By Inc42 Media
India’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) market, which is likely to reach a size of $100 Bn by 2025, has grown exponentially in the last few years. Several factors including the Covid pandemic, higher internet penetration, growth of digital infrastructure and rise in the number of millennials, among others, have shored up the D2C brands.
Home to more than 190 Mn digital shoppers, India has the world’s third-largest online shopping base in the world. It is this burgeoning ecosystem that the new-age D2C brands aim to capitalise on, on the back of the growing appetite of Indian consumers for innovation and waning loyalty towards traditional players.
Of this, fashion and clothing startups have the highest potential and are expected to grow to $43.2 Bn by 2025, according to an Inc42 report.
Some of the emerging D2C brands including Mamaearth, CaratLane and Nua merely took a couple of years to reach INR 100 Cr revenue mark. This is a testament to the success of D2C brands in the country.
Let’s take a look at some of the popular D2C brands in the country.
The list is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. We have listed the Indian D2C startups in alphabetical order.
1. 82°E
Founded in 2021 by Bollywood Actress Deepika Padukone and Jigar Shah, 82°E is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) personal care brand.
It sells four skincare products – moisturisers, face oil, cleanser and sunscreen – in the price range of INR 1,200 and INR 2,900, as per the company’s website.
In December 2022, it secured $7.5 Mn in seed funding from DSG Consumer Partners, IDEO Ventures, Padukone’s family office, and some ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNIs).
It also has a research and development lab in Bengaluru city.
2. Alphavedic
Founded in 2019 By Shrey Jain and Shruti Khare, Alphavedic is a bootstrapped D2C startup that sells Ayurvedic beauty and personal care products. With 24 stock keeping units (SKUs) in its kitty, the startup sells haircare products, shampoos, conditioners, lip balms, creams, among other beauty products.
The company plans to launch ayurvedic vitamins and supplements over the course of next few months.
The startup competes with the likes of The Ayurveda Company, Kapiva, and Forest Essentials.
Alphavedic sells its products through its websites and ecommerce platforms such as Amazon, Nykaa, and Flipkart. It has retails its products across 40 offline chains in India.
3. Anveya Living
Founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur Saurav Patnaik and a former FirstCry executive Vivek Singh, Anveya Living sells sustainable hair and skin care products.
In 2022, the D2C startup launched its flagship products Colorisma and Curlvana and added a gold acne kit to its offerings. The startup clocked a revenue of about INR 11.7 Cr in the fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22).
The Bengaluru-based startup aims to clock a revenue of INR 45 Cr in 2023. It has added more hair care products to its offerings.
In February 2022, Anveya raised INR 8 Cr in a seed funding round from Venture capital firm Rukam Capital.
4. Arata
Founded in 2017 by Dhruv Madhok and Dhruv Bhasin, ARATA’s first-ever product, a homemade hair gel, came to being around Madhok’s wedding. Madhok had made the chemical-free hair gel for Bhasin.
24 months later, the D2C brand’s first product was sold on its website and the company took shape. The startup derives its name from the Japanese word ‘Arata’, which means ‘fresh and new.’
ARATA finds its differentiation in the chemical-free beauty and skincare segment, and its range includes products such as hair gels, hair creams, shampoos, conditioners, toothpaste, face wash and serums.
The D2C brand procures ingredients globally and locally from certified organic farms, which are developed into finished products after extensive research and development (R&D). The startup claims to offer zero-chemical and toxic-free personal care products that use only recycled plastic for packaging as part of its sustainability promise.
The D2C brand currently has 26 SKUs and a user base of more than 5 Lakh customers. It claims to have sold more than 7 Lakh products by mid-2022. However, a majority of its sales, around 70%, take place from ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Nykaa, Flipkart, and BigBasket.
5. Atomberg
Set up in 2012 by Manoj Meena and Sibabrata Das, Atomberg manufactures energy-efficient fans and allied equipment, along with mixer grinders. Its product portfolio includes pedestal, wall and ceiling fans, among others.
In 2021, Deepika Padukone-led family office KA Enterprises invested in Atomberg’s Series B funding round. In May 2023, the startup raised a further $86 Mn in a Series C round.
Besides Padukone, its cap table also includes A91 Partners, Survam Partners, Trifecta Capital, and Whiteboard Capital Fund, Temasek, Steadview Capital, among others.
During the time of its last fundraising, the startup was said to have 400 service centres throughout India and clocked an annual revenue rate of INR 300 Cr.
6. Bacca Bucci
Much before the Gen Z lingo acquired buzzwords such as sneakers or running shoes, the duo of Anuj Nevatia and Natwar Agrawal was quietly working on setting up something of their own in the footwear industry.
For Nevatia, the decision to focus on footwear was primarily driven by factors such as business seasonality, the organized nature of the market, and the timeless demand for shoes, which laid the groundwork for the inception of Bacca Bucci, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) footwear brand established in 2015.
As a bootstrapped startup, Bacca Bucci leverages artificial intelligence (AI) in its backend processes for shoe manufacturing. Beyond footwear, the platform also offers a range of complementary products, including belts, wallets, and toiletry bags.
Presently, Bacca Bucci markets its products through its official website and various ecommerce platforms.
7. Beco
Founded in 2019 by Aditya Ruia, Akshay Varma, and Anuj Ruia, Beco is a sustainable kitchen, home, and personal care brand. It sells biodegradable and combustible products such as tissue rolls, bamboo facial tissues, dishwashing liquid, toothbrushes, and garbage bags.
In September 2022, the startup secured $3 Mn in its Series A round led by Rukam Capital along with Prashant Pittie, Titan Capital, Priyavrata Mafatlal and Better Capital.
While announcing its Series A fundraise, it claimed that it would expand its retail stores to 10K across India.
