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain.

In 2019, the company secured an undisclosed amount of funding from RB Investments, based in Singapore. Subsequently, in 2022, Burger Singh successfully raised INR 30 Cr in its Series A funding round. The round was led by Negen Capital, accompanied by LetsVenture, Mumbai Angels, Old World Hospitality, and musician Jasleen Royal.

Following the fundraising in 2022, the fast-food chain announced its plan to utilise the funds for opening 120 new food outlets by the end of FY23.

As of July 2022, Burger Singh boasted more than 80 exclusive food outlets and 12 franchisees across various locations in India.

In the competitive QSR industry, Burger Singh faces competition from well-known brands such as Burger King, McDonald’s, Subway, Domino’s, and KFC.

2. Chaayos 

• Year Of Inception: 2012
• Founders: Nitin Saluja, Raghav Verma 
• Funding Raised To Date: $98 Mn
• Investors: Alpha Wave Ventures, Elevation Capital, Think Investments, Tiger Global, Integrated Capital, SAIF Partners, InnoVen Capital, Pactolus, Sachin Shukla, Bhavish Aggarwal, Ankit Bhati
• Headquarters: Delhi

F&B brand Chaayos sells multiple types of teas and pre-packaged food products via offline and online marketplaces and uses new-age technologies like AI and IoT to run its operations efficiently.

Earlier, it had shared that its online tea deliveries account for 45% of its revenue. It operates 190 retail outlets across six Indian cities. In June 2022, it secured $53 Mn in its Series C funding to develop tech infrastructure and expand its presence.

Its cap table includes Alpha Wave Ventures, Elevation Capital, Think Investments, Tiger Global, SAIF Partners, InnoVen Capital, Pactolus, and Ola cofounders Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, among others.

Chaayos’ FY22 revenues rose 2.4X YoY to INR 134.9 Cr, while its total revenues stood at INR 140.2 Cr during the period under review.

3. Coolberg 

• Year Of Inception: 2016
• Founders: Pankaj Aswani, Yashika Keswani
• Funding Raised To Date: $3.5 Mn
• Investors: RB Investments, India Quotient, Ashish Goenka, Indian Angel Network
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Coolberg is a non-alcoholic beer brand, which sells cranberry, peach, ginger, malt, strawberry, mint, and cranberry beverages via its website and offline distribution channels. Currently, it has a presence in India, Africa, Maldives, Bhutan, and Nepal. 

In 2019, Coolberg raised $3.5 Mn in its Series A funding round from RB Investments, India Quotient, Ashish Goenka from Suashish Diamonds, and Indian Angel Network. Prior to that, it bagged an undisclosed sum from India Quotient and Indian Angel Network’s maiden fund.

The beverage startup was acquired by Ghodawat Consumer in 2022 for an undisclosed amount. The startup said that this acquisition would help it develop a portfolio of new-age premium beverage brands as part of the deal. 

4. Dogsee Chew

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders:  Bhupendra Khanal, Sneh Sharma 
• Funding Raised To Date: $13.9 Mn  
• Investors: Mankind Pharma, Sixth Sense Ventures
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Dogsee Chew offers vegetarian dog treats that are natural, human-grade, and protein-rich. These treats are made from yak milk cheese by residents of villages in Nepal, Sikkim, and Darjeeling. 

Earlier this year, the startup secured $6.7 Mn in its Series A funding round from Mankind Pharma and Sixth Sense Ventures.

In November 2021, it raised $7 Mn in its Pre-Series A funding round from Sixth Sense Ventures. Currently, it has a presence in over 30 countries. 

5. DropKaffe

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders: Rakshit Kejriwal, Lakshmi Dasaka, Chaitanya Chitta  
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.7 Mn 
• Investors: Fireside Ventures, Brigade Group, GrowthStory, Sidharth Pansari, Nirupa Shankar, Hitesh Oberoi, Kanwaljit Singh, Apurva Salarpuria, Manish Singhal P39 Capital
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Beverage startup DropKaffe sells ready-to-drink cold coffee, fresh coffee beans, coffee powders, and gourmet foods under the brand SLAY Coffee through its website and cafe chains.

According to its LinkedIn page, the startup has a presence in over 160 locations across 19 Indian cities.

In 2016, its parent company raised $550K in a funding round led by Fireside Ventures’ Kanwaljit Singh, Srini Anumolu & Meena Ganesh of GrowthStory, Apurva Salarpuria from Salarpuria Group, Sidharth Pansari from Primac, Rahul Gidwani, Hitesh Oberoi from Naukri, Nirupa Shankar from Brigade Group, and Bhupen Shah also participated in the round. 

The venture claims to serve more than 500K customers across 20 cities across the country.

6. Eat Better

• Year Of Inception: 2020
• Founders: Mridula Kanoria, Shaurya Kanoria  
• Funding Raised To Date:  $725K
• Investors: Java Capital, Mumbai Angels, Shiprocket Ventures, CapierCapital, Plan B Capital, Harpreet Grover, Arjun Vaidya, Bhavik Vasa, Radhika Ghai, Vishesh Khurana, Bimal Kartheek Rebba, Ishank Joshi, Venus Dhuria, and Divij Bajaj
• Headquarters: Jaipur

Organic food startup Eat Better sells healthy snacks such as coffee and almond laddoos, hazelnut chocolate laddoos, and vanilla, and cacao laddoos, among others, through its website and other ecommerce platforms. 

The startup has a manufacturing facility in Jaipur and manages a base of over 50 female employees.

In March 2022, it secured INR 5.5 Cr seed funding to strengthen its team, expand offerings and develop marketing and distribution channels. 

A slew of investors, including Java Capital, Mumbai Angels, Shiprocket Ventures, CapierCapital and Plan B Capital, participated in the funding round.

Earlier, it claimed to have reported over 10x growth in revenues between October 2020 and March 2022.

7. Good Flippin’ Burgers 

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders: Viren D’silva, Sijo Mathew, Sid Marchant
• Funding Raised To Date: $5.1 Mn
• Investors:  Karan Bhagat, Yatin Shah, Nikhil Bhardwaj, Tanglin Venture Partners
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Burger chain Good Flippin’ Burgers has 23 outlets across Mumbai and Delhi, of which 16 are in Mumbai. The brand entered the Delhi market with seven new outlets earlier this year.

In 2023, the startup raised $4 Mn in its Series A round, which was led by Tanglin Venture Partners. It has also raised $1.1 Mn in a seed round led by Kerala Blasters Football Club’s director Nikhil Bharadwaj, IIFL Wealth’s Karan Bhagat and Yatin Shah.

With outlets in only two cities in India, the startup is aiming to expand its footprint in India. It is also in the process of adopting cloud, hybrid, and dine-in formats with a focus on malls and airports. 

8. Happilo 

• Year Of Inception: 2016
• Founders: Vikas Nahar
• Funding Raised To Date: $38 Mn
• Bb Investors: Motilal Oswal Private Equity, A91 Partners
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Happilo is a healthy snack brand that offers nuts, dried fruits, seeds and dry roasted snacks. It has a manufacturing unit at Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru. It follows an omnichannel approach to sell its products across the country. 

Happilo’s products are non-GMO verified, gluten-free, vegan and fat-free. The startup offers EMI options to customers if they cannot pay for products at once. 

In February, Happilo raised $25 Mn from Motilal Oswal Private Equity to expand its business and offerings and acquire other firms. Before this, it secured $13 Mn from A91 Partners.

It has grown over 4X in the last 24 months and is aiming to clock revenue of INR 2,000 Cr in the next four years.

9. iD Fresh Food

• Year Of Inception: 2005
• Founders: PC Musthafa, Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar, Noushad TA
• Funding Raised To Date: $104 Mn
• Investors: NewQuest Capital Partner, Premji Invest, Peak XV Partners, Helion Ventures, Azim Premji
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

iD Fresh Food sells ready-to-make food such as dosa and idli batter, and rice rava idli batter, among others, in domestic and international markets. 

It has a presence in over 45 cities across the globe including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Dubai, among others.

Recently, the Bengaluru-based D2C startup announced its seventh round of ESOPs worth INR 46 Cr for 27 employees.  

“In the coming months, we are excited to augment our 2,000+ workforce as we explore new markets and continue to create new opportunities for a diverse set of professionals, while actively creating a more inclusive workplace,” Musthafa said while announcing the ESOPs.

