Two failed entrepreneurs, down to their last pennies, stumbled upon a breakthrough in 2015.
Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda observed a peculiar trend: sleep solution companies were operating with relatively low COGS, yet reporting 8-9% EBITDA profitability. So, where was the margin going?
The answer was simple—middlemen and their hefty commissions.
This insight reignited the entrepreneurial spirit in them. They put in INR 2.5 lakhs each and launched Wakefit in 2016.
The vision was straightforward yet bold: manufacture high-quality mattresses and sell directly to consumers, leveraging a simple yet effective formula:
🔷 cut out middlemen
🔷 improve unit economics
🔷 pocket handsome gross margins
🔷 offer competitive pricing in an already commoditised market
Within a few months, Wakefit began selling orthopaedic memory foam mattresses that were not only 30% cheaper than traditional brands but also delivered straight to the consumer’s doorstep.
The business seems like a goldmine now, but back in the day, funders were a hard sell.
Did you know that 32 investors shut the door on Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda before anyone even gave Wakefit a second look?
The duo faced rejection after rejection until Sequoia Capital finally saw the potential and invested INR 65 Cr in a Series A round in 2018. That moment was the true turning point.
Fast forward to today, Wakefit is thriving with:
☑️ INR 1017 Cr revenue in FY24
☑️ INR 2500 Cr valuation as of 2022
☑️ 6000+ SKUs
☑️ 2.5 Mn+ customers
What truly fueled Wakefit’s explosive growth? Relentless product innovation.
Back in 2016, the concept of D2C was still relatively nascent in India. With no concrete GTM strategy in place, Ankit & Chaitanya focused on the one thing they could control—building a solid product.
The first product Wakefit launched was a premium orthopaedic mattress priced slightly above INR 20,000, which they listed on Amazon. Surprisingly, it sold within a day, even though it had no reviews, no ratings, and minimal visibility on the platform.
So why did a customer drop so much money on an untested product?
The curious Chaitanya reached out to the buyer. Turns out, this customer—a recently relocated NRI in Bengaluru—shared some valuable insights on the Indian consumer mindset.
✔️ Value for Money Matters: Customers are willing to invest in a premium product, as long as they perceive its value. It’s not just about the price—it’s about ensuring they get their money’s worth, especially with a warranty or guarantee.
✔️ The Industry Was Non-Standardised: The mattress industry in India was suffering from a severe lack of consistency, with non-standardised products and confusing pricing models. Customers were tired of dealing with vague claims from local players.
More feedback calls revealed similar insights, leading Chaitanya to build Wakefit’s strategy around consumer mindset rather than the typical product-centric approach. They introduced:
✔️ Risk-Free Trials: The brand began offering 100-night risk-free trials, giving consumers the opportunity to test products without commitment..
✔️ Standardisation: Wakefit promised consistency, offering products that were uniform in quality and pricing across the board. No gimmicks, no surprises.
This customer-centric approach paid off handsomely, helping Wakefit differentiate itself from traditional mattress brands bogged down by confusing and inconsistent offerings.
Wakefit’s success lies in its periodic PMF reassessment.
Every 18-24 months, the team reevaluates their market positioning and consumer feedback to explore new product categories. This customer feedback loop ensures that Wakefit’s products remain relevant and innovative.
For example, a customer feedback call about stains on mattresses led to the launch of mattress protectors, expanding their offerings from just mattresses to complementary products.
This kind of feedback-driven innovation is what has enabled Wakefit to launch 6000+ SKUs, which now span across sleep accessories, furniture, home decor, and more.
Chaitanya has been vocal about the importance of leveraging customer trust once it’s established. As he puts it:
“Once consumer trust is built, you have to keep innovating and expanding your product range. Upsell and cross-sell—this is the only way to improve LTV, while keeping CAC low.”
This philosophy has propelled Wakefit to maintain steady YoY growth and build long-lasting customer relationships.
Wakefit’s latest launch, the Zense range, introduces India’s first AI-driven sleep solutions, which are both cutting-edge and practical.
The Zense range features two standout products:
🔷 Regul8: A temperature-regulating mattress that allows users to manually adjust the temperature between 15°C and 40°C, with five easy presets—Neutral, Cold, Warm, Ice, and Fire.
🔷 Track8: This sleep tracker provides detailed insights into sleep patterns, enabling users to monitor and improve their sleep quality. Track8’s sophisticated sleep analysis makes it a perfect companion to Regul8, offering an all-in-one sleep solution.
By integrating AI and smart technology into the sleep experience, Wakefit has raised the bar, giving the brand an edge over traditional competitors.
These innovations keep the brand relevant and continuously in tune with what modern consumers need.
Wakefit’s gross profit margin in 2019 stood at an impressive 41.2%, a considerable margin compared to the 15-20% industry average.
✔️ Focus on large ticket size: Chaitanya explained how having a high-value transaction model gives D2C brands room to experiment and scale fast. With larger transaction values, Wakefit takes bold steps in R&D, marketing, and expansion without heavily sacrificing profitability
✔️ Vertical integration: Chaitanya said that the best way for D2C companies to improve their topline and maintain higher margins is by owning their value chain end-to-end. From product R&D to LMD, Wakefit controls it all. This level of ownership allows the brand to streamline its processes and reduce dependency on external vendors
✔️ Minimising return rates: For any D2C business, product returns can be an absolute margin killer. To keep return rates to a bare minimum, Wakefit implemented stringent quality testing procedures. For instance, all their mattresses are vacuum-sealed. This helps reduce damage during shipping, ensuring returns are less than 2%
Wakefit isn’t just dominating the online space—it’s making waves offline as well. The company now operates 80+ outlets across 26 cities, and every single one of them is EBITDA-positive.