Prior to this, it had raised INR 4 Cr in its seed funding round from Climate Angels Fund, Rukam Capital, Sequoia Sprout, and Zivame founder Richa Kar, among others.
8. Bewakoof
Founded in 2012 by Prabhkiran Singh and Siddharth Munot, Bewakoof sells a wide variety of clothes, stationery items, footwear and mobile accessories on its website. The D2C brand also sells a host of merchandise clothes and accessories in partnership with Marvel, F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Star Wars, Disney, DC and Looney Tunes.
In August 2021, it secured $8.09 Mn in its Pre-Series B funding round and in December 2022, Aditya Birla Group’s house of brands business TMRW invested INR 200 Cr in the D2C startup Bewakoof.
In total, Bewakoof has raised a total funding of INR 23.6 Mn to date. Its cap table includes IvyCap Ventures, Spring Marketing Capital, Investcorp and Klub-led accelr8 fund, among others.
At the time of its last fundraising activity, it was said to have sold more than 1 Cr products and served 60 Lakh customers. It also aimed to record INR 2000 Cr in sales by 2025.
9. Beyoung
Founded in 2018 by Shivam Soni, Shivani Soni, Sakshi Soni, and Shankar Mali, Beyoung is a D2C apparel startup that manufactures and sells fashion wear through its app, website and ecommerce platforms.
The Udaipur-based startup last raised INR 40 Cr ($4.8 Mn) in funding via revenue-based financing from Klub last year. The startup claims to have clocked a turnover of INR 100 Cr during the financial year 2022-23 (FY23).
Last year, the startup had underlined plans to open more than 100 offline stores in Tier-II and Tier-III cities Indian cities by 2023-end.
10. BlissClub
Set up in 2020 by Minu Margeret, BlissClub sells a host of women’s activewear including bottom wear, sports bras, tops, tees and co-ords, among others. Under the BlissQueen Royalty Program, the D2C startup offers reward points to its loyal customers.
In May, the Bengaluru-based D2C startup secured $15 Mn in its Series A funding round. It has raised a total funding of $17.25 Mn to date.
The startup claims to have grown its sales by 25X over the last year. It aims to attain an annualised revenue of INR 100 Cr by the end of 2022.
Eight Roads Ventures, Elevation Capital, Swiggy’ Sriharsha Majety, Mamaearth’s Ghazal Alagh, Licious’ Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura, SoftBank’s Munish Varma and Sumer Juneja, Shopify’s Brennan Loh are among its investors.
11. Bluestone
Set up in 2011 by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha and Vidya Nataraj, Bluestone offers more than 8000 jewellery designs in rings, pendants and other allied products. It follows an omnichannel approach to selling its products.
In March this year, the D2C jewellery brand secured $30 Mn from Hero Enterprise’s Sunil Kant Munjal and other investors at a post-money valuation of $410 Mn. So far, it has raised $87.8 Mn from investors including Ratan Tata, Accel, IvyCap, Saama Capital, Kalaari and Iron Pillar, among others.
In the financial year 2020-21, it narrowed its consolidated losses by nearly 43% to INR 13.8 Cr. Meanwhile, its revenue from operations grew by 5% year-on-year to INR 269 Cr in the corresponding period.
12. boAt
Launched in 2016 by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, boAt is an audio direct-to-consumer brand that manufactures a host of audio products such as earphones, headphones and speakers, among others. It retails these products on its website and ecommerce marketplaces.
In October 2022, boAT secured nearly $61 Mn from Warburg Pincus and Malabar Investments. With this fundraising, the startup also decided to delay its IPO plans.
Its cap table includes InnoVen Capital, Qualcomm Ventures and Fireside Ventures, among others.
In the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), its profit dipped 20% YoY to INR 68.7 Cr in FY22 against INR 86.5 Cr in FY21. Revenue of the New Delhi-based D2C electronics brand surged 117.5% YoY to INR 2,886.4 Cr in FY22.
13. Bold Care
Founded in 2020 by Rajat Jadhav, Rahul Krishnan, Harsh Singh, and Mohit Yadav, Bold Care is an end-to-end men’s health and wellness platform that centres around sexual health, hair care and daily nutrition.
It sells sexual wellness kits, complete hair care packs, and natural supplements to boost immunity, sleep, haircare, and sexual health.
Accelerated by Huddle, the health and wellness D2C brand has so far catered to 2.3 Lakh men and sells its products on marketplaces and its own website. The startup has secured $3 Mn in funding to date.
Bold Care is backed by names such as Sharrp Ventures, Anthill Ventures, Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs and Shiprocket, NB Ventures, among others.
14. BoldFit
Fitness startup BoldFit, which was founded in December 2018 by Pallav Bihani, sells nutritional supplements and fitness equipment to consumers.
The startup sells Food Safety and Standards Authority of India-certified (FSSAI) products in the market and works with WHO-GMP-approved manufacturing firms to implement quality checks at every stage.
The fitness startup has created more than 400 SKUs across health and ayurvedic supplements, healthy foods, home gym equipment and accessories in the last three years.
In the financial year 2022, it reported a revenue of INR 63 Cr and sold over 5 Mn products.
With an annual revenue rate (ARR) of 205%, BoldFit has served more than 2.5 Mn customers to date.
15. Bombay Shirt Company
Founded in 2012 by Akshay Narvekar, Bombay Shirt Company is an online clothing brand. The startup sells bespoke apparel for men and women. It presently leads four brands–Bombay Shirt Company, cityof_, Pause and Korra. It has a presence in India, Dubai and New York.
In 2019, the Mumbai-based clothing startup reportedly raised $9 Mn in its Series B funding round. It has raised a total of $11 Mn in funding to date.
Its cap table includes venture capital firm Lightbox and individual investors Amit Patni and Arihant Patni.