In January, the startup secured $68 Mn in its Series D funding round from NewQuest Capital Partner and Premji Invest. It has raised $104 Mn so far from individual and institutional investors. 

10. Jade Forest

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders: Shuchir Suri, Punweet Singh
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.25 Mn
• Investors: Mumbai Angels Network, Gaurav Kapur, Rohan Abbas, Ashish Tulsian, AngelList India 
• Headquarters: Delhi 

Jade Forest offers a slew of non-alcoholic beverages to customers via its website, ecommerce marketplaces and last-mile delivery platforms. Its products are priced between INR 80 and INR 85.

In 2021, it secured $1 Mn from Mumbai Angels Network. Before this, it secured $250,000 in its seed funding round from angel investors such as Gaurav Kapur, Rohan Abbas, Ashish Tulsian, and AngelList India. 

Its products are certified by the US FDA. In the last two years, it has expanded to 23 Indian cities.

11. Jimmy’s Cocktails

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders: Ankur Bhatia and Nitin Bhardwaj  
• Funding Raised To Date: $2.4 Mn
• Investors: Roots Ventures, 7Square Ventures, Vishesh Khurana, Varun Alagh, Keki Mistry, Vidur Talwar, Anirudh Somani, Vinay Agarwal, Ankur Bhatia, Mirza Baig, Ekcle Ventures, Angad Bhatia
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Jimmy’s Cocktails offers a slew of cocktail mixers including gin cherry sour, bloody mary, lime margarita, and mango chilli mojito, among others. 

In April, Jimmy’s Cocktails secured $1.8 Mn in its Pre-Series A funding round from investors such as Roots Ventures, 7Square Ventures, Vishesh Khurana from Shiprocket, Varun Alagh from Mamaearth, Keki Mistry from HDFC, among others. 

The startup then said that it sold over 6 Mn cocktails in the first three months of 2022. 

In the financial year 2021-22, it posted a 3X revenue growth. About 40% of its revenue came from Tier II and III cities.

This year, Radiohead Brands, the beverage maker’s parent company, secured $1.3 Mn and announced the launch of its energy drink brand Hustle. 

12. Kapiva Ayurveda

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders: Ameve Sharma, Shrey Badhani
• Funding Raised To Date:  $15.77 Mn
• Investors: Vertex Ventures, Fireside Ventures, 3one4 Capital
• Headquarters: Mumbai 

Kapiva Ayurveda offers a slew of ayurvedic products for building immunity, improving digestion, strengthening the body and controlling diabetes, among others. 

In October 2021, it got an undisclosed amount of funding from Bollywood actor Malaika Arora.

The startup’s revenue stood at INR 40 Cr in the financial year 2020-21. It claims to have sold over 8 Lakh ayurvedic products since its launch and has a user base of 3.5 Lakh.

13. Lahori

• Year Of Inception: 2017
• Founders: Saurabh Munjal, Saurabh Bhutna, Nikhil Doda
• Funding Raised To Date: $15 Mn
• Investors: Verlinvest
• Headquarters: Punjab

Lahori offers traditional Indian beverages across the country. Currently, it offers Indian drinks in four flavours – jeera (cumin), nimboo (lemon), kacha aam (raw mango) and shikanji (lemonade). 

Lahori’s parent company, Archian Foods, manufactures nearly 1 Mn bottles in its fully automated manufacturing facility, which is spread across 1,50,000 sq ft. Its manufacturing unit is accredited by FSSAI, ISI, HACCP, RoHS and Make In India (offered by GeM). 

In January, Belgium-based Verlinvest infused $15 Mn in Lahori in exchange for a minority stake.

14. Licious 

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders: Abhay Hanjura, Vivek Gupta 
• Funding Raised To Date: $360 Mn
• Investors: Amansa Capital, Kotak PE, Axis Growth Avenues AIF – I, Nithin Kamath, Nikhil Kamath, Aman Gupta, Haresh Chawla, Temasek, Brunei Investment Agency, 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Vertex Growth Fund, and Vertex Ventures
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Licious offers a host of meat and seafood including prawns, kebabs and mutton, among others. Besides, it also offers an end-to-end supply chain of products that it sells to customers, right from their procurement to processing to delivery. 

In March, the foodtech unicorn secured $150 Mn from Amansa Capital, Kotak PE, Axis Growth Avenues AIF – I, Nithin and Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, boAt’s Aman Gupta and Haresh Chawla from True North. 

Before this, it raised $52 Mn in October 2021. In the financial year 2020-21, it had an annual revenue rate of INR 1,000 Cr and operations in 14 Indian cities. Its customer base stood at over 2 Mn in the fiscal year 2020-21.

15. MasterChow

• Year Of Inception: 2020
• Founders: Vidur Kataria, Sidhanth Mada
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.6 Mn
• Investors: Anicut Capital, WEH ventures, Fluid ventures 
• Headquarters: Delhi

D2C brand MasterChow offers ready-to-cook noodles, dipping sauces, and sticky rice, among others. 

In May, MasterChow raised $1.2 Mn from Anicut Capital, WEH ventures and Fluid ventures.

Prior to this, it had raised around $462K in its seed funding round from WEH Ventures and some angel investors. The startup had then claimed that it had grown 10x over the previous 12 months and shipped products to over 17,000 pin codes across India.

16. Namhya Foods

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders: Ridhima Arora
• Funding Raised To Date: Undisclosed
• Investors: Aman Gupta 
• Headquarters: Jammu

Headquartered in Jammu, Namhya Foods specialises in snacks and beverages made from Indian herbs and natural ingredients.

The startup was established in 2019 by Ridhima Arora. To secure funding, she participated in Shark India’s inaugural season and successfully secured INR 50 Lakh against a 10% equity. Additionally, she obtained an additional INR 50 Lakh in debt funding from Aman Gupta, the cofounder of boAt.

Namhya Foods positions itself as a provider of nourishing food products designed to assist individuals with various health conditions such as diabetes, heart issues, high blood pressure, cholesterol, thyroid problems, as well as chest congestion. The company offers a diverse range of products.

In addition to its presence in India, Namhya Foods operates in the United States and has plans to expand into the UAE, Australia, and Canada.

17. Nourish You

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders: Rakesh Kilaru, Krishna Reddy, Sowmya Reddy
• Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn
• Investors: Y Janardhana Rao, Rohit Chennamaneni, Nikhil Kamath, Abhijeet Pai, Abhinay Bollineni
• Headquarters: Hyderabad

Nourish You sells nutrient-rich breakfast food products and snacks to consumers via its website and ecommerce marketplaces, including Flipkart, BigBasket, and Amazon, among others. 

Besides selling products directly to consumers, the startup exports food items to countries like Singapore, Nepal, Kenya, Dubai, Mongolia and Maldives. Some of its products are quinoa flour, chocolate & banana muesli, and cranberry walnut mix. 

Earlier, the startup shared that it had 5,000 acres of quinoa and chia farms in Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. 

In January 2023, it secured $2 Mn in seed funding for research and development activities, brand marketing and fortifying its distribution and market presence. As a part of this round, it also secured an undisclosed amount of funding from actress Samantha Prabhu. 

18. Paper Boat

• Year Of Inception: 2010 
• Founders: Neeraj Kakkar, Niraj Biyani
• Funding Raised To Date: INR 458 Cr 
• Investors: Peak XV Partners, Hillhouse Capital Group, GIC, Advent International, Trifecta Capital, Sofina SA, A91 Partners, Catamaran, Footprint Ventures
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Paper Boat sells a slew of fruit-based drinks in Indian flavours including aam panna (raw mango), rose tamarind (tamarind juice), chilli guava (guava juice), ‘jaljeera’ (spicy, tangy lemonade), among others.

In August, the startup raised $50.1 Mn in funding from GIC-owned sovereign fund Lathe Investment Pte Ltd.

At the time, it used to have a presence in the metro cities, Tier II towns and beyond. In the fiscal year 2021-22, it posted revenue of INR 243 Cr, whilst its losses stood at INR 64 Cr. Meanwhile, in the fiscal year ending March 2020, it clocked revenue at INR 231 Cr and losses at INR 100 Cr, according to Tofler.

