Ed-a-mamma’s venture and The Getvantage Partnership
In the twelfth edition, discover Zippee and GetVantage’s partnership, Hero Motocorp’s investment, Manish Chowdhary’s secret to brand building, the new wave of ONDC and much more!
Hello and welcome to the world of D2C Insider, your weekly dose of insights, news, and trends from the direct-to-consumer space in India and beyond. In D2C Insider Digest’s twelfth edition you'll see:
👚 Myntra’s growth initiatives
🚀 Zippee & GetVantage boost to Indian D2C
💰 A 550Cr investment??
🔑 The ingredients of Building a brand
🍵 30% OFF on Tea Leave & Crafts for community members??
👕 The Souled Store’s D2C Success Story
🎪 We had a BLAST at the D2C Omni Channel Summit
Myntra’s Growth in Men’s BPC Segment
Myntra, an online fashion platform, has seen a 200% growth in its men’s beauty and personal care (BPC) segment in the last year. The company attributes this to the increased awareness and demand for grooming products among men, especially in tier 2 and 3 cities. Myntra offers over 1300 products from 100+ brands in this segment, catering to the different needs and preferences of its customers.
Zippee and GetVantage Partner to Support D2C Brands in India
Zippee, a D2C same-day delivery platform, and GetVantage, an alternative financing platform, have announced a partnership to provide equity-free funding and logistics solutions to over 10,000 D2C brands in India by 2025. The partnership aims to help high-growth-focused D2C brands scale their businesses without diluting ownership or control. Zippee and GetVantage have both raised funding from various investors and have built strong portfolios of D2C brands in India.
Netizens splurge on quirky D2C brands in 2023: Report
A report by RedSeer Consulting reveals that Indian netizens spent over Rs 2 million on direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands that offer unconventional products such as vegan cheese, organic honey, and bamboo toothbrushes in 2023. The report attributes the growth of these brands to their digital presence, customer loyalty, and social impact.
WOW Skin Science Co-Founder on Building a Brand with Activated Naturals
This week, we feature Manish Chowdhary, the co-founder of WOW Skin Science and WOW Life Science, two leading online beauty and wellness brands in India. He has a B.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Delhi and has worked with Amazon and Microsoft before starting his own venture.
Manish Chowdhary is passionate about creating products that combine the best of nature and science to deliver the WOW effect to consumers. In his latest post on LinkedIn, he shares some insights on building a brand with perseverance, patience, and recalibration. He also announces the launch of his new brand platform ‘Activated Naturals’, which aims to harness the power of natural ingredients enhanced with new-age activities.
These were the key points from his post:
Building a Brand: The Power of Perseverance, Patience, and Recalibration
⛏️ Perseverance: Challenges are inevitable, but they are also opportunities to learn and grow. Keep pushing forward, even when the road gets tough because every setback is a step closer to your goal.
🛑Patience: Building a strong brand takes time. Stay committed to your vision, and over time, your brand will flourish. Trust the process, and enjoy the journey.
💰 Marketing Strategy: Your brand’s success depends on your marketing strategy. Adapt and evolve as you go along, but also remain consistent in delivering your brand’s message. Understand your target audience, utilize data-driven insights, and leverage various channels to connect with your audience.
♻️ Recalibration: The business landscape is ever-changing. To stay relevant and successful, it’s crucial to recalibrate your brand strategy as needed. Listen to feedback, analyze trends, and be willing to pivot when necessary. Adaptability is a key ingredient in long-term brand success.
🌟 Activated Naturals: A New Paradigm in Beauty and Wellness 🌟
We at WOW Skin Science are thrilled to launch our new brand platform ‘Activated Naturals’ that aims to harness the power of naturals activated with the efficacy of new age activities. Activated Naturals seeks to give women that glow and brightness through the introduction of an active ingredient, for example, Niacinamide and Vitamin C.
We believe that nature and science can work together to create products that are safe, effective, and sustainable. Our products are based on an amalgamation of the latest scientific research and traditional formulations inspired by age-old Ayurveda.
We are proud to offer over 200 products across skincare, haircare, body care, and wellness categories, catering to the different needs and preferences of our customers.