16. Bombay Shaving Company
Founded in 2016, Bombay Shaving Company initially started as a men-focussed D2C personal care brand but later started offering a range of products in hair removal and hair care categories. It has a portfolio of over 100 SKUs including shaving regimens, trimmers, beard products, razors for women, wax strips, hair removal creams, and other allied personal care products.
Earlier in 2022, it secured INR 30 Cr in its then-ongoing Series C funding round. So far, it has a total of $45.6 Mn in funding. It counts Gulf Islamic Investments, Malabar Investments, Patni Advisors, Singularity AMC and Reckitt Benckiser as its investors.
It claims to have served over 3 Mn customers till date and has clocked INR 150 Cr annual revenue rate, expanding 35% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
17. Boult
Founded in 2017 by siblings Varun and Tarun Gupta, Boult was born out of the duo’s passion for music and creating high quality audio products out of India.
The D2C startup offers a diverse range of products across categories such as TWS (true wireless), neckbands, headphones, speakers and smartwatches. The bootstrapped profitable brand claims to have more than 100 SKUs and sells its products on both ecommerce marketplaces as well as its own website.
With presence in India, the UK and Nepal, the D2C audio brand plans to foray into the US and European markets in FY25.
It competes with the likes of homegrown giants such as boAt and Noise as well as legacy players such as JBL, Bose, Sony, among others.
18. CaratLane
Founded in 2008 by Mithun Sacheti and Srinivasa Gopalan, CaratLane offers a host of jewellery, right from bracelets to kids-focussed pendants to customised pieces of jewellery. It retails its products through an omnichannel marketing strategy.
In 2019, Tata Group-led Titan Company infused INR 99.9 Cr in CaratLane thereby, increasing its stakeholding to 66.39% in the startup. Subsequently, the conglomerate, in August 2023, announced plan to acquire an additional 27.18% stake in CaratLane for INR 4,621 Cr.
Once the deal goes through, Tata will effectively own 98.28% of the company with the jewellery startup acquiring a valuation of INR 17,000 Cr ($2 Bn).
The jewellery brands reported a consolidated revenue of INR 2,169 Cr in FY23. Besides, CaratLane’s net sales value (NSV) also surged to INR 571 Cr in FY23, up 56.7% compared to FY22.
19. Chaayos
Founded in 2012 by Nitin Saluja and Raghav Verma, Chaayos sells a wide variety of tea and packaged food products. It sells tea at its physical stores while other packaged food products are sold via ecommerce marketplaces and physical stores.
In June 2022, it secured $53 Mn in its Series C funding round from investors including Elevation Capital, Think Investments, Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Ventures. It has raised $85.5M in funding to date.
20. Chai Point
Set up in 2010 by Amuleek Singh Bijral and Professor Tarun Khanna, Chai Point follows an omnichannel approach to selling tea varieties and other snacks. It opened its first retail store in 2010 followed by introducing home delivery of its flagship teas in 2014 and rolling out tea and coffee vending machines in 2016.
In 2018, the D2C F&B brand secured $20 Mn in its Series C funding round. So far, it has raised $36 Mn in funding from investors including Paragon Partners, Eight Roads, Saama Capital and DSG.
In the financial year 2020-21, it reported revenues from operations at INR 55.64 Cr and loss after tax stood at INR 78.49 Cr, according to Tofler.
21. Chumbak
Founded in 2010 by husband-wife duo Vivek Prabhakar and Shubhra Chadda, Chumbak is a home and lifestyle brand that sells furniture, home decor items, jewellery and footwear, among others. It has an omnichannel presence across India, particularly in Tier-1 cities.
In 2019, the Bengaluru-based D2C brand secured INR 7.39 Cr in its Pre-Series E funding round from Gaja Capital Fund. So far, it has bagged $23.5 Mn in funding from investors.
It looks to set up over 50 physical retail stores across India and further aims to have more than 100 retail stores in the country in the next one to two years.
22. ClearDekho
In a space that is populated by big names such as Lenskart, and Titan Eye Plus, ClearDekho found a niche in the country’s D2C eyewear segment. Building on his prior experience in the space, ClearDekho founder and CEO Shivi Singh is tapping the burgeoning eyewear market in Tier III & IV cities of India.
In a chat with Inc42, Singh said that the company aims to standardise eyewear accessibility for consumers in smaller towns and cities while offering value for money.
Founded in 2017, the startup has so far raised $7 Mn in funding. It counts names like Venture Catalysts, Jaipuria Family Office, and Dholakia Ventures as its investors.
With more than 100 franchisee stores across India, ClearDekho has a presence in Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
23. Clensta
During his eight-year-long stint with the Indian defence startup ecosystem, Puneet Gupta came across a peculiar problem — soldiers stationed at the high-altitude areas of Drass and Siachen would go for months without a bath due to freezing weather conditions and extreme water scarcity.
Gupta, an IIM-Calcutta alumnus, developed a waterless body bath and shampoo that can be used by people to take baths sans water while maintaining proper personal hygiene.
Featured in the 2022 edition of Inc42’s Fast42 list, Clensta claims to offer more than 14 SKUs and sold more than 3.8 Mn products in 2022. It clocked revenues to the tune of INR 13.3 Cr in FY21. Clensta claims to have seen a 100% increase in its FY23 top line, which its plans to further grow 3X in FY24.
Founded in 2016, the startup is backed by the likes of IAN Fund, N+1 Capital, IPV Fund, HEM Securities and Venture Catalysts. It has so far raised INR 105 Cr in a mix of debt and equity across multiple rounds.
24. Clovia
Founded in 2013 by Suman Choudhary and husband-wife duo Neha Kant and Pankaj Vermani, Clovia is a women’s lingerie brand that offers over 3,500 intimate wear styles. Recently, it has added Soumya Kant and Abhay Batra to its founding team.
