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March 1, 2026
Apoorva Mittal, Economic Times
1 March 2026
Resshmi Nair, 31, had grown used to the dotted red bumps on her arms. Her dermatologist diagnosed it as keratosis pilaris aka strawberry skin. It is a harmless skin condition that often affects legs and arms but Nair, a Mumbai-based marketing consultant, wanted it gone. She slathered lotions and salves but to no avail. Then she chanced upon an Instagram reel which showed an oil-based in-shower spray that promised to take care of her problem. “It was very tempting as it resonated with a personal concern,” she says. She is now on her third bottle. The bumps haven’t disappeared entirely, but they have become smaller, she says.
Like Nair, there are many who seek solutions tailormade for their beauty bugbears. Consumers who once searched for moisturisers and shampoos now look for niche products for hair and skin. They want to repair skin barrier, tame baby hairs and minimise facial pores.
A new generation of Indian beauty and personal care (BPC) brands are both listening to them and leading them. Focused products, they realise, could help them stand out in a crowded sector dominated by FMCG giants. While problems like acne, frizzy hair and rough skin have always been around, experts say the commercial importance of solving them narrowly and packaging that specificity as a brand strategy have become more intense of late.
India’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) beauty and personal care market—which is heavily invested in micro-problem targeting—is estimated to be $4.5 billion in FY2025, according to consulting firm Redseer. The new-age brands could account for 25-35% of total BPC spends by 2030. “Three major factors have contributed to this: one, the rise of digital medium for both commerce and marketing, which created a segue for new brands to launch and scale; two, younger consumers (Gen Z and young millennials) have become ingredient literate and look for results over broad promises; and three, competitive intensity in the market is pressing brands to position as per the right niches,” says Kushal Bhatnagar, associate partner, Redseer.
The shift is measurable on beauty retailer Nykaa’s platform. “Consumer vocabulary is far more evolved,” says a company spokesperson. Searches driven by specic concerns or ingredients are growing faster than broad category items. While foundational concerns like acne and brightening remain relevant, the platform is seeing strong growth in queries around pigmentation, barrier repair, pore care and specic hair issues. “This fragmentation is actually a sign of a more informed and aware consumer base,” the spokesperson adds.
ZOOMING IN
For young D2C brands, this behavioural shift has opened a narrow but potent entry point. Instead of launching another shampoo or moisturiser, they launch a product targeting a single problem and market it in an easily demonstrable short-video format. In the current beauty landscape, the market has shifted from general solutions to hyper-targeted efficacy.
Moxie Beauty, founded by Nikita Khanna in 2023, illustrates the playbook. Khanna, who previously worked at McKinsey, began with a focus on wavy and frizzy hair, a segment she herself belongs to. But it was one particular styling product, the flyaway hair stick, that went viral, propelling the brand into visibility. She says, “The wavy hair routine required us to educate people, which took time. But one can understand the flyaway wand in five seconds.” And it targeted what she calls a “widely held pain point”. That helped Moxie cut through crowded feeds and end up on consumer shelves. “Being synonymous with a category helps,” she says. “When people want a wax stick or flyaway stick, they search for our brand.”
That shift—from paying for visibility to being searched for directly—is critical in a market where customer acquisition costs (CAC) can be punishingly high. For many D2C brands, launching a sharply defined product is a way to reduce discovery friction and lower early-stage CAC. But a brand cannot be built or scaled on gimmicks, says Khanna. “If you solve only for what will look good in a video and will go viral, you won’t be able to scale. And if it’s a gimmick, people won’t repeat the purchase,” she adds.
Divanshee Jindal, cofounder of the brand The Solved Skin, says companies have to get the “product-communication fit” right. Her brand’s liquid pimple patch, which is designed to mask acne under makeup, is quickly emerging as its hero product. “People get excited when a product feels relatable and authentic,” says Jindal. “A new, convenient format that solves a real pain point makes consumers willing to try a new brand. But if it’s a standard product, say, a salicylic acid face wash, they will often default to a brand they already trust.”
SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL
The idea is to start small but evolve. Moxie, for instance, has moved beyond textured hair into solving broader “Indian hair problems” like damage repair and anti-dandruff that has brought in male consumers as well. “Curly or wavy hair was a huge, underserved problem,” says Khanna. “But the thought was always to solve other problems as well.” Moxie, which recently raised $15 million in a funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, says it has crossed Rs. 100 crore in annual recurring revenue on its two-year mark, and is seeing roughly 50% consumers coming back in six months across platforms. However, it says profitability is harder to crack because of intense competition from new brands and changing channel mix.
Mani Singhal, MD of the consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal, points out that most successful D2C brands started out with a sharply defined hero product. “Earlier it was natural vs chemical or price disruption; today it’s much more about efficacy proof, ingredient transparency, visible results and credible
storytelling,” she says.
From the manufacturer’s side, Nishit Dedhia of Kain Cosmeceuticals, a cosmetics manufacturing company, says, “It is easier today for brands to target special concerns. That specificity helps them build a differentiated product earlier on.” Most brands, he explains, x a major problem such as acne, dryness, pigmentation and then layer in a niche twist. Strawberry skin, once not a mainstream concern, is now a category. “People didn’t know the term. Once you give it a name, they identify with it,” he adds.
Dedhia describes the portfolio strategy as 8-2 or 9-1 where eight or nine products are general, incremental variations of core needs, while one or two are “category-building products” that require significant consumer education or product communication but create their own search demand. “That is the only way you get out of the vicious cycle of paying for visibility,” he says. “When people search for your brand directly, CAC comes down.”
Devangshu Dutta, founder of management consulting firm Third Eyesight, says micro-problem framing is “co-created” by consumers and companies. “The fragmentation is real, but the language used to describe it is heavily brand-driven,” he says. Terms like “strawberry skin” or “glass skin” correlate with influencer campaigns but label pre-existing dissatisfactions that mass products did not address sharply.
However, sometimes, in the race to differentiation, brands go for outlandish ideas. Dedhia says brands increasingly approach manufacturers with amusing asks in the quest to stand out. For instance, beard fillers packaged like mascara or plumpers for face and neck.
PRODUCE & PERISH
The problem is that the mortality rate of skincare brands is very high in India. Dedhia estimates that around 60% companies shut down in three years. Many brands burn through capital chasing ads and trends without building repeat customers or a community.
“For a brand to cross over from being a curiosity-driven purchase to being part of a regimen needs a minimum 25-30% of customers showing up as repeats after three months, while truly successful brands reach higher repeat numbers,” says Dutta.
Subscriptions are an even stronger test. “Generic formulations, me-too products and influencer spends can get you first users, but repeats will happen only from the user getting demonstrated value,” says Dutta.
But growth does not equal stability. CAC typically starts low for niche products, rises during scaling-up and stabilises only if organic demand takes over, says Bhatnagar of Redseer. Quick commerce accelerates discovery but compresses margins due to the high commission rates on these platforms, promotional expectations and lower average order values.
Singhal, who says a consolidation phase is underway, adds: “Niche entry can work extremely well if the problem is frequent enough and the solution is demonstrably effective.” Durable brands deliver consistent performance, build adjacencies beyond the first niche and maintain disciplined unit economics.
“If repeat rates don’t stabilise, economics becomes very challenging, very quickly.”
PERSONALISATION AHEAD
For Aparna Saxena, founder of Delhi-based beauty brand Antinorm, the next decade will be defined by even greater personalisation. Her brand has multifunctional products that are timesaving. Saxena says she surveyed about 250 women above 25 years of age and found that five-step routines typically do
not last after two months. Antinorm’s architecture rests on multifunctionality, like a leave-in cream that doubles as heat protectant and promises a “presentable” hair look without a blow-dry. Its most popular product is a spray that cleanses and moisturises, which they dub as “instant shower” or “facial in a flash”.
She says the brand, which launched in July last year, will close next fiscal with about Rs. 25 crore in revenue. Repeat rates are currently under 25% “because the denominator is expanding rapidly”, she adds. “Between 2020 and 2025, customers moved away from incumbents and got used to having options and trying newer brands,” she says. “Now they have routines in place. The next five years will be defined by more and more personalisation and micro-problem solving.” The beauty is about to go really skin deep.