19. Plix

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders: Rishubh Satiya, Akash Zaveri
• Funding Raised To Date: $5 Mn
• Investors: Guild Capital, RPSG Ventures
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Based in Mumbai, Plix specialises in plant-based nutrition supplements, offering a range that includes gummies, superfood powders, and effervescent tablets. Plix asserts that its products effectively address concerns related to weight loss, hair fall and skin, daily wellness, women’s health, and workout requirements.

In July, FMCG giant Marico acquired a majority 58% stake in Plix for INR 369.01 Cr, marking its inaugural foray into the D2C arena. Under the terms of this deal, Marico assumed control over Plix’s board, and Plix became a subsidiary of Marico.

Competing alongside players like OZiva, Setu Nutrition, and Fast&Up, Plix boasts a customer base exceeding 1.5 Mn individuals. The omnichannel brand offers a diverse portfolio of 60 products spanning six categories. 

20. Samosa Singh

• Year Of Inception: 2016
• Founders: Nidhi Singh, Shikhar Veer Singh
• Funding Raised To Date: $2.7 Mn
• Investors: Fireside Ventures, AL Trust, AET Fund, She Capital, Equanimity Investments, ANME
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Food snack brand Samosa Singh sells Indian food snacks such as samosa, kachori, pani puri, and matar kulcha, among others, to its customers via cloud kitchens and kiosks.

It had earlier shared that its manufacturing unit holds the capacity to produce 25K food items daily.

In 2020, the startup secured $2.7 Mn (INR 17 Cr) in a Series A funding round to develop the capacity of its Bengaluru-based central kitchen. The round was led by She Capital.

As of March 2020, it had a presence in over 25 locations in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. It claims to have set up 100 cloud kitchens in prime cities of South India.

21. Slurrp Farm 

• Year Of Inception: 2016
• Founders: Meghana Narayan, Shauravi Malik
• Funding Raised To Date: $9 Mn
• Investors: Anushka Sharma, Investment Corporation of Dubai, Fireside Ventures
• Headquarters: Delhi

Slurrp Farm is a children-focussed healthy snack brand. It offers a variety of cereals, milk mixes and snacks such as ready-to-mix pancakes, cakes, dosas, noodles and various kinds of pasta. For first-time users, it offers these products in trial packs. 

Slurrp Farm’s parent, Wholsum Foods, sells the products via its website and ecommerce marketplaces. Currently, it has a presence in India, the UAE, the US, and the UK. 

In the financial year 2021-22, it reported over INR 50 Cr annual revenue rate (ARR) and witnessed a 10X growth between June 2020 and December 2021. It further aims to achieve a revenue of INR 500 Cr by 2025.

In April, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma backed Slurrp Farm. Prior to this deal, the D2C brand raised $7 Mn from the Investment Corporation of Dubai and Fireside Ventures and also bagged $2 Mn in a Series A round from Fireside Ventures.

22. Storia

• Year Of Inception: 2017
• Founders: Vishal Shah
• Funding Raised To Date: $6 Mn 
• Investors: Sixth Sense Ventures
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Storia offers a range of processed fruit juices, coconut water, and shakes to customers. 

In 2021, it raised $6 Mn in its Series A funding from Sixth Sense Ventures. It currently has a presence in 33 Indian cities via its 50K retail outlets.

At the time of the announcement of its Series A funding round, the startup said it planned to launch new offerings, expand its distribution network and foray into packaged food. 

23. TagZ Foods

• Year Of Inception: June 2019
• Founders: Anish Basu Roy, Sagar Bhalotia 
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.5 Mn 
• Investors: 9Unicorns, Umang Bedi, Venture Catalysts, Dexter Angels, Agility Ventures, Arjun Vaidya, Dharamveer Chouhan, Ashneer Grover, Namitha Thapar
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

TagZ makes and sells chips, chocolates, dips and cheese dribbling, among others. It recently also pitched investors on the television show Shark Tank India. 

It also raised money via a consumer stock option plan (CSOP), where it offered equity to customers for investing a minimum of INR 5,000. The CSOP was oversubscribed by 250%. 

Prior to this, it raised an undisclosed amount of investment in its Pre-Series A funding round from Venture Catalysts, Zostel’s Dharamveer Chouhan, The Pant Project’s Dhruv Toshniwal, and Loy Halder from Goldman Sachs, among others. 

In the financial year 2021-22, its revenue stood at INR 15 Cr. The startup claims to have served over 30 Mn consumers and sold more than 50 Mn packets of chips since its inception.  

24. TenderCuts

• Year Of Inception: 2016
• Founders: Nishanth Chandran
• Funding Raised To Date: $19 Mn
• Investors: Stride Ventures, Paragon Partners, Nabventures 
• Headquarters: Chennai 

D2C brand TenderCuts offers meat and seafood products including chicken, mutton, seafood, marinades, pickles, and eggs and ready-to-cook products such as cold cuts, sausages, kebabs, shawarmas, etc.

In 2021, it secured approximately $4 Mn in a debt funding round from Stride Ventures. Prior to this, it raised $15 Mn from Paragon Partners and Nabventures and closed a seed funding round worth $759K in 2017. 

It follows an omnichannel marketing strategy and has been serving customers across Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore via its 50 retail stores. 

Last month, the omnichannel meat brand Good To Go acquired TenderCuts along with Happy Chops, a seven-month-old tech platform launched by TenderCuts that claims to offer an online storefront and procurement support to local butcher shops.

25. The Filling Station

• Year Of Inception: 2021
• Founders: Mahua Ghosh, Suvankar Ghosh
• Funding Raised To Date: Undisclosed 
• Investors: NA (Not Available)
• Headquarters: Mumbai 

Healthy food snack startup The Filling Station sells nutrient-rich laddoos, oil-free snacks, and nutrient-rich spreads, among others, via its website and ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart.

In snacks, it uses ingredients such as palm, oats, makhana, seeds, nuts, and date fruit. Its cofounder Mahua Ghosh holds 11 years of experience in the food industry. She has previously worked with many fast food joints, cloud kitchens and retail brands. The venture is recognised by the Centre’s Startup India Initiative, according to the website.

26. The Good Bug

• Year Of Inception: 2022
• Founders: Keshav Biyani, Prabhu Karthikeyan
• Funding Raised To Date: $3.5 Mn
• Investors: Fireside Ventures
• Headquarters: Mumbai

The Mumbai-based startup, The Good Bugs, offers a range of products that are designed to promote and maintain gut health for consumers. Its primary focus lies in addressing the health concerns of individuals aged 25-60 who may be grappling with the negative consequences of unhealthy dietary and lifestyle choices.

Currently, the startup operates as an omnichannel brand, with approximately 70% of its revenue coming from its website and the remaining 30% from various online marketplaces. Notably, the startup has recently initiated partnerships with pharmacies to expand its offline presence.

Since its inception, the brand claims to have catered to over 2 Lakh customers. It also proclaims to have strong repeat rates of 40-45%. To expand its product offerings, the startup is planning to introduce 20 new products to its portfolio over the next six to twelve months.

27. The Whole Truth

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders:  Shashank Mehta
• Funding Raised To Date: $21 Mn
• Investors: Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners India, Sauce.vc, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Sujeet Kumar, Ashneer Grover, Shashvat Nakrani
• Headquarters: Mumbai 

The Whole Truth sells dark chocolate, muesli, protein bars, nut butter and energy bars via its website and other ecommerce marketplaces.

In July, the D2C snack brand secured $6 Mn in its Series A funding round from Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners India, Sauce.vc, Flipkart’s Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Udaan’s Sujeet Kumar, Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani.

The startup had then claimed that it had grown 12x in the last 18 months. Besides, The Whole Truth said it receives 50% of its sales via its website and the rest from ecommerce marketplaces. 

This year, the startup secured $15 Mn to boost its manufacturing capacity, hire talent, and expand its retail distribution. 

28. Troo Good

• Year Of Inception: 2018
• Founders: Raju Bhupati 
• Funding Raised To Date: $7.4 Mn 
• Investors: OAKS Asset Management
• Headquarters: Hyderabad

Troo Good offers a slew of millet, peanut, chocolate, and dry fruit snack bars and mixtures. In the year of its inception, it clocked a revenue of INR 12 Cr, while in 2019, it posted a revenue of INR 24 Cr. The startup claims that it is currently profitable before tax. 