In March 2022, Reliance Retail invested INR 950 Cr in Clovia’s parent company Purple Panda Fashions for an 89% stakeholding in the startup. So far, Clovia has raised $24.7 Mn from investors.
Its cap table includes AT Capital, IvyCap Ventures, Singularity Ventures and Ravi Dhariwal, Ex-CEO of Bennett, Coleman and Company Ltd, among others.
25. Country Delight
Founded in 2013 by Chakradhar Gade and Nitin Kaushal, Country Delight sources milk and other food products such as ghee, cottage cheese, fruits and vegetables from farmers and delivers them to customers’ doorstep.
In May 2022, it secured $108 Mn in its Series D funding round from Venturi Partners, Temasek, SWC Global, Trifecta Capital and a slew of other investors. Prior to this, it had also raised $25 Mn in a Series C round led by Elevation Capital. So far, it has raised a total of $133 Mn in funding.
It claims to have grown 10x in the past three years and has served more than 1.5 Mn customers across the country. It further asserts to be delivering over 8 Bn orders every month across 11 Indian states.
Its cap table includes Matrix Partners, Orios Venture Partners, Elevation Capital, and IIFL PE Fund, among others.
26. Curefoods
Founded in 2020 by Ankit Nagori, Curefoods is a cloud kitchen aggregator that houses several brands–EatFit, Sharief Bhai, Aligarh House Biryani and CakeZone, to name a few. It manages over 150 cloud kitchens in 15 Indian cities.
In 2023, it raised $37 Mn from Binny Bansal’s fund Three State Ventures. In addition, Bollywood actress Nora Fatehi invested in Curefoods and, also, became the brand ambassador of its sub-brand CakeZone.
Its cap table includes Iron Pillar, Chiratae Ventures, Accel Partners, Sixteenth Street Capital, Iron Pillar and Bollywood Actor Varun Dhawan, among others.
In the financial year 2021-22, it reported revenue from operations at INR 1.3 Cr while its consolidated losses were INR 7.4 Cr, according to Tofler.
27. DaMENSCH
Founded in 2018 by Anurag Saboo and Gaurav Pushkar, DaMENSCH is a men’s clothing brand that sells a range of clothing styles such as odour-cancelling men’s underwear, polo-t-shirts, t-shirts, hoodies, joggers, tank tops, and chino shorts, among others.
In February 2022, it raised $16.4 Mn from A91 Partners, Matrix Partners, Whiteboard Venture Partners, and Saama Capital. So far, it has raised a total of $23.1 Mn from investors.
In the financial year 2021, it reported losses of INR 5.8 Cr whilst its revenue from operations stood at INR 22 Cr, as per Tofler.
28. Desi Farms
Set up in 2016 by Prateek Gupta and Sunil Shahi, D2C startup Desi Farms sells dairy products such as Malai Dahi, whole buffalo milk, Shrikhand, and Amrakhand, among others.
To eliminate intermediaries, the dairy startup partners with local farmers and procures fresh milk and milk products from them. Later, these products undergo rigorous quality checks at the processing unit, wherein the milk is treated without using chemical preservatives.
It delivers dairy products to customers without levying any charges and also provides customised subscription services to its users.
The startup currently offers 48 SKUs and claims to have more than 10K paid-up customers. In 2022, it set up over 50 offline outlets in Pune and Navi Mumbai, while in fiscal year 2022, it generated a revenue of INR 8.8 Cr.
29. Dogsee Chew
Founded in 2015 by Bhupendra Khanal and Sneh Sharma, the Bengaluru-based pet food startup offers vegetarian dog treats that are prepared from yak milk, sourced from villagers residing in Nepal, Sikkim, and Darjeeling.
Dogsee Chew raised $6.7 Mn in its Series A funding round in 2021, and in 2022, it raised $60.59 Mn from Mankind Pharma along with the existing backers. In total, the startup has raised funding of $67.29 Mn so far.
It claims to be the fourth-largest pet food exporter in India and currently operates in more than 30 countries.
30. Dr. Vaidya’s
Founded in 2016 by Arjun Vaidya, Dr. Vaidya’s is an Ayurvedic products startup. It claims to sell over 100 FDA-certified products and has a manufacturing facility in Silvassa, Mumbai. Its offerings include LIVitup, HERBOfit, Chakaash.
The Mumbai-based startup also manufactures products to cure chronic ailments such as diabetes, asthma and arthritis, among others. It sells products through its website and ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal.
In 2021, the startup reportedly got acquired by RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group’s venture capital arm for $6.9 Mn. Following this, its valuation soared to nearly INR 144 Cr.
31. Drink Prime
Founded by Vijender Reddy Muthyala and Manas Ranjan Hota in 2016, DrinkPrime offers subscription-based water purification services to households. The founders started their entrepreneurial journey by building a platform, called Waterwala, to deliver drinking water cans to people.
Later, the startup pivoted to a new model and began offering subscription-based customisable water purifiers to customers. The company’s RO purifiers deploy Internet of Things (IoT) to offer customised offerings and cater to the water purification needs of families living in different localities.
Drink prime’s subscriptions cost as low as INR 333 a month, including installation and maintenance.
Drink Prime, which counts names such as Venture Catalysts++, PeakXV, and 9Unicorns as its backers, has raised INR 70 Cr since its inception.
The startup was also featured in the 2023 edition of Inc42’s Fast42 list.
32. Earth Rhythm
Founded in October 2020 by Harini Sivakumar, Earth Rhythm is a beauty and personal care brand that sells a host of haircare, skincare and body care products. It also sells zero-waste products including toothbrushes, vanity bags, combs and soap dishes, among others.