(Published in Economic Times)
admin
February 27, 2026
Samar Srivastava, Forbes India
Feb 27, 2026
India’s young consumers are discovering the next big beauty serum, protein bar or sneaker brand not in a mall, but on Instagram reels, YouTube shorts and quick-commerce apps that promise 10-minute delivery. What began as a trickle of digital-first labels a decade ago has now become a full-blown wave. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands—built online, fuelled by social media and venture capital—have reshaped India’s consumer landscape and forced legacy companies to rethink everything from marketing to distribution.
India today has more than 800 active D2C brands across beauty, personal care, fashion, food, home and electronics, according to industry estimates and consulting reports. The Indian D2C market is estimated at $12–15 billion in 2025, up from under $5 billion in 2020, and growing at 25–30 percent annually. The pandemic accelerated online adoption, but the structural drivers—cheap data, digital payments and over 750 million internet users—were already in place.
Unlike traditional FMCG brands that relied on distributors and kirana stores, D2C brands such as Mamaearth, boAt, Licious and Sugar Cosmetics built their early traction online. Customer acquisition happened through performance marketing; feedback loops were immediate; product iterations were rapid.
Importantly, these brands are discovered online—but as they scale, consumers buy them both online and offline, increasingly through quick-commerce platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart, as well as modern trade and general trade stores. The omnichannel play is now central to their growth strategy.
According to Anil Kumar, founder and chief executive of Redseer Strategy Consultants, the ecosystem is maturing in measurable ways. Brands are taking lesser time to reach ₹100 crore or ₹500 crore revenue benchmarks and, once there, mortality rates are coming down. There is also an acceptance that if a brand is not profitable in a 3–5 year timeframe, that needs to be corrected. “There is a lot of emphasis on growing profitably and not just through GMV,” he says.
Big Cheques, Bigger Exits
The D2C boom would not have been possible without capital. Between 2014 and 2022, Indian D2C startups raised over $5 billion in venture and growth funding. Peak years like 2021 alone saw more than $1.2 billion invested in the segment. Beauty, personal care and fashion accounted for nearly 50 percent of total inflows, followed by food and beverages.
Some brands scaled independently; others found strategic buyers. Among the most prominent exits:
> Hindustan Unilever acquired a majority stake in Minimalist, reportedly valuing the actives-led skincare brand at over ₹3,000 crore. For Hindustan Unilever, the annual run rate from sales of its D2C portfolio is estimated at around ₹1,000 crore, underscoring how material digital-first brands have become to its growth strategy.
> ITC Limited bought Yoga Bar for about ₹175 crore in 2023 to strengthen its health foods portfolio.
> Emami acquired a majority stake in The Man Company, expanding its digital-first play.
> Tata Consumer Products acquired Soulfull as part of its health and wellness strategy.
> Marico invested in brands such as Beardo and True Elements.
Private equity has also entered aggressively at the growth stage. ChrysCapital invested in The Man Company; L Catterton backed Sugar Cosmetics; General Atlantic invested in boAt; and Sequoia Capital India (now Peak XV Partners) was an early backer of multiple consumer brands.
Valuations were often steep. boAt was valued at over $1.2 billion at its peak. Mamaearth’s parent, Honasa Consumer, listed in 2023 at a valuation of around ₹10,000 crore. Across categories, brands crossing ₹500 crore in annual revenue began attracting buyout interest, with deal sizes ranging from ₹150 crore to over ₹3,000 crore depending on scale and profitability.
Yet exits have not always been smooth. “While it takes 7-8 years to build a brand most funds that invest in them have a timeline of 3-5 years before they need an exit,” says Devangshu Dutta, founder of Third Eyesight, a retail consultancy. This timing mismatch can create pressure—pushing brands to scale aggressively, sometimes at the cost of margins.
Integration Pains and the Profitability Pivot
For large FMCG companies, buying D2C brands offers speed: Access to younger consumers, premium positioning and digital marketing expertise. But integration brings challenges.