The brand reported EBITDA profitability of INR 65 Cr in FY24.
By the end of FY25, Wakefit plans to expand to 120 stores, pushing deeper into Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities to broaden their customer base.
With impressive YoY growth, 2.5 Mn+ customers, and INR 1017 Cr in revenue for FY24, Wakefit has solidified its position as India’s leading sleep solutions provider.
But the question remains—will they be able to maintain this growth rate?
What do you think?
In 2017-18, Swagatika Das and Gaurav Agarwal observed two significant trends in the Indian market:
🔷 A growing number of Indian consumers were willing to pay a premium for a better lifestyle – for products that claim to be natural or organic
🔷 More often than not, these consumers were buying products online
Digging deeper, they discovered that India’s natural and organic skincare market is set to grow at a CAGR of 25% over the next decade—a sweet spot to establish a business. Eureka!
This led to the inception of Nat Habit in 2019!
The focus? 100% natural and ultra-potent beauty & wellness products that help consumers elevate their lifestyles—without compromising on ingredients or sustainability.
Within just 5 years of launch, Nat Habit is on to some great numbers:
💠 INR 100 Cr ARR in FY24
💠 22 Lakh+ customers
💠 10,000+ orders rolling in every month
Nat Habit’s rise is no accident—it’s a masterclass in understanding consumer preferences, leveraging online channels, and delivering products that tick all the right boxes.
Nat Habit has been on a spree – growing fast and acquiring new customers every passing day.
Growth that’s validated by finances. Truly!
But what worked for Nat Habit?
Nat Habit identified a clear target demographic: urban women who are informed, careful about what goes into their skincare, and willing to invest in premium, sustainable beauty solutions.
Swagatika pointed out in an interview, “Our audience reads ingredient labels, they check for harmful additives, and they prefer brands that align with their belief in beauty.”
And, Nat Habit’s focus on transparency in sourcing and formulation—paired with clear, educational communication—resonated deeply with this audience.
They weren’t just selling products; they were selling values!
Nat Habit undertook a hybrid manufacturing approach—a strategy that proved to be a critical growth lever!
Rather than following the D2C trend of outsourcing everything to contract manufacturers, they struck the balance between in-house and contract manufacturing.
3 smart reasons:
✔️ Quality Control: Outsourcing everything would mean less control over quality. By maintaining some in-house manufacturing, they had better oversight on how raw materials were processed.
✔️ Scalability: On the flip side, relying purely on in-house manufacturing can limit how fast you can scale. This hybrid model gave them the flexibility to grow quickly while still ensuring quality.
✔️ Control Over Raw Material Processing: With 800+ natural ingredients in their arsenal, it became crucial to process them under strict supervision, again made possible by in-house manufacturing.
Swagatika once said, “Having an in-house facility allowed us to control how ingredients were processed, which directly affected the texture, shelf-life, and overall quality of our products.”
Nat Habit built their entire value prop around products made fresh, like how food is prepared.
This isn’t just a gimmick—it’s a core differentiator.
Unlike traditional beauty products that sit on shelves for months or years, Nat Habit’s offerings are fresh-made in small batches!
Their product range reintroduces old-school Indian beauty rituals, reviving traditional ingredients like turmeric, sandalwood, and rose
The packaging also echoes freshness. They used earthy, natural packaging designs that clearly communicated the brand’s philosophy—minimal, eco-conscious, and with an emphasis on authenticity.
A significant driver behind Nat Habit’s rapid rise has been its ability to build a fiercely loyal customer base.
With repeat customers accounting for 30-40% of monthly revenue, it’s clear that their retention strategies are top-tier.
Let’s dive deeper?
The marketplace algorithm can be tricky, but Nat Habit figured it out early on. Amazon Pi and other analytics tools have been their secret weapons in ensuring their products rank high in popular search categories.
How did they do it?
☑️ Optimised Product Listings: They mastered SEO for marketplaces, ensuring keywords like ‘natural skincare’ placed their products right where customers were searching.
☑️ High Customer Ratings: Their products consistently boast 4.6+ ratings, creating an immediate trust for new buyers and driving higher sales conversions.
By playing the marketplace game with finesse, Nat Habit significantly boosted visibility and converted that into 60% of their overall sales.
Optimising The Website For Conversions
While marketplaces drive volume, the key to building a direct relationship with consumers is through the D2C website. Their website is intuitively designed to deliver a seamless shopping experience:
☑️ Easy Navigation: Customers can shop for skin concerns, product categories, or even by ancient ingredients like sandalwood or rose—a strong hook for beauty enthusiasts.
☑️ Exclusive Discounts: They incentivise customers to buy directly from the website by offering early-bird access to product launches and exclusive deals.
It’s a win-win: the customer feels special, and Nat Habit cuts down on marketplace commissions.
Nat Habit capitalised on user-generated content (UGC), encouraging customers to share their skincare routines and product reviews on Instagram.
Their Instagram following grew to 130,000+ in just a year, allowing them to tap into organic word-of-mouth marketing. Today, they have 380,000+ followers.
The brand also leveraged influencers and beauty bloggers, who championed the “fresh-made” narrative, further boosting credibility.
Nat Habit’s growth trajectory from 2019 to now is nothing short of remarkable. By blending product innovation, a marketplace-first strategy, and a commitment to fresh, Ayurvedic beauty, the brand has carved a distinct niche in the crowded BPC space.