The Delhi NCR-based claims to have 160 stock-keeping units (SKUs) and has served over 150K users to date. It has raised a total of $1.2 Mn in funding from Anicut Capital. It aims to reduce the carbon footprint and at the same time, use sustainable ingredients in making its products.
In the financial year 2021-22, it posted earnings from operations at INR 6 Cr. It asserts to have witnessed a 3x rise in its customer orders since its inception. In January this year, it received 15K orders.
33. Ecosoul
Rahul Singh and Arvind Ganesan first met each other during their stint at the American furniture goods company, Wayfair, where they worked on the sustainable product categories. Realising that there was a huge gap in the market for eco-friendly products, the duo left their high-paying jobs in the US and founded EcoSoul in 2020.
EcoSoul Home sells eco-friendly home products such as crockery, cutlery, garbage bags, and tableware. Headquartered in the US, with operational presence in countries like China and Vietnam, the company forayed into India earlier this year.
The D2C eco-friendly home essentials brand sells its products primarily through its website as well as ecommerce platforms. It currently offers 43 product varieties and 1,800 SKUs.
Since its inception, EcoSoul has secured more than $15 Mn in funding from notable investors, including venture capital firm Accel. Furthermore, actor Bhumi Pednekar recently made an undisclosed investment in the startup.
34. eské
Founded in 2018 by Shivam Khanna, eské is a D2C lifestyle brand that offers products such as luxury handbags, laptop bags, accessories, luggage and travel items for men and women.
The startup primarily sells its products online through its own website and ecommerce platforms such as Amazon and Myntra.
Backed by the likes of Mistry Ventures and Fluid Ventures, eské has raised $1.5 Mn in funding till date and competes with names such as Zouk, Scarters, Mokobara, and Chumbak.
35. FableStreet
Founded in 2016 by Ayushi Gudwani, FableStreet is a women-focused clothing brand. It offers readymade as well as bespoke clothes for female working professionals. It claims to use a three-body measurement algorithm for creating customised apparel.
In 2019, it raised $2.95 Mn in its Series A funding round. Prior to that, it secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding in 2017.
Its cap table includes Fireside Ventures, Pradeep Parameswaran from Uber India and South Asia, Dilip Khandelwal from Deutsche Bank, Suhail Sameer from RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, and Fusiontech Ventures, among others.
36. FabAlley
FabAlley, founded in 2012 by Shivani Poddar and Tanvi Malik, is a brand of High Street Essentials (HSE). It sells a wide range of women’s Western apparel via online marketplaces, physical retail stores, multi-brand outlets (MBOs), and its own website.
In May, FabAlley’s parent company HSE secured INR 40 Cr from Stride Ventures. So far, HSE has raised $14.02 Mn in funding from investors including Elevational Capital, India Quotient, Dominor Holding, Trifecta Capital Advisors, SenseAI Venture, Baird Capital, and Institutional Venture Partners.
In the financial year 2020-21, FabAlley reported a profit of INR 27.5 Cr, while its revenue from operations stood at INR 105 Cr, according to Tofler.
37. Farmley
Brainchild of Akash Sharma and Abhishek Agarwal, Farmley is a D2C snacking brand that was founded in 2017. The startup sells products such as roasted peri peri makhanas, thai chilli cashews, date bites, etc.
Farmley claims to be EBITDA positive and sells its products through ecommerce marketplaces and quick commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart and Big Basket.
It also claims to have a presence in more than 10,000 retail outlets across 50 Indian cities.
The startup has raised nearly $15 Mn in funding till date and counts names such as BC Jindal Group, DSG Consumer Partners, Omnivore and Alkemi Partners as its backers.
38. Flistaa
Founded in 2021 by CA Harshvardhan Chhatbar, Flistaa is a beverage brand that offers premix beverages in sachets. It offers a wide range of Indian beverages such as street juices, milkshakes and sharbat, etc.
In December 2021, the Ahmedabad-based D2C startup reportedly received an undisclosed amount of investment from ah! Ventures’ First Gear Platform.
39. Flo Sleep Solutions
With an aim to offer good quality mattresses and other sleep essentials to Indian consumers, Gaurav Zatakia founded D2C startup Flo Sleep Solutions in 2018.
Flo primarily sells varied types of mattresses and pillows such as ortho mattresses, ergo mattresses, anti-gravity latex mattresses, baby mattresses, fibre pillows and memory foam pillows. It counts Mistry Ventures as its investor.
Flo’s founder Zatakia is also leading a B2B firm Hush for over 13 years now. Hush mainly supplies mattresses and allied sleep essentials to luxury hotel chains such as Taj Hotels, JW Marriott and the Hyatt Group.
40. Foxtale
Foxtale is an omnichannel beauty and personal care (BPC) brand that sells skincare products such as serums, masks, moisturisers, face washes, sunscreens, among others.
Founded in 2021 by former venture capitalist Romita Mazumdar, Foxtale primarily sells its products through its own website, online marketplaces as well as offline stores. It claims to have a presence across 1,050 offline retail stores and 50 modern trade chains.
Backed by marquee names such as Panthera Growth Partners, Matrix Partners India and Kae Capital, Foxtale has raised capital in excess of $18 Mn till date. It competes with names such as Minimalist, Pilgrim, Plum, and Mamaearth in the homegrown D2C BPC space.
The D2C brand also featured in the 2024 edition of Inc42’s FAST42 list of the country’s top and emerging 52 D2C brands.
41. Freakins
Back in 2018, Puneet Sehgal, Sachin Shah and Shaan Shah experimented with the idea of building a desi women-centred denim wear brand. Investing INR 10 Lakh of their capital, the duo first designed and manufactured a few denim wear samples to see if they were headed in the right direction .