In November 2021, Troo Good secured $7.4 Mn from OAKS Asset Management to expand its business in the domestic market.

29. True Elements 

• Founded In: 2013 
• Founders: Puru Gupta and Sreejith Moolayil
• Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn
• Investors: Marico, Maharashtra State Social Venture Fund
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

True Elements offers millet, grains, and seeds-based breakfast and snack foods. It follows an omnichannel marketing strategy, selling products via its website, ecommerce marketplaces and brick-and-mortar stores. 

In May, consumer company Marico acquired a 53.98% stake in True Elements’ parent HW Wellness Solutions for an undisclosed sum. Prior to this, True Elements secured INR 10 Cr from the Maharashtra State Social Venture Fund last year. 

In the financial year 2021-22, it recorded sales of over INR 54.3 Cr as compared to INR 36.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Currently, it sells over 70 products and more than 200 stock-keeping units (SKUs) across 12,000 retail outlets in India. It claims to earn over 75% of its revenue from online distribution channels.

30. Twigly

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders: Sonal Minhas, Rohan Dayal, Naresh Kumar Kachhi
• Funding Raised To Date: $800K 
• Investors: Tracxn Labs, Hyderabad Angels, Kunal Shah, Aditya Verma, Gaurav Bhalotia, Amit Gupta, Sahil Barua, Mukul Singhal 
• Headquarters: Gurugram 

Twigly provides freshly cooked food at consumers’ doorstep via its website and mobile app. It currently delivers orders in Delhi NCR. Some of its products are burgers, pasta, grill platters, desserts, and various types of beverages. 

According to its founders, the startup is modelled on San Francisco-based food delivery startup Sprig, which used to offer freshly cooked meals to its consumers. The startup closed down its operations in 2017. 

In September 2018, Twigly was acquired by its competitor for an undisclosed amount.

31. Vahdam India

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders: Bala Sarda
• Funding Raised To Date: $62.3 Mn
• Investors: Sixth Sense Ventures, IIFL Asset Management, Mankind Group Family Office, SAR Group Family Office, Kris Gopalakrishnan, White Whale Ventures, Urmin Group
• Headquarters: New Delhi 

Vahdam offers an assorted range of teas, including herbal, white, oolong and iced teas, among others in India and across the world. Its other offerings include teaware and instant lattes.  

In September 2021, the startup secured INR 174 Cr in its Series D Round led by IIFL AMC’s Private Equity Fund. Post the fundraising, it was valued at INR 700 Cr. 

Presently, the startup claims that it has a presence in more than 100 countries and also turned profitable in the fiscal year 2021 after clocking a net revenue of INR 160 Cr+.

32. Wellbeing Nutrition

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders: Avnish Chhabria, Saurabh Kapoor 
• Funding Raised To Date: $10.7 Mn
• Investors: Rakulpreet Singh, Mira Kapoor, Fireside Ventures, HUL, etc.
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded in 2019, Wellbeing Nutrition is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) nutraceutical company based in Mumbai. Cofounded by Avnish Chhabria and Saurabh Kapoor, the startup specialises in offering healthy food products with a primary focus on women’s health.

The company’s product portfolio includes Melts, which are vitamin-based thin strips, Korean Marine for collagen, and Daily Fiber for plant-based prebiotic fibre, among others.

In December 2022, Wellbeing Nutrition secured $10 Mn (INR 85 Cr) in its Series B funding round led by Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and Fireside Ventures. HUL currently holds a 19.8% stake in the startup.

The company’s list of investors includes Bollywood actor Rakulpreet Singh, Mira Kapoor; Ashutosh Valani and Priyank Shah from RENEE Cosmetics, Nikhil Gandhi from MX Player, Harsh Vardhan Bhandari and Jeenendra Bhandari, among others.

Wellbeing Nutrition operates in the D2C segment and faces competition from brands such as Power Gummies and Fast&Up.

33. WickedGud

• Year Of Inception: 2021
• Founders: Bhuman Dani, Soumalya Biswas, Monish Debnath 
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.34 Mn
• Investors: Mumbai Angels, NB Ventures, Dholakia Ventures, Jalaj Dani Family Office, Ashutosh Valani, Priyank Shah, Ravi Shroff, Ravi Nigam, Ashwini Deshpande, Jorge Fernandez Vidal, Akshay Gurnani, Titan Capital, Archana Priyadarshini, Gaurav Ahuja, Amit Chaudhary, Aman Gupta, Sameer Mehta, Harsh Vakharia, Jorge Fernandez Vidal
• Headquarters: Mumbai 

WickedGud sells pasta, noodles, malted beverages and other snacks via its website and ecommerce marketplaces. According to its website, its products are wholly vegan and contain plant-based protein. 

In April, WickedGud secured $1 Mn from Mumbai Angels, NB Ventures, Dholakia Ventures, Jalaj Dani Family Office, Ashutosh Valani and Priyank Shah from Renee Cosmetics, Ravi Shroff from Excel Industries, Ravi Nigam from Tasty Bite, Ashwini Deshpande from Elephant Design, among others. 

Prior to this, it had secured $340K in its pre-seed funding round from Titan Capital, Archana Priyadarshini from Point One Capital, Gaurav Ahuja from Chrys Capital, Amit Chaudhary from Lenskart, among others. 

The startup targets customers aged 26 to 42 and claims to have an average order value of INR 450.

(Note: The list below is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. We have listed the Indian F&B startups in alphabetical order.)

Last updated: October 2, 2023 | The article has been updated to include three more names.

The post From Slurrp Farm To TagZ Foods: Here Are 33 F&B D2C Brands Reshaping The Indian Consumer Market appeared first on Inc42 Media.

A few months ago, my better half ordered a handcrafted leather wallet from a D2C brand she had recently discovered. She was so excited to receive it, and when the package finally arrived, she was delighted to find a small, handwritten note tucked inside. 

The note was a simple gesture, but it made a big difference. It showed that the brand cared about her as a customer, and it made her feel special.

This personalised touch is what sets D2C brands apart from the competition. When customers feel valued and seen, they’re more likely to become loyal advocates for your brand.

You’re on the verge of greatness. You’ve found product-market fit, established ad channels, and generated revenue. But there’s still one challenge left to overcome. 

We can help. We’ve compiled a set of personalised strategies to get you there.

Surveys

Dive deep into customer insights with post-purchase surveys. Discover their origins, motivations, and aspirations, all while enhancing your brand experience. Tools like Fairing’s post-purchase surveys can be invaluable.

Email & SMS

Craft engaging, personalised content for email and SMS communications. Beyond order confirmations, unveil your brand’s backstory, mission, and values. Create a sense of community where consumers feel they’ve joined an exclusive club.

Customer Service

Lightning-fast customer service is the cornerstone of retention. Tools like Gorgias can streamline your support, ensuring timely responses that resonate with your patrons.

Returns & Exchanges

Loop Returns is your solution to seamless returns. Keep your customers content while preserving revenue through gift cards and exchanges.

Discounts

Engage with personalised discounts tailored to individual purchase behaviour. Craft messages that connect and offer a sense of exclusivity.

Surprise And Delight

Elevate your brand through surprise elements – hidden gifts or handwritten notes. Create moments that become cherished memories, fostering a community of lifelong enthusiasts.

These strategies are more than just guidelines. They are the path to brand evolution. When you personalise the customer journey, you build lasting relationships. 

Remember, success lies in optimising the post-purchase funnel and creating a world where customers feel like they are part of a story. 

As you implement these strategies, be objective and let personalisation drive your brand’s success.

The post How D2C Brands Can Elevate Customer Delight By Embracing Personalisation? appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In today’s competitive market, one should realise that the key to thriving in the landscape of D2C business lies within the treasure trove of customer data. One-size-fits-all marketing is a thing of the past; nowadays, data-driven decision-making is everything. 

Businesses may now thrive in this always-changing business environment by utilising the deep insights they can receive from their clients.

The Power Of Customer Insights

In an era where every customer interaction leaves an online trace, we have access to an unlimited wealth of data. Customer insights are what we refer to as a gold mine of knowledge on your customers’ behaviours, preferences, and comments. 

These details are obtained from several touchpoints, such as their website visits, social media interactions, previous purchases, and reviews and comments they leave.