As they continue to scale, the challenge consistency on the USP front—freshness—while expanding operations.
This edition’s on the growth playbook of a dominant startup in BPC!
Launched in 2019, this startup focuses on bringing beauty secrets from around the world to Indian consumers. And doing so, it achieved some incredible milestones:
🔷 5 Mn+ Consumers
🔷 INR 2000 Cr Valuation
Of course, we’re talking about Pilgrim!
An online-first company, Pilgrim achieves 90% of its revenue from online channels – 65% from marketplaces and 25% from its D2C website
CEO & Co-Founder, Anurag Kedia, said in an interview, “Money isn’t the only way to grow on marketplaces. There are so many subtle things you can do. You just need to know what and when.”
When Jeff first shared this iconic model in 2000, it was simply a concept sketched on a napkin. Fast forward to Pilgrim’s success, this model is their north star.
“The FlyWheel model helped us do the right things on Amazon,” says Anurag. His team made small but significant tweaks—optimising product images to instantly connect with consumers, focusing on user-generated content (UGC), and stacking up genuine reviews.
Beauty is all about trust, and Pilgrim has nailed it! With 4.5+ star ratings across most of their products on Amazon, Pilgrim builds credibility where it matters most—directly with consumers. 🚀
Cracking Amazon meant they could crack all marketplaces!
It wasn’t just the FlyWheel model that propelled Pilgrim to success; their data-backed decision-making played a crucial role too. The brand leveraged powerful tools like Brand Analytics, Amazon Pi, and Helium to make smarter marketplace moves.
🔷 Optimising Product Listings: Every product listing across Amazon, Nykaa, or Flipkart is tweaked for maximum impact. From high-conversion product images to laser-sharp product descriptions, everything is designed to grab attention and narrate a story.
According to a JungleScout report, 70% of Amazon shoppers don’t venture beyond the first page of search results. Thanks to its mastery of keyword optimisation, Pilgrim’s products consistently rank high for popular searches like “Niacinamide Serum” or “Sunscreen SPF 50.”
🔷 Dynamic Pricing & Discounts: Pilgrim’s pricing strategies are tailored for the deal-hunting Indian consumer. They frequently offer limited-time discounts, lightning deals, and bundles—a tactic that keeps customers coming back.
Redseer Consulting found that 40% of Indian e-commerce shoppers make purchases primarily based on discounts, and Pilgrim’s dynamic pricing taps into this behaviour brilliantly.
This blend of smart data tools and a consumer-first pricing approach is what keeps Pilgrim top-of-mind for BPC buyers across the country!
Pilgrim has fortified their brand using several smart growth levers that complement their primary marketplace strategy. Let’s break down these supporting pillars:
While 65% of sales may come from marketplaces, Pilgrim’s D2C website is a vital growth lever. The website is optimised for conversions, offering exclusive deals, early access to launches, and user-friendly catalogues.
Finding products is easy, and their well-curated gift hampers (in various price ranges) entice direct sales. This customer-first approach boosts engagement and brand loyalty.
They’ve cautiously expanded into offline retail. Their approach has been very strategic:
✔️ Focused Store Presence: Pilgrim has partnered with select retail chains and beauty stores in Tier 1 cities to cater to consumers who prefer a physical shopping experience.
✔️ Limited SKUs in Stores: Their best-sellers are in offline stores, preserving exclusivity while ensuring high sell-through rates. This approach has paid off—15% of offline buyers later shift to online purchases after trying the products.
Customers are spoilt for choice, especially in the beauty industry. Pilgrim keeps them hooked through relentless product innovation.
K-Beauty and Global Trends: Pilgrim taps into the growing demand for K-Beauty by introducing innovative products like the Pilgrim 2% Hyaluronic Acid Serum and the Secrets of Jeju Island range, which have become best-sellers.
Mint reports the K-beauty market in India grew by 20% in FY23, making Pilgrim’s innovation perfectly aligned with current consumer demands.
Pilgrim’s success story shows how blending marketplace mastery, a powerful D2C website, strategic offline moves, and cutting-edge product innovation can drive sustained growth.
From mastering the marketplace game to refining D2C and offline strategies, Pilgrim has shown that success comes from a multi-pronged approach.
Their marketplace-first model may be their biggest growth lever, but it’s the supporting pillars—product innovation, smart marketing, and strategic offline expansion have helped Pilgrim grow 4X in sales in FY23 as compared to FY22.
One thing’s for sure: Pilgrim is a brand to watch in India’s booming D2C space.
We’re at edition 25 already – all this while we’ve been sharing strategies fueling the growth of India’s top D2C brands.
Now, we thought it’s time to shed some light into the segments in D2C that are growing at a 10X pace or faster.
Growing at a much faster pace in India is fast fashion.
Redseer reported – while traditional fashion saw a modest 6% growth in FY24, fast-fashion zipped ahead with 30-40% growth, compared to FY23.
Justice to the name, indeed!
At this rate, the fast-fashion industry is projected to soar to a staggering INR 415,000 Cr by FY31—a 5X growth!
Mind-boggling, isn’t it?
But what makes fast fashion such a buzzword? Unlike traditional fashion brands, fast-fashion brands understand that speed-to-market is the golden ticket to success
Fast fashion isn’t just about keeping up with trends—it’s about dictating them. Brands like Zara have perfected the model, launching a new collection in as fast as 15 days, compared to the 6-9 months it takes for traditional brands.