They received overwhelming response, setting the stage for launch of their D2C denim wear brand Freakins in 2019. However, the startup forayed into the men’s category in February 2023 to emerge as a full-fledged Gen-Z denim wear brand.
The startup raised $4 Mn in July 2023 in a seed funding round led by Matrix Partners India and Blume Ventures. Freakins is also backed by the likes of angel investors such as Revant Bhate of Mosaic Wellness, Meesho’s Utkrishta Kumar, and OfBusiness’s Asish Mohapatra.
The D2C brand’s product portfolio currently spans more than 35 categories and 1,500 styles.
Freakins sells its denims via online marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra. The company clocked a gross revenue of INR 22 Cr in FY23 and is eyeing to become an INR 100 Cr brand by the end of 2024.
42. FreshToHome
FreshToHome was incorporated in 2015 by serial entrepreneur Shan Kadavil and Mathew Joseph. The inspiration to venture into the direct-to-consumer (D2C) meat and fish industry struck Kadavil when his personal fish supply was disrupted due to the impending closure of Sea To Home, an ecommerce platform based in Kerala.
Collaborating with Joseph, one of the cofounder of Sea To Home and an angel investor, Kadavil embarked on his new venture. Since then, the direct-to-consumer (D2C) meat startup has significantly expanded, now serving 160 cities in India and all seven emirates in the UAE.
With investors such as Amazon Sambhav Venture Fund, E20 Investment, Mount Judi Ventures, Investcorp and Iron Pillar in its kitty, the D2C meat startup has so far raised $256 Mn in funding across multiple rounds.
The company competes with the likes of Licious, Zappfresh, and Meatigio, among others. To fuel its growth, FreshToHome plans to expand its store count to 100 across all major metros by 2024-end.
43. GIVA
Founded in 2019 by Ishendra Agarwal, Nikita Prasa and Sachin Shetty, GIVA is a D2C brand that sells budget-friendly fine jewellery to its customers — both men and women. The startup largely prices its offerings in the price range of INR 1,000 to INR 20,000.
Competing with the likes of homegrown brands such as CaratLane, Melorra, Tanishq and BlueStone, the omnichannel brand derives 90% of its revenue from online channels.
The startup’s revenue saw a 100% YoY rise in FY22. GIVA claims to have a customer base of 1.2 Mn. The D2C brand, which currently operates more than 40 exclusive brand outlets in the country, aims to launch 100 retail outlets in tier II and tier III Indian cities by FY24.
The startup has raised INR 130 Cr in equity funding since its inception. In March this year, it secured INR 40 Cr in debt from Alteria Capital.
44. Good Health Company (GHC)
Founded in 2021 by Samarth Sindhi and Saurav Panda, Good Health Company (GHC) is a subsidiary of Raksha Health.
GHC sells a range of men-focussed wellness and personal care products, including anti-hair thinning kits, hair regrowth, beard care kit, and glowing skin kits, among others.
It also offers free consultations to customers regarding their skincare, haircare and sexual health problems.
So far, it has raised $20.7 Mn funding from a number of investors, including Left Lane Capital, Khosla Ventures, Quiet Capital, and Weekend Fund, among others.
45. Gynoveda
After suffering from lifestyle disorders for more than a decade, Vishal Gupta eventually found respite in the ancient science of Ayurveda. During his research, Gupta discovered effective remedies for a host of gynaecological problems such as PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), abnormal discharge, and umpteen, among other issues.
Realising a prevailing gap in the market, Gupta, along with his wife Rachana and Dr Aarati Patil, founded Gynoveda in 2019, blending the age-old science with modern technology and content.
Gynoveda sells products ranging from moisturisers to Ayurvedic capsules via its website and ecommerce marketplaces. Of its total revenue, 80% comes from its own website while the rest comes from ecommerce websites.
With a customer base of 3 Lakh women, the startup is eyeing scaling this number to 10 Lakh in the next three years. It claims to have annualised revenue of INR 100 Cr.
The startup has so far raised funding in excess of $11 Mn and counts names such as India Alternatives Fund, Fireside Ventures, Wipro Enterprises, Alteria Capital and RPG Ventures as its backers.
46. HairOriginals
A brainchild of Jitendra Sharma, HairOriginals was founded in 2019 and is a D2C brand that sells hair extensions and do-it-yourself wigs.
The D2C brand sells its offerings through its website and ecommerce platforms. It claims to make its offerings from ethically-sourced real human hair and exports products to 22 countries including the US and other European nations.
The startup has raised $3 Mn in funding till date and is backed by names such as Anicut Capital, Venture Catalysts, She Capital, JITO Angel Fund, among others.
The startup competes with the likes of Nish Hair and Ind Natural Hair.
47. Happilo
Founded in 2016 by Vikas Nahar, Happilo sells a host of healthy snacks such as nuts, dry fruits, seeds and dry roasted snacks, among others, via its website and offline stores. It also offers an option to pay through EMIs.
In February, the Bengaluru-based D2C brand secured $25 Mn from Motilal Oswal Private Equity. The startup then claimed that it had expanded over 4x in the previous 24 months. It also said that it was aiming for a revenue of INR 2,000 Cr over the next four years.
So far, Happilo has bagged total funding of $38 Mn.
48. Happy Nature
Founded in 2022 by Sahil Chopra, Parth Birendra, Vikas Singh and Vishal Rastogi, Happy Nature is a farm-to-fork dairy startup. It runs a dairy farm in Jhajjar, Haryana.
The startup has developed its standard operating procedures (SOPs) to keep aflatoxin levels low in cow’s milk, without adding chemical preservatives and antibiotics. It currently sells more than 35 SKUs to over 80K customers across Delhi-NCR, Punjab and Haryana.