These perceptions give you a complete picture of your customers, what they like, and what they want from your company. They go beyond basic statistics. You need to possess this knowledge to give your consumers exceptional experiences that will make them happy and fiercely devoted to you.

Enhancing The Product Development

Customer insights’ influence on product development is one of their most amazing benefits. In the past, companies like ours made product creation decisions based on gut feeling and market research. However, we now have access to a far more reliable and up-to-date source of information.

We may detect new trends and requests by examining consumer data. This information is a gold mine for staying on top of trends and producing goods that actually appeal to the target market. 

For instance, if an online clothes company notices a spike in demand for sustainable fashion goods, they may quickly broaden their selection of environmentally friendly products. With this proactive strategy, one can be sure that the brand is always responding to changing market conditions.

Personalised Marketing: A Game Changer

Nowadays, everyone in marketing is playing the game of personalisation. Customers want companies to recognise their particular demands and provide individualised experiences. Customer insights become important in this situation.

We can construct highly targeted and individualised marketing efforts by segmenting our consumer base depending on their tastes and behaviours. For instance, if we detect a certain set of clients regularly purchasing exercise equipment, we may give them tailored offers and suggestions for fitness-related items. 

This degree of personalisation enhances client loyalty while also raising conversion rates.

Optimising Customer Experience: Where Magic Happens

For direct-to-consumer success, a smooth and wonderful client experience is the pinnacle. Customer insights are a significant source of knowledge regarding problems and potential areas for change. We can improve a number of parts of the customer journey by analysing comments and data.

For instance, we can delve deeply into the data if we discover that customers frequently leave their shopping carts during checkout. Is it due to a challenging checkout form, unforeseen shipping fees, or another element? With this knowledge, we can improve checkout procedures, deal with these problems, and lower cart abandonment rates.

Customer insights also enable us to anticipate prospective problems and take proactive measures to resolve them. We can take action to enhance size guidance and lower future return rates if we discover that a specific product has a higher return rate as a result of size discrepancies.

Data-Driven Decision Making: Your North Star

The wonderful thing about customer insights is that they allow for data-driven choices in all areas of our direct-to-consumer company. Every choice may be supported by data, from pricing plans and inventory management to marketing initiatives and customer service.

For example, we may look at the data to identify why client retention rates drop. It can be brought on by heightened competition, evolving client tastes, or problems with our subscription business. We can modify our price, content strategy, or client engagement activities in light of this information.

Building Stronger Customer Loyalty: The Ultimate Goal

In the D2C landscape, customer loyalty is our holy grail. Repeat customers generate more revenue and act as brand advocates, driving new business through word-of-mouth referrals.

Customer insights play a crucial role in nurturing and retaining loyal customers. We may adapt our solutions to meet changing client demands by regularly observing customer behaviour and preferences. This proactive approach reinforces customer loyalty by demonstrating that our brand is on the ball and committed to providing value.

Additionally, customer feedback is a gold mine for enhancing our goods and services. By paying attention to them and implementing their ideas, we demonstrate to our clients that we appreciate their opinions. As a consequence, our brand and customers develop an emotional bond.

Your Journey To Data-Driven Success

In the fast-paced world of D2C commerce, relying on intuition and guesswork is a recipe for failure. Future success will be driven by data, and consumer insights will be its engine. By getting to know our customers personally, we can enhance our product offerings, create tailored marketing campaigns, enhance the customer experience, and make intelligent decisions that foster long-term development and profitability.

For D2C firms like ours, the road to success is simple: harness the power of consumer insights to survive and thrive in a cutthroat industry. The knowledge is there; it must be transformed into practical company expansion strategies that build long-lasting client relationships. It’s time to maximise the value of our data and provide the foundation for sound decision-making based on facts.  Your trip has only just begun.

The post Data-Driven Success: How To Utilise Customer Insights To Enhance D2C Strategy appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Retail intelligence platform Fairdeal.Market has raised $2 Mn funding in a round led by WaterBridge Ventures. It also saw participation from Gemba Capital, GrowX Ventures, Ananta Capital CEO Priyaranjan Kumar, Vini Cosmetics CFO Manish Bajoria, among others. 

Founded in 2022 by brothers Prateek Bansal and Yash Bansal, Fairdeal is building a data-led distribution network to provide full-stack offline distribution service to D2C brands. 

It also helps regional and global brands launch new products and enter new markets. 

“We are firm believers that developing multiple touchpoints with consumers holds the key to building a long-lasting brand and that the strong offline presence of brands will remain a key determinant in purchase decisions. We also believe that digitally influenced offline sales will drive robust growth for new-age brands, heralding a new era where omnichannel will be the norm,” Prateek Bansal said. 

Citing the need for its network, Fairdeal said data-backed offline distribution is the key to success for brands amid the stiff competition from ecommerce. The startup also said that online distribution channels are expensive, further increasing the importance of tapping offline channels.

According to Fairdeal, only 50% of the rural areas have been tapped well by the FMCG giants with an annual revenue of more than $2 Bn. This is the gap that the startup is aiming to bridge by building a retail intelligence platform for brands using an offline distribution first approach. 

Fairdeal claims to have a network of over 10K retailers and said it aims to use data to ensure optimal mapping of brands to retailers to help them boost sales and support brands to co-create new products and develop pricing strategies.

“D2C and regional brands alone are expected to generate $100 Bn in sales by 2027 with 60% share of offline sales. If Fairdeal executes efficiently and is able to capture just 1% share of this, it has an opportunity to become immensely valuable,” said Ashish Jain, partner at WaterBridge Ventures. 

Over the last few years, the number of D2C brands are on the rise in the country. While most of them started selling their products through online channels, they have now also expanded to offline markets to build an omnichannel presence.

India’s D2C market is estimated to reach a size of $100 Bn by 2025. As per Inc42’s analysis, F&B (27%), fashion (25%), and beauty and personal care (28%) occupy the top spots in the product category list for D2C brands. 

As a result, along with the rise in the number of D2C brands, investments are also increasing in the space. Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, Pilgrim, abCoffee, and Third Wave Coffee are among the major D2C brands which secured funding recently.

The post Fairdeal Raises Funding To Help D2C Brands Expand Offline Distribution appeared first on Inc42 Media.

D2C fashion and lifestyle brand Styched has acquired performance wear brand Zymrat in a cash and equity swap deal. 

Without disclosing the financial details of the deal, Styched said it has acquihired Zymrat’s team. 

Founded in 2018 by Ankita Riva and Ujjawal Asthana, Zymrat claims to have an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $1 Mn. Zymrat also featured in Inc42’s ‘30 Startups To Watch’ list last year.

With the acquisition, Zymrat will focus on expanding its product line and approaching a wider audience by reducing price points. 

While Zymrat will be operated and managed by Styched, employees of Zymrat will continue to work and contribute to the growth of Styched Collective, which encompasses Styched, Styched Plus, Flatheads, and Zymrat, a statement said.

Zymrat’s existing shareholders, including founders Riva and Asthana, Anicut Capital, LetsVenture, Dominor Investment, among others, will continue to contribute to the future endeavours of the brand. 

Launched in 2019 by Soumajit Bhowmik, Styched claims it operates on a zero wastage, zero inventory, and zero warehouse model.

Styched aims to develop a homegrown alternative to global giants like Lululemon and Under Armour. The D2C brand is gearing up to launch Zymrat in the UAE and relaunch sneaker brand Flatheads, which it acquired in July, in India next month. 

Commenting on the acquisition, Zymrat cofounder Asthana said, “We eagerly anticipate working closely together to take Zymrat to a global audience and continue towards our larger vision, which is to redefine athletic wear for athletes around the world.”

According to Inc42’s analysis, the market value of the Indian fashion industry stood at $20 Bn in 2022, which is expected to grow to $112 Bn by 2030 at a 24% CAGR. 

As a result, a number of new brands are being launched in the fashion segment. Last month, Flipkart launched an app-in-app fashion vertical, SPOYL, targeting Gen Z customers. 

Meanwhile, serial entrepreneur Mukesh Bansal, founder of ecommerce giant Myntra, was also reported to be in talks to raise $50 Mn for his new venture in the premium fashion space. 

The post D2C Fashion Brand Styched Marks Second Acquisition, Buys Performance Wear Brand Zymrat appeared first on Inc42 Media.