While other brands are planning their next season, fast-fashion brands are already on their third collection of the year! (Pun Intended)
Let’s break down why:
🔷 Quick Adaptation to Trends: 50% of consumers demand fresh collections every 4-6 weeks. Fast-fashion brands that update their collections every 15-20 days have reported up to 30% higher revenue.
🔷 Minimising Deadstock: Fast-fashion brands, with their limited inventory model, are able to analyse fast what sells and what doesn’t. This reduces deadstock by a whopping 80%
🔷 Sell-Through Rates: Brands with a 15-day production cycle can sell 90% of their inventory at full price, compared to traditional brands that manage 60-70%. No reliance on markdowns here
🔷 Increased AOV: Customers spend 30-40% more on fresh collections versus off-season items. Fast-fashion drives repeat customers, boosting retention rates.
🔷 Lower Warehousing Costs: A McKinsey report reveals that fast-fashion brands cut warehousing costs by 20% due to shorter lead times.
A report even highlighted how fast fashion can launch over 50 collections annually, compared to the 2-3 collections of traditional brands.
Now, that’s insane efficiency!
In India, D2C brands like Zudio, Snitch, and NewMe have taken the fast-fashion model and made it their own, growing over 70% year-on-year. These brands, with their quick design-to-market strategy are creating customer loyalty in record time.
But what truly sets fast fashion apart is how quickly brands can pivot.
They can ditch what doesn’t work, double down on what does, and keep their costs relatively low due to limited inventory and high sell-through rates.
Remember Edition 1 of The D2CX Newsletter? We had shared the growth playbook of Snitch.
Here are the insights from the 10X growth playbook for fast-fashion D2C brand Snitch, that we carefully curated in the first edition of The D2CX Newsletter
✔️ Affordable Fashion for the Masses: Snitch carved a niche in the mass-premium category, offering high-quality, trendy clothes at accessible prices. This strategy has fueled a consistent 30-35% QoQ growth for the past two years.
✔️ Staying Relevant: Snitch gauges customer response before scaling up production of any particular design, ensuring constantly updated collections.
✔️ Product Reselling Initiatives: Snitch allows customers to seamlessly resell their existing Snitch apparel for new ones. This way, Snitch has been able to offer discounts to existing customers and scaled its retention rates to about 50%
✔️ Affiliate Partnership With Customers: Customers could get reasonable discounts on Snitch products by simply posting a picture on their instagram stories and tagging the Snitch handle. This way Snitch has been able to turn customers into its brand ambassadors.
✔️ Instagram For The Win: Snitch has definitely cracked the Instagram game and drives massive traction there. They post viral content on the platform and have close to a million followers.
With this playbook, Snitch went from selling fabric scraps to becoming a company worth INR 400 Cr in 3 years!
Fast fashion is undeniably redefining the fashion industry with its speed and efficiency.
Fast-fashion D2C brands from all parts of India are picking momentum and doing well. Take LittleBox for example- This brand from the NorthEast went 0 To INR 75 Cr within 2 years of launch!
The question is—for how long will fast-fashion continue as a trend? And will this pace of growth sustain!
What do you think?
Let’s face it—everyone’s replacing conventional mattresses with new-age, comfortable solutions that promise more restful nights.
In FY24 alone, the global mattress market raked in a whopping INR 302,800 Cr. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg—it’s growing at a blistering 17% CAGR annually.
Closer to home, the Indian mattress market is catching up with these astounding stats:
🔷 Worth INR 20,000 Cr in 2022
🔷 7 to 9 million units sold every year
At the centre of this massive mattress revolution is The Sleep Company, a D2C company founded by Priyanka Salot and her partner, Harshil Salot in 2019.
In this edition, we’ll dive into how The Sleep Company took the entire Indian mattress industry by storm with one growth lever.
The Sleep Company knew they needed value-based differentiation – more than just sleek marketing campaigns or better foam densities to stand out (which was 40% organised by 2021).
To carve a distinct niche, they went all-in on innovation and R&D, collaborating with a team of DRDO scientists led by Dr. Tripathi, a former polymer head from DRDO, to introduce their game-changing patented SmartGRID technology
What Makes SmartGRID So Revolutionary?
SmartGRID is the only mattress with a grid-shaped hyper-elastic polymer. No matter how you sleep, it is firm enough to support your back and spine, but also soft enough to adapt to the shape of your body. The 2500 air channels in a SmartGRID structure facilitate enough airflow. It’s the only mattress of its kind.
This innovation drove 80% of The Sleep Company’s early traction as people couldn’t stop talking about the breakthrough in comfort.
Not Just Mattresses: A Full Suite of Sleep Solutions
Priyanka and Harshil didn’t stop at mattresses. Once SmartGRID was a hit, they used the same patented technology to launch a range of
products like recliner beds, chairs, pillows, and mattress accessories, expanding their portfolio and boosting their revenue.
The Results? Astounding Growth!
✔️ 300% growth in YoY revenue by 2021
✔️ INR 150 Cr in revenue by the end of FY22
✔️ INR 500 Cr ARR in FY24
While SmartGRID technology is undoubtedly The Sleep Company’s growth hero, the brand’s expansion success goes beyond just product innovation.
Their strategy perfectly blends product differentiation, smart marketing, and a robust omnichannel presence.
Aggressive Spend On The Right Marketing Channels
As Priyanka, co-founder of The Sleep Company, mentioned in an interview: “We took a year to analyse customer behaviour and figured out which channels our target audience consumed the most content.”
This deep-dive helped the team deploy their marketing budget aggressively and smartly, focusing primarily on influencer marketing and YouTube campaigns.