In the fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22), it reported a 69% YoY rise in its revenue to INR 14.4 Cr. Further, it plans to generate INR 150 Cr in annual revenue by 2025.
49. Heads Up For Tails
Founded in 2008 by Rashi Narag, Heads Up For Tails sells a wide range of pet products such as preservative-free pet treats, organic supplements, and orthopaedic beds. It aims to increase awareness among pet parents regarding the need for pet care and wellness.
In August 2021, the Delhi-based pet care brand secured $37 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Verlinvest and Sequoia Capital India. It had a headcount of 350 employees then. Back then, it was looking to launch new product offerings across India and expand its product portfolio in international markets.
The startup has raised $50.3 Mn in aggregate to date.
50. Herby Angel
Founded in 2023 by Sherry Jairath, Herby Angels is an omnichannel brand that manufactures nutraceutical and pharmaceutical ayurvedic products for babies. It claims to make its products with certified organic ingredients.
The Noida-based startup raised $2.5 Mn in maiden funding from JCBL Group late last year.
The startup sells its products through its website and other ecommerce platforms. It also claims to have a presence in 1,300 retail across 13 states. At the end of November 2023, the brand claims to have achieved a monthly revenue of INR 12 Cr and aims to double the number by March 2024.
51. Himalayan Organics
Himalayan Organics is a D2C nutraceutical startup that was founded in 2018 by Vaibhav Raghuwanshi and Suditi Sharma. The company offers a variety of products across several categories, including beauty, skincare, immunity boosters, and haircare.
To provide the best service to its customers, Himalayan Organics collaborates with nutritionists and dieticians to offer free consultations. The company mainly sources raw materials from the Himalayan region and uses natural ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, herbs, seeds, and nuts to manufacture its products.
In FY22, Himalayan Organics achieved revenue growth of 37%, increasing from INR 24 Cr in FY21 to INR 33 Cr.
52. iD Fresh Food
Set up in 2005 by PC Musthafa, Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar and Noushad TA, iD Fresh Food offers a slew of ready-to-make food – dosa and idli batter, rice rava idli batter – in India as well as abroad.
In January 2022, the Bengaluru-based D2C startup raised $68 Mn in its Series D funding round, thereby accumulating a total funding of $104 Mn.
Currently, it is operating in more than 45 cities across the world such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Dubai, among others.
Its investors include NewQuest Capital Partner, Premji Invest, Sequoia Capital, Helion Ventures and Azim Premji.
53. Innovist
Innovist (formerly known as Onesto Labs), set up in 2018 by Rohit Chawla, Sifat Khurana, and Vimal Bhola, sells personal care products under three brands – Bare Anatomy, Chemist at Play, and SunScoop.
In June 2022, Innovist secured $3.5 Mn in its pre-series A funding round led by Accel Partners and 72 Ventures. Manu Chandra from Sauce.vc, Jani Ventures Inc, CRED founder Kunal Shah and Alok Mittal from Indifi Technologies, among others, also participated in the round.
In 2021, the startup had raised $2.5 Mn from 72 Ventures, Ramakant Sharma of Livspace, Suhail Sameer of BharatPe, and Sauce.vc.
The startup mainly sells products via its website and ecommerce marketplaces. It also has an offline presence.
54. Jimmy’s Cocktails
Founded in 2019 by Ankur Bhatia and Nitin Bhardwaj in 2019, Jimmy’s Cocktail’s is a D2C food and beverage (F&B) brand that sells cocktail mixers, sparkling mixers and barwares.
The D2C startup has raised $4.81 Mn across multiple rounds till date and is backed by the likes of Parth Ventures and 7Square Ventures as well as angel investors such as Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma, HDFC Life chairman Keki Mistry, among others.
It competes with the likes of big players such as PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Hector Beverages and Red Bull, and operates in the larger Indian non-alcoholic beverages market.
55. Juicy Chemistry
Set up in 2014 by Megha Asher and Pritesh Asher, clean beauty startup Juicy Chemistry sells organic skin, hair and body care products.
To manufacture these products, it procures ingredients from organic farmers in 20 countries. It develops these products at its ECOCERT-certified manufacturing unit, where it conducts rigorous quality checks to ensure that everything complies with ECOCERT’s organic standards.
To date, it has raised $7 in funding from a bunch of investors, including Verlinvest, Spring Marketing Capital, and Manoj Lifestyle.
In November 2022, it launched an organic makeup range viz Color Chemistry. In FY22, it generated INR 29 Cr in revenue and sold nearly 75K products every month.
In 2023, it aims to open 10 retail outlets and nearly 20 kiosks in major Tier-1 cities. It further aims to enter international markets like the Middle East, the UK and the US by 2025.
56. Kapiva
When the pandemic locked millions of Indians indoors back in 2020, the ancient Indian science of health Ayurveda suddenly turned into the flavour of the season. For Ameve Sharma, Ayurveda was never relegated to the margins.
Hailing from the iconic 103-year-old Baidyanath family, the INSEAD and New York University-educated scion grew up witnessing how the age-old science helped people from all walks of people. After being inundated with queries from friends about ayurvedic medications, Sharma realised that there was a huge whitespace in the market and he sat down to build Kapiva.
With more than 100 SKUs in its kitty, Kapiva sells Ayurvedic consumables and products such as juices, Shilajit, hair oil, shampoos, and resins, among others.
At the heart of Kapiva’s operations is sourcing high-quality raw materials and ensuring global-standard processing. The startup is betting big on raising awareness, scaling product categories and enhancing quality for large-scale adoption. As a result of these, the startup claims to have seen 7.5X growth over the last three years.
Sharma recently told Inc42 that the company achieved revenue of INR 115 cr in the last financial year from its India business, while it is eyeing an annual revenue of INR 850 Cr by FY26 from its consolidated global operations, including India.