I am absolutely thrilled to take a moment today to extend my heartfelt congratulations to our remarkable marketing team for their extraordinary efforts in spearheading a truly remarkable marketing campaign!
Have you tried our products or heard about our new brand platform? What are your thoughts on Activated Naturals?
The Souled Store’s D2C Success Story
This week, we feature The Souled Store, a lifestyle D2C brand that offers quirky and pop-culture-inspired merchandise, such as t-shirts, hoodies, backpacks, notebooks, and more. The brand was founded in 2013 by Vedang Patel, Rohin Samtaney, and Aditya Sharma, who are alumni of IIT Bombay and NIT Surathkal.
The Souled Store is one of the leading online players in the D2C segment, with over 5 million registered app users and a loyal fan base. The brand has achieved a remarkable feat by earning 90% of its revenue from the D2C channel, even after a decade of its inception. The brand has surpassed many established players in the market, such as Myntra, Flipkart, and Amazon, and has claimed the top spot in the lifestyle category on the Google Play Store.
Some of the key factors that contribute to The Souled Store’s D2C success are its product quality, customer service, pricing strategy, and marketing campaigns. The brand offers high-quality products that are made in India and are eco-friendly. The brand also provides excellent customer service, with a dedicated team of 150 people who handle queries, complaints, and feedback. The brand also offers competitive pricing, with products ranging from INR 299 to INR 1,999. The brand also leverages various marketing channels, such as social media, influencers, celebrities, and collaborations, to create awareness and engagement among its target audience.
According to Vedang Patel, the cofounder and director of The Souled Store, the brand’s vision is to “create a community of like-minded people who love pop culture and express themselves through our products”. He also said that the brand’s goal is to surpass INR 1,000 crore in gross merchandise value within three years.
Earlier this year, The Souled Store raised INR 135 crore in a strategic funding round led by Xponentia Capital. The brand plans to use the funds to expand its product portfolio, increase its production capacity, enhance its technology platform, and enter new markets.
We congratulate The Souled Store for this amazing achievement and look forward to seeing more exciting products from them in the future!! 👏
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Available job opportunities
Hero MotoCorp, India’s largest two-wheeler maker, has announced a new investment of up to Rs 550 crore in Ather Energy, an electric scooter startup. The investment will be made in one or more tranches and will increase Hero’s stake in Ather from 34.58 per cent to 48.6 per cent. The investment will help Ather expand its production capacity, product portfolio, and market presence. Hero MotoCorp also plans to collaborate with Ather on charging infrastructure, technology, and sourcing.
Reliance Retail, India’s largest retailer, and Ed-a-mamma, a homegrown kidswear brand, have announced a joint venture to offer sustainable and socially responsible products for children. The joint venture will use natural fabrics, organic dyes, and recycled materials to create products that are good for the environment and society. The joint venture will also leverage Reliance Retail’s reach, technology, and customers to expand its market presence.
💼 More than 20 e-commerce firms adopt Google Cloud-ONDC’s Open Commerce solution - The new wave of ONDC
🤔 Indian Entrepreneurs React To ONDC I Honest Thoughts
Improving Pincode Serviceability
One of the biggest challenges for e-commerce businesses is to deliver their products to customers across the country, especially in remote and rural areas. Pincode serviceability is the measure of how many pincodes a courier company can cover and deliver to. The higher the pincode serviceability, the wider the reach and the better the customer satisfaction.
But how can e-commerce businesses improve their pincode serviceability and ensure timely and reliable delivery? Should they partner with a single courier company or use an aggregator that offers multiple courier options? What are the pros and cons of each approach? And what are some of the best practices and solutions from the industry experts?
We had a BLAST at the D2C Omni Channel Summit 🎉
What a day! 🎉
We had a blast at the D2C Insider Omnichannel Summit Mumbai, where we learned, pitched, and networked with the best minds in the D2C space. 🙌
A big shoutout to all brands, enablers, investors and everyone else who joined us. Your presence made this event a huge success! 🥳
We hope you enjoyed the insightful sessions, the engaging masterclasses, the exciting pitchathons and made some valuable connections and collaborations. 😍
Until then, keep rocking the D2C world! 🚀