By 2021, the company allocated 25% of its revenue to marketing, specifically zeroing in on Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. In fact, their D2C website became a major contributor, accounting for 45% of total sales!
Though originally a D2C brand, The Sleep Company partnered with major e-commerce players like Amazon, Flipkart, and Pepperfry.
Subsequently, The Sleep Company sold over 75,000 units by the end of FY22 on these marketplaces.
Oh, and did we mention? The products maintain a 4.6+ rating on Amazon.
They ventured into offline experience centres where customers could physically try out mattresses before making a purchase
By FY24, the company established 121 COCO (Company-Owned-Company Operated) experience centres in key Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. These centres have become an essential touchpoint for customers looking to feel and experience the unique comfort of SmartGRID mattresses firsthand.
The Sleep Company has proven that innovation and smart execution are the real differentiators. It shows in the numbers.
The Sleep Company’s growth story is not only about selling mattresses—it’s a playbook on creating value and scaling efficiently.
A company spokesperson recently revealed – The Sleep Company might turn profitable in FY25.
What do you think?
Let’s rewind to 2014.
Shan Kadavil, CEO of Zynga in India, is all set for his seafood order from SeaToHome, a platform he had been loyally using for years. But this time, something’s off—the website has been taken down!
So, he reaches out to Matthew Joseph, founder of SeaToHome.
Figuring out that Matthew did not have the technical know-how or resources to keep the website running, Shan flies down to Kochi to meet him.
They share a vision: a tech-enabled solution that could scale the fresh seafood and meat business while maintaining top-notch quality.
The following year, they launched FreshToHome with Shan as Co-Founder & CEO.
What started as a small operation in 2015 has come a long way, first with selling seafood and then expanding horizons to meat, packaged foods, and now vegetables!
🔷 10 Mn+ App Downloads
🔷 160+ Cities (154 In India and 6 in the Middle-East)
🔷 5 Mn+ Products Delivered Each Month
🔷 INR 1083 Cr Revenue In FY22
What Shan did back in 2015 was nothing short of genius.
Dealing with perishables, seasonal availability, and a fragmented market is a nightmare for most entrepreneurs. But FreshToHome tackled these challenges head-on, focusing on procurement, logistics, and technology.
A Tech-Enabled Fishnet
They launched an app for fishermen, what?
Imagine this: a fisherman takes photos of his fresh catch and uploads them to the FreshToHome app, adding details like weight and price.
If FreshToHome accepts the offer, the fisherman gets a green signal; if not, it’s red. Easy-peasy! And the best part?
There’s no leftover catch for the next day, ensuring a win-win!
This system allowed FreshToHome to procure top-notch seafood directly from over 3,000 fishermen across 400 harbours, and it’s now expanded to 40 collection centres in India alone.
This approach eliminated the middleman markup, reportedly making FreshToHome products 15-20% more affordable than other retailers.
FreshToHome’s secret sauce lies in its smart use of customer data. By analysing customer purchase patterns and search intent, they predicted demand trends like a pro!
This meant less wastage, more inventory efficiency, and product lines that hit home with local preferences.
Their expansion wasn’t just guesswork—it was data-driven
When dealing with fish, meat, and other perishables, freshness is everything.
FreshToHome pulled this off through a well-oiled cold chain logistics system. Temperature-controlled trucks ensure doorstep delivery within 24-36 hours of harvest.
That’s no easy feat when you’re delivering over 25,000 tonnes of fresh food across India and the UAE!
With predictive analysis, a tech-driven supply chain, and strong logistics, FreshToHome built a robust system!
It’s not just expensive – it’s very expensive.
Till date, FreshToHome has raised a total of ~ INR 1700 Cr in 8 funding rounds, the largest of which was ~ INR 900 Cr. These funds helped bolster the supply chain and drive aggressive expansion, both online and offline.
Once the cold chain logistics set up was in place, Shan strategically expanded into other product lines, such as vegetables and packaged food products, that run on the same supply chain infra.
That’s a smart move, eh?
But Shan did not stop there, he went on to dedicate a share of these funds to brand building and marketing campaigns. From aggressive influencer marketing to running an IPL ad campaign, FreshToHome for sure was seen by millions of people!
Although Fresh-To-Home is yet to break even, its revenue is surging YoY.
In conclusion, FreshToHome’s growth playbook is simple but powerful—eliminate middlemen, ensure quality through technology, scale through strategic expansion, and focus on quality.
Shan has hinted at entering newer international markets and strengthening their ready-to-eat segment. He is also eyeing an IPO in 2027!
Until the next one!
Last weekend, we were chilling at a friend’s place—your classic bachelor pad, where cold water is rare enough to be considered a luxury!
But hold up—our host casually offered Margaritas. Wait, what?
While a few of us shared an ‘aha’ moment, others wondered when this guy became a mixologist!
That’s when we spotted the empty Jimmy’s Cocktails bottles on the kitchen counter.
And it hit us—Jimmy’s had clearly done something right with their products!
Needless to say, our fridges are now stocked with a few of Jimmy’s mixers.
So, let’s break down what makes Jimmy’s Cocktails a star! 👇
Ankur Bhatia was on a bar-hopping spree in Mumbai when he had an epiphany—cocktails were always the stars of the show, regardless of whether the bar was high-end or laid-back. The only variable? Quality!