Founder-led organisations operate with rapid decision cycles, test-and-learn marketing and flat hierarchies. Large corporations often work with layered approvals, structured brand calendars and rigid cost controls. Cultural friction can lead to talent exits if autonomy is curtailed too quickly.
Margins are another sticking point. In the early growth phase, many D2C brands spent 30–40 percent of revenue on digital advertising. Rising customer acquisition costs post-2021, combined with higher logistics expenses, squeezed contribution margins. As brands entered offline retail, distributor and retailer margins of 20–35 percent further compressed profitability.
Large acquirers, used to EBITDA margins of 18–25 percent in mature FMCG portfolios, often discovered that digital-first brands operated at low single-digit margins—or were loss-making at scale. Rationalising ad spends, optimising supply chains and pruning SKUs became essential.
The funding slowdown between 2022 and 2024 triggered a reset. Marketing spends were cut by as much as 25–40 percent across several startups. Growth moderated from 80–100 percent annually during peak years to 25–40 percent for more mature brands—but unit economics improved.
Quick-commerce has emerged as a structural growth lever. For categories such as personal care, snacking and health foods, these platforms now account for 10–25 percent of urban revenues for scaled brands, improving inventory turns and reducing dependence on paid digital acquisition.
The next phase of India’s D2C journey will be less about blitz scaling and more about disciplined brand building—balancing growth, profitability and exit timelines. What began as a disruption is now part of the mainstream consumer playbook. And as capital becomes more selective, only brands that combine strong gross margins, repeat purchase rates above 35–40 percent and sustainable EBITDA pathways will endure.
(Published in Forbes India)
admin
February 14, 2026
This episode of theUpStreamlife is a freewheeling conversation between Vishal Krishna and Devangshu Dutta, founder of Third Eyesight, with insights into the growth of modern retail and consumption in India, brand building and M&A, the balance of power between brands and retailers/platforms, sustainability vs growth and many other aspects, and is well-suited for founders and teams who want to be building for the long run in India.
admin
January 28, 2026
What does it actually take to build a fashion brand in India?
This panel (“Beyond the Noise- How D2c Fashion Brands Are Reinventing Retail”) at the 25th Edition of India Fashion Forum focussed on some real answers, in a refreshing, down-to-earth conversation moderated by Devangshu Dutta (Founder, Third Eyesight), with the founders of DeMoza (Agnes Raja George), The Mom Store (Surbhi Bhatia), Miraggio (Mohit Jain), BeyondBound (Tejasvi Madan), and Bari (Sameer Khan Lodhi).
No fluff, no “disrupting the industry” talk. Just founders being honest about what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what they’d do differently. A few things that struck a chord:
• Every single brand started because the founder couldn’t find something they personally wanted: inclusive activewear, affordable handbags that didn’t look cheap, good maternity wear. Sometimes the simplest observation is the best business idea.
• Inventory management came up often. One founder took their inventory cycle from 6 months down to 4. Another re-shuffles stock every 15 days based on what’s selling where. Unglamorous? Yes, but this is what actually keeps a business alive.
• The marketing conversation highlighted a move away from traditional advertising toward things that actually make people feel something. One founder talked about turning a farmhouse into a full “apricot colour” experience for customers. Another shoots content with real customers, not influencers.
• And the most memorable line of the whole discussion came from the most experienced founder in the room sharing a learning: “I won’t open stores fast.” No explanation needed, really.
Building a brand is exciting. Keeping it alive is the harder, quieter work. This panel was a good reminder of that. Worth a watch if you’re building something in this space.
admin
December 15, 2025
By Saumyangi Yadav, Entrepreneur India
Dec 15, 2025
India’s D2C ecosystem has grown rapidly over the past five years, but scale remains elusive. While thousands of brands have launched and many have crossed early revenue milestones, only a small fraction manage to break past INR 100 crore in annual revenue. According to a new report by DSG Consumer Partners, based on a survey of over 100 Indian D2C founders and operators, the problem is not demand or product-market fit, it is how brands attempt to scale.
