Last week we asked who pays for growth. This week, several big consumer brands showed the answer: grow, and get to profit while you do it. That is our Big Story.
The turn: HealthKart crossed ₹2,000 Cr with ₹124 Cr in pre-tax profit. Ather swung to a profit. HomeLane turned EBITDA positive. CureSkin and Kapiva are closing the gap.
The money: 5 D2C rounds, over ₹265 Cr disclosed. Troovy’s ₹100 Cr Series B leads.
The number: 2,100. Rotoris made 2,100 numbered luxury watches, and they sold out within days.
The Store Rush: Neeman’s wants 500 stores, Libas up to 300 and Kicky & Perky 200. We put this year’s store targets on one scoreboard.
The Big Story: The Profit Turn
What happened
Results season brought a clear shift this week. Brands that spent years chasing growth are now showing profit, or a dated plan to get there.
Already profitable:
HealthKart crossed ₹2,000 Cr in FY26, growing 56% to ₹2,052 Cr. Pre-tax profit (before exceptional items) rose 30% to ₹124 Cr. It is reportedly preparing for an IPO.
Ather Energy posted a ₹1.3 Cr net profit in Q2 FY27, against a ₹154 Cr loss a year ago. Revenue grew 63% to ₹1,464 Cr.
HomeLane turned operating EBITDA positive in Q4 FY26, at a 5% margin. It is now targeting ₹1,000 Cr+ in FY27 revenue.
Closing the gap:
CureSkin grew 28% to ₹133 Cr and cut its loss nearly in half, to ₹35 Cr, by spending less on ads.
Kapiva grew 36.5% to ₹464 Cr, with offline sales up 81%. Its loss held at about ₹72 Cr, and it is targeting positive EBITDA by Q4 FY27.
Traya, beyond Pulse, neared ₹600 Cr in FY26 revenue but posted a ₹29 Cr loss, wider than FY25’s ₹22.5 Cr (Entrackr, Inc42).
Why it matters
For public markets and late-stage investors, profit is now the entry ticket. HealthKart’s IPO plans and Ather’s listed results show that the companies with profit get the attention, and the capital.
It also answers last week’s question. Growth pays for itself only when the business can make money at its current size.
Our view
There is no single trick here. The profit turn comes from three levers, pulled together:
Spend less to sell: CureSkin cut ad spend and halved its loss.
Sell again: Repeat buyers now bring in about 55% of Kapiva’s D2C revenue.
Make it cheaper: HomeLane cut direct project costs from 56.6% of revenue to 52% after merging with DesignCafe.
Scale helps too. HealthKart and Ather show what happens when these levers run on a much bigger base.
What to watch
Whether Kapiva hits positive EBITDA by Q4 FY27, as promised.
HealthKart’s IPO filing, and the valuation it seeks.
Ather’s Q3. One profitable quarter is a start; two would be a trend.
The Deal Sheet
5 D2C rounds. Over ₹265 Cr disclosed (our calculation, with dollars at about ₹88).
Troovy · Kids’ snacking · Series B · ₹100 Cr · Lead investor: Fireside Ventures (Sharrp Ventures participated)
Rotoris · Luxury watches · Series A · ₹70 Cr · Lead investor: Blume Ventures (with 9Unicorns, Centricity and actor Rannvijay Singha)
Ace Blend · Nutrition · Series A2 · $9.91 Mn · Lead investor: 3one4 Capital (Fireside Ventures increased its stake)
ReplyAll · Apparel · Pre-Series A · ₹9.7 Cr · Lead investors: Sadev Ventures and Atom XVII (co-led)
CHOSEN · Skincare for melanin-rich skin · Series A extension · Undisclosed · Investors: Wellbeing Nutrition founders Avnish Chhabria and Saurabh Kapoor
The signal: Fireside Ventures is in two of the five rounds: it led Troovy and added to Ace Blend. And founders are now backing founders. The Wellbeing Nutrition duo, whose brand we covered last week, wrote a cheque into CHOSEN.
The Number: 2,100
That is how many numbered watches Rotoris made for its debut collection. They sold out within days, and nearly 1 lakh people have registered for the next drop.
About 40% of the demand came from outside India. This week the brand raised ₹70 Cr, led by Blume, and plans to open in Mumbai and New York.
Why it matters: An Indian luxury brand selling scarcity, not discounts, with buyers abroad. Rotoris shows that “Made in India” can command a premium.
The Store Rush
Online-first brands are now promising hundreds of stores. This week’s targets, plus two from last week, on one scoreboard:
Neeman’s: From about 50 stores to 500 by FY30, opening 5–10 a month. Retail is 25% of the business today and should reach 40% in three years. Target: ₹1,000 Cr revenue by FY30.
Libas: From 50–60 stores to 250–300 in two to three years, backed by about ₹200 Cr. It is weighing private equity or an IPO to fund it.
Kicky & Perky: 200 stores in three years, starting with 20 next year. The online-first jewellery brand wants 70% of sales to come from stores.
The Pant Project (last week): 25 stores to 150.
Limelight Lab Grown Diamonds (last week): 100+ stores to 200 in 2027.
Our view: Stores are expensive, and slow to pay back. The brands that can afford this rush are the ones already making money, like Neeman’s. For the rest, the store plan and the profit plan have to arrive together.
Quick Hits
Atomberg has SEBI’s go-ahead for its IPO, beyond Pulse (Entrackr). Its draft papers, filed in August, include a ₹450 Cr fresh issue (YourStory).
Troo Good targets ₹350 Cr revenue next year and ₹1,000 Cr by FY31. It is building a ₹40 Cr factory in Hyderabad and sells 5 crore chikkis a month.
PNGS Reva Diamond Jewellery grew H1 FY27 profit 151% to ₹50.5 Cr, on revenue of ₹238.5 Cr.
Cura Ayurvedic & Unani made ₹107 Cr in FY26 and targets ₹500 Cr in three years, bootstrapped.
Wow! Momo enters Sri Lanka by the end of 2026, with three Colombo outlets and 20 planned in two years. The UAE is next.
KisaanSay is targeting about 50% growth this Diwali through Amazon Now and Blinkit. It works with more than 50,000 farmers.
D2C Insider Updates
Super Angels Network: the November bucket is open. One ₹10 L cheque puts ₹2 L into each of five screened consumer startups: FOXO (preventive health), JB Air (air purifiers), Krvvy (women’s innerwear), Kharesiya (a profitable house of brands) and Filli & Me (kids). You invest alongside funds such as Blume, Kalaari, Titan Capital, Antler and Nandan. Apply here.
Startup investing is high risk, including possible loss of capital. Not investment advice.
That’s the week. If your brand has made the profit turn, reply and tell us how. We read every message.
See you next Saturday.
The D2C Insider Editorial Team