Ankur’s curiosity piqued, and he dived deep into the numbers:
🔷 75% of alcohol consumed in India happens at home
🔷 30% of top bars’ revenue comes from cocktails
🔷 Only 3,000 of India’s 30,000 licensed establishments serve cocktails
But that wasn’t all. The non-alcoholic beverage market was projected to hit INR 1,13,152 Cr by 2027, growing at an 18.69% CAGR. Clearly, there was a gap!
Inspired, Ankur aimed to create non-alcoholic beverages that doubled as cocktail mixers—a tricky sweet spot but a massive opportunity.
A year later, Ankur put his entrepreneurial hat back on (he had previously co-founded mensxp.com which is now a part of Times Internet Limited now), and launched Jimmy’s Cocktails in 2019.
‘Jimmy’ because ‘Jack’, ‘Jim’ & ‘Johnnie’ were already taken!
The Goals?
Elevate the at-home drinking game!
Picture this: a cocktail that would typically burn a INR 700 hole in your pocket at a bar can now be mixed right at home for just INR 99. Yes!
Hell no!
When Jimmy’s made an entry into the space, CocaCola-owned Schweppes literally owned the mixers space. Their ginger-ale and tonic water were available in almost all retail stores.
So, Jimmy’s changed the feel of mixers. They entered the market with classic yet bold flavours – Bloody Mary, Cosmopolitan, Mango Chilli Mojito, Margarita, and Sex on the Beach.
And, what response!
The brand clocked INR 7.3 Cr in just 7 months of sales in FY20, and multiplied that to ~ INR 24 Cr in the following fiscal.
In just 2 years, Jimmy’s took the centre stage in liquor marts and retail stores, pushing Schweppes to the bottom shelf.
In FY23, Jimmy’s clocked INR 35 Cr in revenue!
Jimmy’s was betting big on convenience, affordability, and flavour craftsmanship, but it had to change consumer mindset to thrive on its USP.
And this would have happened only if consumers fell in love with their beverages!
It all starts with sourcing premium ingredients from around the globe—like cranberries from Denmark for their Cosmopolitan and Alphonso mangoes for their Mango Chilli Mojito.
“Our mixers are low-calorie and free from artificial sweeteners, thanks to the quality of our ingredients,” Ankur told Inc42.
With renowned mixologist and owner of Delhi-based bar Sidecar, Yangdup Lama on board, Jimmy’s has perfected the art of deconstructing complex, bartender-level flavours into bottled mixers.
Plus, with their Nashik-based plant handling everything from manufacturing to bottling, they’ve got the entire supply chain locked down!
Today, Jimmy’s has taken almost an 85% share in its category.
An offline-first brand, Jimmy’s nailed revenue numbers in the first year.
But then the pandemic hit in early 2020, and Ankur pivoted Jimmy’s to a D2C model, literally overnight.
In August 2020, they had become an online-first brand, launching and selling from their own website. Before long, Jimmy’s was selling in 400 cities across India.
The result? A surge in brand awareness and an expansion that exceeded expectations, as Jimmy’s became the go-to for at-home cocktail enthusiasts.
A pandemic favour, no?
Supply Chain On The Rocks?
Each month, around 640,000 bottles are manufactured at the Jimmy’s plant near Nasik and then transported to warehouses in Gurugram, Nasik and Bengaluru.
From there, the mixers are distributed to retailers and customers through online and offline channels.
What a logistical nightmare!
“Ours is an impulse-buying category where fast delivery is critical to the business. A little delay may result in cancellation, given the nature of the product,” said Ankur.
They initially partnered with local courier companies for their pan-India distribution. However, reaching delivery destinations became a challenge, and breakage was starting to take a toll on profits.
So, Jimmy’s partnered with a 3P Logistics partner which helps them with product transport, distribution, warehouse optimisation, and LMD.
As a result, Jimmy’s was able to reduce TAT by 30%, minimise product damages, and keep a pulse on MRP.
To be honest, there’s nothing unique about the growth story of Jimmy’s. But one thing that you should note is how they always do the right thing at the right time.
While competitors like Swizzle and Stirred are trying to find ground, Jimmy’s is continuing to grow fast and will most likely break even in the next couple of years, provided it doesn’t do a major pivot again (pun intended!)
We sure will keep an eye on Jimmy’s Cocktails.
PC Musthafa flunked the 6th grade when his father was making no more than INR 10 in daily wages.
Mustafa faced the odds and who knew this boy would eventually secure an MBA degree from IIM-Bengaluru and build iD Fresh Food – a D2C company worth INR 2000 Cr.
In 2005, Musthafa was pursuing his MBA degree in Bengaluru. At this time, he observed there was a huge demand for idli and dosa batter, but the options available in stores were filled with preservatives, didn’t taste fresh, and lacked the authenticity of homemade batter.
This is when he joined hands with 4 of his cousins to tap into this unmet need!
The team pooled INR 50,000 and started mixing idli and dosa batter by hand in a 50-square-foot kitchen, then delivering to local households on a motorcycle.
It took them 9 months to get to selling 100 packets of batter, but they were on to something!
Given the quality of the batter, word spread like wildfire, and iD Fresh Food became a hit in Bengaluru! By 2007, they began delivering batter door-to-door, using cold-chain logistics.
And they haven’t looked back ever since!
Today, iD Fresh Food distributes across 45 cities globally serving 2 Mn households every day.
The company reported INR 345 Cr in revenue in FY23, up from INR 275 Cr in FY22, and projects to hit INR 500 crore by FY24.