The report shows that around 60–65 per cent of Indian D2C brands remain stuck in the INR 1–50 crore revenue band, with very few reaching the INR 100 crore mark. This stage marks the point where early traction exists, but growth begins to strain unit economics, teams, and operating systems.
Insights from over 100 D2C founders reveal that India’s fastest-growing brands win on fundamentals rather than speed alone. Clear product-market fit, disciplined data tracking, strong unit economics, creative velocity, and an early focus on retention consistently separate scalable brands from those that plateau. Founders also admit that performance marketing mistakes, pricing missteps, and weak creative systems slow growth far more than budget constraints. In a booming D2C landscape, capability gaps in operations, brand-building, and supply-chain depth are widening the divide between breakout brands and those stuck in the performance plateau.
Industry observers argue that this is where many brands mistake rapid online growth for sustainable scale.
As Devangshu Dutta, Founder & CEO, Third Eyesight, explains, “Scaling up online can be very rapid, but is also capital-hungry in terms of CAC. Given the intense competition, the lack of customer stickiness and the power of platforms, there is a constant churn of marketing spend which is a huge bleed for growing brands.”
CAC Inflation is The Real Constraint
One of the clearest findings from the playbook is that acquisition efficiency, rising CAC and unstable ROAS, is the single biggest blocker to growth, cited by more founders than funding or category expansion. Moreover, over 70 per cent of brands rely on Meta as their primary acquisition channel, increasing vulnerability to auction pressure and platform-driven volatility.
Dutta links this directly to the limits of a digital-only mindset. “Limited offline expansion can trap brands in narrow urban digital markets, blocking broader scale,” he said.
This over-reliance on online performance marketing often leads to growth that looks strong on dashboards but weak on cash flow.
Highlighting their report, Pooja Shirali, Vice President, DSG Consumer Partners, said, “Across over 90 consumer brands we’ve partnered with at DSGCP, one truth is clear: brands that master Meta’s ecosystem don’t just grow, they change their entire trajectory through strategic clarity and disciplined execution. The real drivers of scale have less to do with viral moments, and everything to do with the long-term fundamentals that make milestones like the first INR 100 crore predictable, not accidental.”
Why Omnichannel is Unavoidable
The report suggests that brands that scale sustainably are those that reduce overdependence on paid digital acquisition and expand their distribution footprint. However, offline expansion brings its own complexity.
Dutta stresses that omnichannel is not an optional add-on, but a strategic shift. “D2C brands must adopt an omnichannel approach, blending online with offline retail for sustainable and scalable reach. Clearly the channels work very differently and management teams have to be prepared and capitalised for the long haul to tackle acquiring customers with channel-appropriate strategies,” he adds.
This aligns with the DSGCP report’s broader insight that scale breaks down when brands fail to adapt operating models as they grow.
Even within digital channels, performance weakens over time. The playbook finds that 62 per cent of founders report creative fatigue, where repeated creatives fail to sustain ROAS despite higher spends. At the same time, 55 per cent admit to under-investing in CRM and retention, with most brands reporting repeat purchase rates of just 10–30 per cent.
Both the data and expert opinion point to a common theme: brands that cross the INR 100 crore mark are structurally different. They obsess over unit economics, processes, and capital efficiency rather than topline growth alone.
As Dutta puts it, “Scalable brands that cross the growth hump have leadership obsessed with unit economics and omnichannel execution rather than chasing vanity metrics. Cash always was and is king, especially at early stages of growth.”
He adds that execution strength matters as much as strategy. “They are able to grow and steer teams that build and replicate processes fast rather than spending time, effort and money reinventing all the time, and do so without constant CXO intervention.”
As competition intensifies and capital becomes more selective, the next generation of INR 100 crore D2C brands is likely to be defined not by speed, but by the ability to compound cash flows, institutionalise processes, and scale distribution beyond digital platforms.
Saumyangi is a Senior Correspondent at Entrepreneur India with over three years of experience in journalism. She has reported on education, social, and civic issues, and currently covers the D2C and consumer brand space.
(Published in Entrepreneur India)