D2C personal care brand Pilgrim has raised $20 Mn (around INR 166 Cr) in a funding round led by Temasek’s VC arm Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, with participation from existing investors Fireside Ventures and Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office.

Founded in 2019 by Kedia and Gagandeep Makker, Pilgrim sells personal care products in categories like face and hair care, and bath & body. The startup claims its products are FDA-approved and free from parabens, sulphates and mineral oils. The D2C brand claims to have over 5 Mn customers, with 500K customers being added every month.

Pilgrim secured INR 13 Cr funding in its Series A round in June 2021, with INR 1.8 Cr in an angel round before that. In all, the startup is said to have secured around INR 48 Cr in funding, before the current round.

The D2C brand plans to deploy the incoming funding in R&D initiatives, brand-building and improving its offline presence. Pilgrim plans to launch five exclusive outlets by the end of this year, targeting cities such as Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and New Delhi. 

In May 2023, the startup appointed Vishakh Narendran as its CBO to accelerate its entry into the offline market. Currently, the D2C brand claims to be present in about 300 partner stores selling beauty and personal care products.

In a statement, cofounders Kedia and Makker, said, “Our commitment to sourcing world beauty ingredients and addressing consumer requirements remains unwavering, bolstered by the invaluable support of our esteemed partners, Vertex Ventures, Fireside Ventures, and the Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office. Their faith in our solid business fundamentals fuels our ambition to emerge as frontrunners in India’s expansive beauty and personal care sector.”

The D2C brand has recently introduced a loyalty program, PilgrimTRIBE, for customers who shop regularly. Pilgrim rewards customers in PilgrimMILES on each order placed which can be then redeemed on subsequent purchases.

Pilgrim was amongst the 42 fastest-growing D2c brands shortlisted by Inc42 for FAST42’s inaugural edition in 2022. 

The brand competes with the likes of Mamaearth, SUGAR Cosmetics, Juicy Chemistry, Nykaa and dozens of other D2C brands in India’s highly competitive personal care space. Per Inc42’s State Of Indian Ecommerce Report Q3 2023, the beauty and personal care market was a $4 Bn opportunity in 2022, set to rise to $28 Bn in 2030 at a CAGR of 27%.

The post D2C Brand Pilgrim Secures $20 Mn Funding To Bolster Offline Presence appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Ahead of the festive season, Amazon India has launched multi-channel fulfilment (MCF) for sellers, including D2C brands and retailers, to help them handle customer orders received from various channels.

The MCF will enable sellers to utilise Amazon’s pan-India presence, fulfilment centres and logistics network to handle orders received on various channels, including their own websites.

“MCF makes it easy for sellers to create orders for their off-Amazon shoppers, track them, and generate tax invoices, while ensuring swift shipping and faster delivery,” Amazon said in a statement.

The new offering is aimed at enabling sellers to expand their market reach across India by leveraging Amazon’s last-mile coverage of over 20,000+ pin codes in the country. 

Commenting on the launch, Vivek Somareddy, Amazon India’s vice president for fulfilment channels and global trade, said, “The challenges of digitisation, limited reach, and productivity constraints often hamper the expansion of medium and small-scale brands, along with other challenges like inventory tracking and high shipping costs. Multi-channel fulfilment addresses these challenges through comprehensive and best-in-class solutions for all their fulfilment needs.”

With the MCF, the sellers will be able to automate their off-Amazon orders, thus removing complexities and simplifying the entire order fulfilment process.

Sellers accessing the facility will also be able to enjoy flexible, affordable, and scalable storage and fulfilment solutions, including inbound transportation, labelling, storage, order management, pick-pack and shipping services.

The launch comes at a time when Amazon, its rival Flipkart, and other ecommerce marketplaces and brands are gearing up for the upcoming festive season. Last week, Amazon launched generative AI capabilities that will allow sellers to create better product descriptions, titles and listing details. Meanwhile, Flipkart is also not leaving any stone unturned to make the most of the festive season. Having crossed the 1.4 Mn sellers mark, the Amazon rival launched a metaverse-powered immersive virtual shopping feature called Flipverse to boost customer experience.

As per a report by consulting firm Redseer, nearly 140 Mn shoppers are expected to make online purchases during the festive season sale this year and the gross merchandise value of ecommerce platforms is estimated to grow 18-20% to INR 90,000 Cr.

The post Amazon India Launches Multi-Channel Fulfilment For D2C Brands, Other Sellers appeared first on Inc42 Media.

There is a growing sentiment that D2C as a sector is slowly dying. Harsh Mariwala, the founder of Marico, told a leading business publication in India that D2C brands will either have to tie up with FMCG companies or sell out if they have to survive and expand into the offline marketplace. 

Some of these inhibitions are well founded. 

According to the State of the Indian Ecommerce Report, funding amount for ecommerce brands dropped by 64% YoY in 2022, deal count declined by 62% YoY in Q1 of 2023, and the median funding ticket size declined by 69% in Q1 2023. However, there is one small problem with this analysis that is being put forward. It is heavily focussed on the large D2C players and this might not be the most prudent way to analyze a sector.

The First Mover Fallacy

Why we trip up when we take big brands as proxy for the industry?

If you were analysing the ecommerce market in the early 2000s you would have probably come to a conclusion that ecommerce is dead. Why?

In 1999, India’s first ecommerce website Fabmart was launched and a few years later it was shut down. Fabmart, like all the major ecommerce players today, wanted to be the Amazon of India but unfortunately did not succeed.

However, in 2007 Flipkart was launched and shortly after Amazon entered the market and the rest is history. Ecommerce now is a $112 Bn market in India today and is expected to become a $400 Bn market by 2030.

Why were Flipkart and Amazon successful, but Fabmart failed? This is because of what is known as the curse of being the first mover. It is largely seen that in industries where the technology and the market is fast evolving, being the first mover is actually disadvantageous. This is because you enter the market when there is no infrastructure or market.

The first mover is burdened with running their business while also laying the infrastructure and creating a market. The lead time for them is larger which eventually leads them to fail. However, later movers take advantage of this newly created market and infrastructure to make a successful business and enjoy the shorter lead times of success.

In each and every case the bigger established brand tends to fail and the newer smaller brands replace them to pave the way for the industry. This is where most of us trip up. When we take big brands as a proxy for the industry, more often than not, we will come to the conclusion that the industry is failing.

Is D2C Dead?

Or just going through the death of the first mover?

How does what I have laid out above get applied to the D2C sector? 

Many can argue that D2C brands are an extension of the ecommerce market where the infrastructure and the market is already created so technically D2C brands are not first movers. 

Theoretically this is true, practically there are certain fallacies in this argument. D2C brands, while being an extension of the ecommerce industry, are significantly different from them. 

Firstly, D2C brands have a completely different supply chain than that of ecommerce brands. Large ecommerce players have wide networks of suppliers, big inventory management systems, and economies of scale when it comes to logistics. D2C brands, on the other hand, are sometimes single person brands and do not have any of these facilities and do not have even a fraction of the economies of scale. 

Secondly, ecommerce brands have, what economists call, large positive network effects. In other words, because so many people are using the large ecommerce platforms, everyone in this network is better off. These types of positive network effects cannot be used by D2C brands. 

Lastly, ecommerce platforms have a unique way of reducing information asymmetry to reach price equilibrium relatively quickly. D2C brands, on the other hand, do not have that. Perfect pricing is a matter of trial and error for D2C brands.

These three differences made the D2C market significantly more inefficient, a roadblock the first movers had to solve for. Some of these brands did solve for them in some way but most others just became suppliers to larger ecommerce platforms. Because of this phenomenon many people are coming to the conclusion that D2C is dead.

However, to get a proper analysis we need to look at two metrics. The performance of D2C enablement companies, the ones that build the infrastructure for D2C brands, and the performance of smaller D2C brands. When you analyze these, a different reality surfaces.

In Conclusion

The total funding received by the top D2C enablement platforms up to date is as large as $603 Mn. In fact, this sector has become so robust that one company, Shiprocket, has become a unicorn and another, Fynd, was acquired by Reliance and is now a publicly listed company. 

When you look at the small D2C brands, since 2020 the total sales amount from these brands have grown by 36%. In comparison to these numbers, the expected growth for ecommerce as a whole is 19% CAGR by 2030 and 12% CAGR growth by 2030 for total number of online shoppers.