Here are some more numbers that show just how far iD Fresh Food has come:
🔷 15 manufacturing plants spread across India and the Middle East
🔷 30,000 outlets where iD products are sold globally
🔷 50+ SKUs
In fact, their Vada Batter product alone sold 300,000 units in its first year of launch!
iD Fresh Food didn’t become successful overnight! They have hit roadblocks, jumped over hurdles, and done everything between.
But, what’s interesting is that iD Fresh Food addressed all growth concerns with innovation, tech, and boldness!
The Spout Pouch That Won Consumers Over!
What sets iD Fresh Food apart is their patented spout pouch for idli and dosa batter. This clever packaging goes beyond convenience – it extends the shelf life to seven days (no preservatives used here) and makes pouring batter hassle-free.
This also reduced wastage and enhanced consumer trust—who wouldn’t appreciate batter that’s fresh and easy to handle?
Musthafa recalled in an interview, “We wanted to make our product as fresh as homemade. The spout pouch was the perfect solution to that problem.”
Consumer trust won! What would you do next? Precisely – expand your product line!
iD Fresh Food’s idli and dosa batter were selling hot, and this is when they expanded into parotas, chapatis, and vada batter! Then, fresh filter coffee decoction. Another hit! Today, the company’s product portfolio includes over 50 SKUs, and 40% of their business now comes from products outside of batter.
Today, iD Fresh Food has 50+ SKUs, the most recent of which are 4 instant chutneys – all traditional flavours. Have you tried them yet?
For a D2C company that’s into perishable items, maintaining freshness across vast geographies is a logistical nightmare. So, Musthafa turned to technology.
🔹 Geo-Tagging: Every retail store where iD Fresh Food sells its products is geo-tagged to ensure the salesperson never misses out on delivering at the store.
🔹 Geo-Fencing: Transactions with the salesperson are allowed only within 15 metres radius of the store. This ensures the salesperson actually reaches the retail outlet.
These tech-enabled practices helped iD Fresh Food control the wastage and improve overall margins!
It was 2015. After winning over the Indian market, Musthafa set his sights on the Middle East – UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman. The Middle East now contributes around 25% of iD’s revenue!
But how? iD opened manufacturing units in the Middle East and invested heavily in cold chain logistics, ensuring that their products remain fresh even when shipped internationally.
But this came at a cost! Managing an end-to-end supply chain for fresh food became extremely expensive. To keep costs in check, ID invested in 500+ refrigerated trucks, automating much of their process, and focusing on tech-enabled logistics.
iD Fresh isn’t stopping anytime soon. Their goal? To hit INR 2,000 crore in revenue by 2025 and continue expanding into new geographies and product categories.
Will they succeed? What do you think?
Would you quit your fancy corporate job at 38 years young to start up?
Well, Shankar Prasad did that to launch Plum Goodness!
Here’s A Sneak Peak!
Elevator Pitch? Bring goodness to the world through vegan and toxin-free BPC products!
Seed Capital? Shankar’s own Provident Fund!
Founder’s Mindset? Frugal – ran operations from a 2-room apartment for 4 years!
SKUs At Launch? 15
Capital Raised? Bootstrapped till late 2018. Then raised ~$50 Mn in 3 rounds!
Revenue? ARR of ~INR 400 Cr in FY24
Yes, you read that right!
Shankar was strategic in carving a niche for Plum. The brand’s USP is its commitment to vegan products that offer premium skincare without the guilt.
Now that’s something millennials and Gen Z simply can’t resist, right?
Leveraging his experience at HUL, where he worked at various capacities in operations and R&D, Shankar became adept at understanding consumer mindset—what they want in a product and, more importantly, what influences buying decisions.
This skill proved to be a blessing in disguise!
At the pre-revenue stage, it was just Shankar and one other person. But juggling product development, consumer research, and operational strategy, they perfected product formulation and achieved an efficacy rate of 95%+
We call this sheer grit!
It isn’t just about product composition. Shankar put a lot of thought into every other factor that influences the consumer experience—design, efficacy, texture, and sensory delight.
As he once mentioned in a podcast, “It’s not always about the ingredients alone. A lot of factors including how a product feels on the skin, how it’s packaged, and how it smells are crucial in delivering a wholesome experience.”
Finally, Shankar built a Shopify website to kickstart sales.
Every step in this journey was a deliberate move to build a sustainable brand.
And guess what? Shankar has tasted success!
Today, Plum is reporting an ARR of almost INR 400 Cr. The highlights are interesting!
The revenue split certainly paints an intriguing picture of Plum’s growth strategy.
Nearly 70% of sales come from online channels and the remaining 30%? Well, that comes from offline retail stores, where they have strategically placed 1,000+ assisted outlets. These outlets play a vital role in building physical touchpoints for the brand.
Let’s dive deeper!
For starters, Plum produces informative blog posts, articles, and videos that dive deep into the benefits of vegan and toxin-free beauty. Whether it’s the importance of using clean beauty products or tips on maintaining a skincare routine, their content is solution-driven.
They also bring in dermatologists and skin care professionals to provide expertise and educate their audience through live streams on platforms like Instagram. Also, collaborations with influencers such as Mithila Palker and Rashmika Mandhanna have been fruitful.
The result? A whopping 830K Instagram followers.
We looked at SEMRush data on Plum Goodness. Sharing the same!
The average visit duration of 8 mins 50 secs clearly states that Plum is able to keep visitors hooked on its website. Also, their organic search traffic is bumping by almost 17% MoM with 866.89K in September ‘24 – incredible!
Clean. Real. Good.
That’s the tagline of Plum, and all its marketing campaigns revolve around this philosophy.
A Mother’s Day campaign by Plum garnered 3 Mn+ impressions across platforms. Every customer who participated in the campaign got a little gift hamper!
