L’Oréal × Innovist, Plum, TruNativ, SolarSquare, Vetic & More 🚀
India’s D2C ecosystem is scaling through strategic acquisitions, profitable growth, and founder-led innovation. 🚀
National Disruptors:
1. L’Oréal has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Innovist, the parent company of Bare Anatomy and Chemist at Play. Potentially valued at up to $450 million, the deal highlights growing global interest in India’s D2C beauty sector and strengthens Innovist’s next phase of growth and expansion.
2. Plum has crossed ₹500 crore in revenue while remaining profitable, with quick commerce now contributing over 15% of its business. Backed by expanding fulfilment infrastructure, automation investments, same-day delivery initiatives, and a target of 30%+ growth, the beauty brand continues to strengthen its omnichannel growth strategy.
3. TruNativ has raised $30 million (₹290 crore) in a Series B round led by OrbiMed to accelerate offline expansion, strengthen nutrition innovation, and scale distribution across India. Backed by 350% revenue growth to ₹130 crore in FY26 and strong repeat purchases, the nutrition brand is entering its next growth phase.
Read more →
Business Boost:
1. SolarSquare has raised $53 million (₹510 crore) in a Series C round led by Lightspeed to expand its rooftop solar business across India. Backed by 50,000 homes served, ₹1,000 crore ARR, and over $100 million raised to date, the cleantech startup is accelerating India’s residential solar adoption.
2. Vetic has raised $40 million led by Bessemer Venture Partners to expand its pet healthcare network across India. Backed by 65+ clinics, 15 emergency care centres, 60,000+ subscribers, and 2.5X revenue growth, the startup is accelerating its mission to build India’s leading technology-driven pet healthcare platform.
3. Foodstories has raised ₹50 crore in a funding round led by Nikhil Kamath to accelerate digital growth, expand delivery networks, and scale its retail footprint. Backed by a strong omnichannel model, experiential stores, and growing consumer demand for premium products, the gourmet lifestyle brand is entering its next growth phase.
Founders funded:
1. Gimi Michi has raised $1 million in seed funding led by IndiaQuotient to expand its Korean FMCG business across India. Backed by ₹1 crore monthly sales, 60% month-on-month growth, strong quick commerce traction, and plans to expand beyond ramen, the startup is rapidly building India’s next Korean food brand.
2. Xtovia has raised ₹6.9 crore in a pre-seed round led by V3 Ventures to accelerate product innovation, team expansion, and market growth. Backed by proprietary TriLayerX Hair Tech, 1,500+ product iterations, four patent applications, and science-led formulations, the D2C haircare startup is building a global beauty brand from India.
3. Lissun has raised ₹2.77 crore in fresh funding from Rainmatter, India Foundation Fund, and other investors to strengthen its mental wellness platform. Backed by 35,000+ therapy sessions, presence across 40+ cities, growing revenue, and AI-driven innovation, the startup continues to expand its impact in India’s healthcare ecosystem.
Most people think innovation starts with a breakthrough idea.
Satyajit Mittal believes it starts with a question.
Why do children have to adapt to shoes? Why can’t shoes adapt to children?
While studying the footwear industry, his team noticed something surprising: most children’s shoes were simply smaller versions of adult shoes.
Same assumptions. Same design principles. Different users.
But children grow differently. Move differently. And have entirely different needs.
That observation led to a much bigger challenge — rethinking footwear from the ground up.
What followed wasn’t a single breakthrough.
It was years of research, prototyping, testing, redesigning, and rebuilding.
Because the hardest part of innovation isn’t having an idea.
It’s turning that idea into a product that works, scales, and solves a real problem.
One of the biggest lessons from Aretto’s journey is that meaningful innovation often comes from questioning things everyone else accepts as normal.
Sometimes the biggest opportunities are hidden inside assumptions no one thinks to challenge.
Every meaningful innovation starts with a simple question: Why does it have to be this way?
📌 D2C INSIDER UPDATE 🚀
Today, The Crux × D2C Insider AI Bootcamp Cohort 3 goes live.
After two successful cohorts featuring founders and operators from brands like VAHDAM India, Blue Tokai, Nicobar, Assembly, Mamaearth, Sanfe, Licious, and more, the community continues to explore one of the biggest shifts shaping modern consumer brands: AI.
At D2C Insider, we believe the next generation of category-defining consumer brands will be built by founders who embrace AI early and use it as a competitive advantage.
This bootcamp is just one step in that journey.
The brands that lead the next decade won’t just use AI—they’ll be built around it. We’re making sure the D2C ecosystem is ready for that future.
Stay tuned. The best is yet to come. 👀🚀