It should be fairly clear now that D2C is far from dead, it is just going through the regular business cycle of growth and fall and as is the case with many other industries, the first movers are seeing a downtrend but the smaller later movers are taking advantage of the infrastructure that the big brands are leaving behind. We are at the cusp of seeing an era of D2C 2.0.

The post Is D2C Dead? appeared first on Inc42 Media.

“The world is your oyster.” – William Shakespeare

Within the expansive domain of commerce, the notion of globalisation has transcended its previous status as a mere choice and has now become an indisputable necessity. The traditional limit that once confined entrepreneurs within their respective geographical boundaries have now dissolved, giving rise to a new era of bold and ambitious ventures that transcend the limitations of space. 

In this era characterised by remarkable digital innovation, Indian direct to consumer (D2C) brands have emerged as trailblazers, fearlessly expanding their horizons beyond national boundaries to unlock the vast possibilities of introducing their products and services to the global arena. 

Equipped with a potent blend of ingenuity, unwavering resolve, and a profound grasp of the global market dynamics, these pioneering ventures are fearlessly navigating unexplored territories and expanding their influence to every corner of the world.

The Ascendance Of D2C Brands In India

The ascendancy of D2C brands in India is inextricably linked to the transformative forces of ecommerce and digital technology. The fusion of these elements has not only revolutionised consumer behavior but has also provided fertile ground for a new breed of entrepreneurs. 

These agile enterprises, unburdened by the shackles of traditional retail, have adeptly harnessed the power of online platforms to not just showcase their products but also to cultivate meaningful engagements with their patrons. 

This direct, intermediary-free interaction fosters a profound and intimate bond between businesses and their target audience.

Seizing The Demographic Dividend Of India

India’s demographic dividend, typified by its youthful population, with a median age of approximately 28, presents an enticing market for D2C brands. As this demographic cohort accrues greater disposable income and becomes increasingly tech-savvy, its consumption patterns are undergoing a discernible transformation. 

D2C brands are well-positioned to cater to the evolving tastes and preferences of Indian consumers. Drawing from their intimate knowledge of local trends, these brands are adept at tailoring their offerings to meet the evolving desires of their compatriots.

From Local Pioneers To Global Titans: A Paradigm Shift

D2C brands in India have outgrown their domestic aspirations and are now setting their sights on the global arena. This ambitious shift, once reserved for corporate giants, is exemplified by companies such as Mamaearth and boAt. 

These trailblazers have not only achieved success on the international stage but have also exported elements of Indian culture and values. They serve as exemplars of how Indian D2C brands are poised to make their mark globally.

Navigating The Complexities Of Global Expansion

Venturing into international markets presents a unique set of challenges for D2C brands. Beyond the realm of domestic business, they must grapple with regulatory complexities, cultural subtleties, and fierce competition from established global brands. 

To surmount these formidable hurdles, successful startups invest heavily in comprehensive market research, precise localisation efforts, and agile adaptability. They meticulously tailor their strategies to resonate with diverse audiences and foster trust in new and unfamiliar territories.

Technology As The Bedrock Of Success

Central to the meteoric rise of D2C brands is their deft utilisation of technological innovations. Advanced algorithms, driven by artificial intelligence, facilitate personalised product recommendations. 

In-depth data analytics provide profound insights into consumer behavior, empowering startups to make informed decisions. Cutting-edge ecommerce platforms not only streamline the shopping experience but also foster customer loyalty through enhanced convenience and service. 

These startups, powered by data-driven insights, consistently refine their product offerings, optimise supply chains, and elevate the overall customer experience.

The Ecosystem Of Support: Nurturing Growth

The proliferation of D2C brands in India is, in part, attributable to the robust ecosystem of support that surrounds them. Incubators, accelerators, and government initiatives play a pivotal role in nurturing these enterprises. 

They extend mentorship, offer financial backing, and create opportunities for networking and collaboration. This supportive ecosystem enables startups to fine-tune their strategies, access critical resources, and ultimately, catapult themselves onto the global stage.

The Future Of D2C: A Canvas Of Infinite Potential?

As D2C brands continue to evolve, the horizons of their aspirations seem boundless. Their potential for redefining traditional supply chain and distribution models extends as far as the global market itself. One lingering question looms large: 

Can these brands transcend the conventional boundaries between producers and consumers to the point where they are blurred entirely? Can they democratize production, granting consumers an active role in shaping the products they desire? 

The world watches with anticipation as these brands push the boundaries, positioning the globe as their oyster, with possibilities as vast as the imagination allows.

Awaiting The Uncharted

In the grand tapestry of commerce, Indian D2C brands are intricately weaving a narrative that transcends borders, touching the farthest reaches of the globe. Their journey from humble local beginnings to global prominence symbolises the interconnected world we inhabit today. 

Yet, as this remarkable transformation unfolds, a captivating question emerges: 

Can D2C brands rewrite the rulebook of commerce to the point where the boundaries between producers and consumers cease to exist? 

As we gaze with rapt attention, these D2C brands continue to challenge the status quo, presenting the globe as their oyster, brimming with untapped possibilities that beckon the curious and the bold.

The post Beyond Borders: The Global Aspirations Of Indian D2C Brands appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Speciality coffee brand Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from actor Deepika Padukone.

The funding, made through Padukone’s investment entity Ka Enterprises, was part of Blue Tokai’s Series B funding round, the startup said in a statement.

Earlier this year, Blue Tokai raised $30 Mn in its Series B funding round led by A91 Partners. It also saw participation from its existing investors.

Founded in 2013 by Matt Chitharanjan, Namrata Asthana and Shivam Shahi, Blue Tokai is a coffee roasting company operating in India and Japan with 4 roasteries and over 80 physical outlets across major Indian cities. It also offers a wide range of ready-to-drink products and gifting options.

Currently, Blue Tokai has a presence in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Mohali and Pune, among others, in India, as well as regular pop-ups in Tokyo. 

On the B2B front, Blue Tokai has partnerships with different retail outlets across India, luxury hotels and restaurants, top corporates and co-working spaces, among others. 

Commenting on the investment, Padukone said, “As someone who is immensely passionate about homegrown brands and deeply values authenticity and transparency, investing in Blue Tokai was an evident choice.”

While announcing its Series B round earlier this year, Blue Tokai said it would use the fresh funds to scale its business and expand presence in specialty coffee markets globally. 

Last year, the startup also added Negen Capital and Mauryan Capital to its captable in an extension of its pre-Series B funding round. It also counts Anicut Capital, 8i Ventures, DSP Blackrock and White Whale Ventures among its backers.

Blue Tokai competes with the likes of Rage Coffee and Third Wave Coffee Roasters in the specialty coffee market.

Meanwhile, Padukone’s investment highlights the growing trend of actors and cricketers backing home-grown startups. The likes of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh, Suniel Shetty are among the celebrities who have invested in Indian startups.

Padukone counts the likes of Supertails, Mokobara, and Nua among the startups in her portfolio.

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Lenskart-backed Neso Brands, a house of brands specialising in eyewear, has invested $4 Mn in Paris-based omnichannel eyewear brand Le Petit Lunetier and acquired a significant stake in the company.

Neso Brands’ equity investment will be used to accelerate Le Petit Lunetier’s retail expansion and strengthen its brand presence in Europe. The funding will also be used to introduce Le Petit Lunetier to Lenskart’s core markets in Asia and the Middle East.

Following the investment, Peyush Bansal, cofounder of Neso Brands and CEO of the Lenskart Group, and Bjorn Bergstrom, CEO & cofounder of Neso Brands, will join Le Petit Lunetier’s boards.

“This strategic investment marks our first foray into the European market… We are particularly excited to bring this vibrant brand to Lenskart’s customers and have already seen a tremendous reception of the brand in India following a limited pilot launch in Delhi,” said Bergstrom.

Neso Brands’ and Lenskart’s operational teams will also support the Paris-based company to improve its efficiency and growth, the companies said in a joint statement.

Neso Brands will roll out predictive analytics technology, powered by TangoEye, throughout Le Petit Lunetier’s retail stores. TangoEye, an intelligence software company, is also a part of Neso’s portfolio. The company offers a cloud-based retail analytics software to enable high customer engagement and sales conversion in physical stores. 