Another such marketing masterpiece by Plum was building a community using a marketing campaign.
Joining the Plum squad, customers could easily get their hands on free goodies, and even get a chance to become a part of the marketing team at Plum – brilliance in driving engagement, we must say!
Plum has 35+ exclusive brand outlets across India, but most of its offline sales come from assisted outlets in retail stores!
But the thought that goes before opening any offline outlet is really interesting. First, they find the answers to the following questions:
🔹 Whether or not Plum has organic traction in the geography
🔹 The volume of ICP who reside in the geography
🔹 Has supply chain historically been a constraint in that geography?
Once the outlet is launched, Plum leverages predictive analysis on purchase patterns to gauge the amount of stock that’s required over a defined time period.
A dedicated field officer ensures the sales executive is trained, stock turnover is adequate, retailer and distributors are both happy!
The definition of success, as per Shankar, circles back to why he launched the brand.
While there are many D2C brands that have grown faster than Plum, Shankar thinks Plum is a success.
“At the end of the day, I have managed to stay true to why he built the brand – bring goodness to the world.”
Make no mistake – Plum is growing fast! And, industry experts have reported Plum will turn profitable by FY25.
For Shankar, however, the purpose of building Plum will come true when they bring goodness to the lives of a billion customers!
We’ll keep a watch on when they get there – will you too?
There’s nothing minimal about Minimalist – an amazing irony!
Launched right in the thick of 2020, Minimalist skyrocketed to an INR 100 Cr valuation in just 8 months. And, mind you, this wasn’t just any period—it was during the peak of the pandemic when many startups were struggling to stay afloat.
How many D2C brands in the BPC segment, do you know, navigated the pandemic turning in a positive EBITDA? Minimalist did—hitting an impressive 20.05% EBITDA. That’s not just a win, it’s a statement!
This was just the beginning; cut to day, Minimalist has become a maximum D2C brand with:
Founders, and siblings, Mohit and Rahul Yadav built Minimalist on a simple yet powerful GTM strategy: no false claims and complete transparency about the ingredients in every product—Minimalist’s real trump card!
No fluff. No misleading marketing!
They say less is more, and Minimalist proves it every day!
With a clean, no-frills approach, their product labels feature just four things: the brand name, key ingredients, product type, and use case. That’s it! It’s all neatly displayed on a simple white label.
“If we’re being logical, even water is a chemical mix of hydrogen and oxygen,” Mohit said, debunking the myth of ‘chemical-free’ beauty. “No beauty products are truly free from chemicals—it’s impossible. So, why not be honest?” his brother Rahul chimed in.
Take Niacinamide, for instance. Whether you’re battling acne on oily or dry skin, Minimalist offers this potent ingredient in the right concentration for both skin types, cutting through skincare confusion with pure, unfiltered transparency. They’re selling what the competitors are, but with one key difference: boldness, honesty, and full transparency.
And, just like that, Minimalist claims a 20% market share in serums in India!
This success isn’t an experiment that paid off; rather it’s a result of research.
Here’s what they did 👇
Thanks to smartphone penetration, there’s a remarkable parity when it comes to education and awareness. Discoverability isn’t just about browsing aimlessly anymore. There are people who are actively searching for specific active ingredients like ‘Niacinamide Serum’ while others go for broader, more generic searches like ‘Acne Serums.’
Minimalist optimised their products for discoverability across all possible searches and the results are incredible – every minute, Minimalist sells about 7 products on Amazon!
Based on what customers are looking for, Minimalist identifies gaps in the market, and if there is a business potential, they go all guns blazing on the complete cycle of R&D, new product development, launch, and marketing!
Following this approach, Minimalist went from a few acne serums in 2020 to a suite of 42+ SKUs across skin, haircare, and bath categories!
Not to reiterate the section on USP, but transparency has been a real game-changer for Minimalist.
They truly Hide Nothing – that’s Minimalist’s motto!
They are rated an impressive 4.6/5 on Amazon!
Yes, Minimalist uses chemical names in its packaging, and yes, not every user understands what they truly mean!
So, how to decide which is the right product for my skin?
Well, we were scratching our heads thinking the same, until we came across cheat sheets like these:
For every category, Minimalist has a cheat sheet that highlights key use-cases, streamlining the buying process for customers.
And, for customers who are not well-informed about what’s good for their skin, Minimalist has a Build Your Routine section. Take a 2 minute quiz, they’ll gauze your needs, and suggest products that are ideal for you. Seamless!
No wonder, Minimalist boasts a retention rate of 50%
There are brands that clock an ARR of INR 1000 Cr+ but are still not breaking even. So, how did Minimalist go green on PnL only after a year of launch?
Minimalist isn’t just known for transparency in its products but also for being frugal with its marketing strategy.
“Most brands spend 40-50% on marketing, while we only spend around 25%. That’s where most ventures bleed. Founders need to figure out if they have product-market fit,” Mohit said in an interview with Inc42.
When they launched, Minimalist was allocating 30% of their budget to marketing. Over time, as they homed in on performance marketing, they reduced that figure to 20-22%. Now, they’ve shifted gears, focusing more on brand marketing while still maintaining a lean marketing spend. Their combined cost for branding and performance marketing sits comfortably at 28%, as Mohit proudly shared.
But here’s the kicker—they didn’t dive into marketing from day one. They first perfected their products, and then targeted the right audience. That’s the secret to their success—a reverse approach to what most brands follow!
A valuable lesson for all D2C founders!
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