Founded in 2015 by former Google and Rad.co executive Jérémie Encaoua and optician Elie Attias, Le Petit Lunetier is a D2C eyewear brand. Along with a strong online presence, it operates 16 stores in France.

On the other hand, omnichannel eyewear unicorn Lenskart’s Thrasio-style startup Neso Brands was founded in 2022. It raised $100 Mn in a seed funding round in May last year, led by the likes of KKR, Softbank, Alpha Wave Global, and Temasek.

In June 2022, Lenskart acquired a majority stake in Japanese eyewear brand OWNDAYS in a deal said to be worth around $400 Mn. The latest statement by Neso Brands mentions OWNDAYS as one of its portfolio brands along with Le Petit Lunetier, TangoEye, and GeoIQ

As part of the Lenskart Group, Neso Brands not only brings capital but also manufacturing capabilities, technology, and distribution support to its portfolio companies. 

For instance, its portfolio brands have access to Lenskart’s proprietary network of over 1,500 stores across APAC and the Middle East as well as supply chain synergies via the unicorn’s fully automated eyewear plant in Bhiwadi, India. 

In June this year, Lenskart raised $100 Mn in funding from private equity player ChrysCapital with plans to further strengthen its position as a global eyewear leader while its presence in Singapore, UAE, and other geographies is also growing.

In June, the startup said it had a customer base of 20 Mn in India alone.

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Personal hygiene brand Pee Safe has raised $3 Mn as part of its $6 Mn Series B funding round. The funding round has been led by Natco Pharma and Zerodha founders Nithin and Nikhil Kamath led Rainmatter Health. Pee Safe’s existing investors, like Alkemi Growth Capital, also participated in this round of funding.

Owned by Redcliffe Hygiene, Pee Safe was launched in 2013 by Srijana Bagaria, and Vikas Bagaria. Later it elevated Rithish Kumar as one of its cofounders. 

Pee Safe was primarily launched as a toilet seat sanitiser aimed at addressing the pain points, especially urinary tract infections, faced by women across age groups while using public toilets. Later, it expanded its offerings to include products centred around hygiene, menstrual care, and grooming.

Pee Safe products are available at 15,000 physical retail stores across 70+ cities in India, ecommerce marketplaces, and its own website. The D2C brand claims to be exporting products to over 20 countries in 5 continents.

The funds will be used to expand its retail presence in India, expand overseas with an omnichannel approach and allocate additional resources to marketing and awareness initiatives. 

Commenting on the utility of the funding for the company, Bagaria said, “This funding will accelerate our expansion efforts and establish us as the leading brand in the rapidly growing intimate wellness sector, which boasts a remarkable CAGR of 16%. Over the past five years, Pee Safe has achieved a remarkable growth rate of 100% CAGR, surpassing market expectations.”

Pee Safe claims to have served over 6 Mn customers. It further said that it has impacted the lives of 200K menstruators from underprivileged backgrounds through awareness drives and donated over a million menstrual care products.

In 2021, the company raised funding of INR 25 Cr in a Pre-Series B round led by entrepreneur and investor Shaival Desai to expand its product range. 

In the toilet seat sanitiser segment, it competes directly with Safekind, a Mankind product. In other segments catering to menstrual health, it competes with the likes of i-active by Piramal, Wellify, Azah, Sirona, etc. 

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Early-stage venture capital fund First Cheque has partially exited from its portfolio company GIVA, D2C silver jewellery startup.

Four years after First Cheque’s initial investment, the exit resulted in a 75X return on the initial investment and a 94% Internal Rate of Return (IRR), the Mumbai-based VC firm said in a statement.

First Cheque was the first institutional investor of Giva and invested INR 70 Lakhs across rounds in the startup. On the other hand, GIVA was one of the initial startups that the VC firm backed in 2019.

Founded in 2019, First Cheque focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage startups. Its other portfolio companies include Fashinza, WintWealth, Rigi, Rocketlane, FleetX, GlobalFair, DrinkPrime and The ePlane Company.

First Cheque also closed its second fund last year to invest in 50 pre-seed startups. Until now, it has made over 30 investments across sectors like B2B marketplaces, consumer internet, fintech and SaaS.

“GIVA is one of the first companies in our portfolio to deliver close to 100X returns and stands to show the potential of returns that early-stage investors could generate. The business has grown substantially over the last few years, and their current round is a testament to that performance,” Prateek Agarwal, investment lead of First Cheque, said.

First Cheque intends to invest in around 18 to 20 startups across different industries in the next eight to nine months, with a cheque size of $100K in each.

Meanwhile, GIVA raised INR 270 Cr ($32.9 Mn) in a Series B funding led by Premji Invest in July.

Founded in 2019 by Ishendra Agarwal, Nikita Prasad and Sachin Shett, GIVA deals in authentic 925 fine silver jewellery and has recently forayed into 14K and 18k gold and lab-grown diamond jewellery.

GIVA launches over 250 new designs every month. The D2C jewellery brand had over 50 stores across the top cities in India as of July, while it had plans to expand its presence across India over the next five years. It competes against the likes of Melorra, Bluestone, among others.

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The direct-to-consumer (D2C) model has revolutionised the Indian retail landscape, empowering brands to connect directly with consumers and bypass traditional distribution channels. While D2C brands initially gained traction in urban centers, they are now rapidly expanding into various cities and markets across India. 

As per Statista, currently, India is home to 600 or more D2C brands with an estimated market size of about $55 Bn in 2022. The Government Of India’s ONDC Initiative is also expected to shoot up the popularity of the D2C brand in Tier II & III cities in India. 

A major contributor to this is the fact that Tier II & III cities have experienced a significant rise in disposable incomes, contributing to the growth of such brands in these markets. The rising affluence and aspirations of consumers in these regions have led to increased spending on quality products. Moreover, these markets represent a substantial portion of India’s population, and by catering to the needs and preferences of consumers in these regions, brands can achieve broader market reach and penetration. 

A great example of this is many growing F&B D2C brands that have studied local markets extensively and curated products that are adaptable and loved by all demographics and age groups. This is especially large since so many people are intrigued and open to trying new concepts and international flavors, adding to a faster adoption rate for the F&B industry in local markets. 

All of these trends have attracted D2C companies to cater to the demand by offering accessible and affordable products directly to consumers. 

In many ways, this helps build a robust ecosystem in these markets, and some of the key factors contributing to their success are:

Enhanced Consumer Engagement

D2C brands are leveraging digital platforms to establish direct connections with consumers by fostering a personalised and engaging shopping experience. Leveraging social media, influencers, and user-generated content, these brands are building strong communities and loyal customer bases.

They actively involve consumers in product development, seek feedback, and adapt their offerings to cater to local preferences.

Tailoring Products For Local Needs

One of the strengths of direct-to-customer players is their ability to adapt quickly to changing market dynamics. In smaller markets, where consumer preferences may differ significantly from urban areas, these brands excel in customisation.

By closely studying the local demographics, preferences, and cultural nuances, these brands offer tailored products that resonate with the target audience. This localised approach helps build trust and establishes the brand as a reliable and relevant choice. 

Building Last-Mile Distribution Networks

The logistics infrastructure in Tier II & III  markets is still evolving, presenting challenges for traditional retail players. Brands are now addressing this gap by investing in last-mile distribution networks. 

They are collaborating with local logistics partners, setting up micro-warehouses, and implementing innovative delivery solutions to ensure efficient and timely product deliveries. This localised approach gives them a competitive edge over traditional players, enabling them to reach customers in remote areas effectively. 

Affordable Pricing And Value Proposition

Brands often offer competitive pricing by eliminating intermediaries from the supply chain. By selling directly to consumers, they can provide high-quality products at affordable prices. This value proposition resonates well with consumers in smaller city markets, who are price-sensitive and seek value for their money. 

Additionally, companies are investing in educational marketing campaigns to educate consumers about the benefits of their products, further strengthening their value proposition.

This rise of D2C brands in the growing markets of India signifies a paradigm shift in the retail industry. These brands are redefining the way consumers discover, engage, and purchase products, creating a strong ecosystem that caters to the unique needs of these markets. By embracing technology, customisation, and localised strategies, D2C brands are unlocking the vast potential of these markets and contributing to the growth of India’s ecommerce landscape.

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