Backed by names such as Vertex Ventures, Fireside Ventures, and 3one4 Capital, Kapiva has so far raised $15.77 Mn across multiple rounds.
57. Koparo Clean
When the use of chemical-laden sanitisers for groceries and home cleaning saw an uptick during the pandemic, Simran Khara realised that these products could harm kids, pets and even adults.
Responding to the challenge, Khara, who hails from Delhi, launched a range of natural, toxin-free cleaning products under the brand name Koparo Clean in 2020. The D2C brand sells more than 15 products across categories such as core cleaning, speciality cleaning, and accessories.
It claims its products to be free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), synthetic dyes, ammonia, and parabens, among others.
Opting for an omnichannel strategy, the company sells the products through ecommerce marketplaces, its website and more than 70 retail stores of Reliance Retail and Modern Bazaar.
The D2C brand recently disclosed plans to grow 8X by mid-2025. It is also looking at expanding its distribution points and introducing products.
In July 2023, the D2C brand raised a Pre-Series A funding of $1.5 Mn led by Saama Capital.
58. Lahori
Lahori, founded in 2017 by Saurabh Munjal, Saurabh Bhutna and Nikhil Doda, sells Indian beverages in four flavours – Zeera (cumin), Nimboo (lemon), Kacha Aam (raw mango) and Shikanji (lemonade) – across India.
Lahori’s parent company Archian Foods creates approximately 1 Mn bottles in its manufacturing facility that are certified by FSSAI, ISI, HACCP, RoHS and Make In India.
In January 2022, the Punjab-based startup received its first institutional funding of $15 Mn from Verlinvest for a minority stake in it.
59. Lenskart
Founded in 2010 by Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhury, and Sumeet Kapahi, LensKart is an omnichannel eyewear brand. It has nearly 750 retail outlets in more than 175 cities. It claims to serve over 7 Mn customers annually.
The eyewear unicorn has been on a spree of fundraising this year. In June, it secured a $100 Mn investment from private equity player ChrysCapital. This followed a capital infusion of $500 Mn from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for a 10% stake. Overall, Lenskart has raised nearly $850 Mn in the past year.
The unicorn is backed by marquee investors such as Chiratae Ventures, TPG, Premji Invest and Unilazer Ventures, among others.
Lenskart reported a consolidated loss of INR 102.3 Cr in FY22 versus a profit of INR 28.9 Cr in FY21. On the other hand, the startup’s revenue from operations zoomed 66% YoY to INR 1,502.7 Cr in the year ended March 2022, compared to INR 905.3 Cr in FY21.
60. LetsShave
Founded in 2015 by Sidharth Oberoi, LetsShave is a grooming brand that sells shaving kits, trial kits, blades and shaving foams.
The D2C grooming brand supplies razors to high-end hotels and hospitality brands such as Marriott, St. Regis, and Ritz Carlton.
Backed by South Korean razor giant Dorco Korea, LetsShave recently raised an undisclosed amount from its existing investor Wipro Consumer Care. The startup has raised more than $6 Mn till date.
The Chandigarh-based startup has a workforce of 57 employees and caters to clients in the UAE, the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and Europe.
61. Libas
Taking over from his father, Sidhant Keshwani helmed D2C ethnic wear brand Libas’ online foray in 2014. The omnichannel brand sells fast fashion Indian traditional apparels for women across both offline and online channels.
Since its online entry, the startup has aggressively scaled up operations and clocked a revenue of INR 500 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24).
The startup emerged out of stealth mode in May 2024 after it raised INR 150 Cr in a strategic funding round from ICICI Ventures.
62. Licious
Licious, founded in 2015 by Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta, sells a wide range of meat and seafood products such as mutton, prawns and kebabs.
In March, the Bengaluru-based unicorn raised $150 Mn from Amansa Capital, Kotak PE, Axis Growth Avenues AIF – I, Nithin and Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, Aman Gupta from boAt and Haresh Chawla from True North. So far, it has raised a total funding of $488 Mn from investors.
63. Mamaearth
Mamaearth, founded in 2016 by Ghazal Alagh and Varun Alagh, started as a baby care products brand but later pivoted to become a personal care brand. Its product offerings include haircare, skincare and body care products.
The IPO-bound startup counts Fireside Ventures, Sequoia India, Rishabh Mariwala from Marico and Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal from Snapdeal among its investors. It has so far raised $111 Mn in funding across multiple rounds.
64. mCaffeine
mCaffeine, founded in 2016 by Tarun Sharma, Mohit Jain, Saurabh Singhal, Vikas Lachhwani and Vaishali Gupta, sells a host of caffeine-based skin and hair care products ranging from soaps to scrubs to oil through its website and physical retail outlets.
In March 2022, the D2C startup secured over $31 Mn in its Series C funding round led by Paragon Partners. Singularity Growth Opportunities Fund, Sharrp Ventures, Amicus Capital Partners and RPSG Capital Ventures also participated in the round.
The startup has raised a total funding of $37.5 Mn to date.
65. Melorra
Founded in 2016 by Saroja Yeramilli, Melorra sells a wide variety of gold jewellery for women via its website and offline stores. It claims to have a presence in 718 districts and over 2,800 towns in the country.
In May 2022, it raised $16 Mn in its Series D funding round from Axis Growth Avenues AIF-I, SRF Family Office, N+1 and a slew of existing investors. The startup has so far raised a funding of $66.9 Mn.
Mellora reported an operational revenue of INR 364.4 Cr in FY22, up 4.6X from INR 78.6 Cr during the previous fiscal year. Alongside, losses spiked 73.5% YoY to INR 106.7 Cr in FY22.
66. Minimalist
Founded in 2020 by Mohit and Rahul Yadav, the Jaipur-based D2C startup sells a host of skin care products ranging from serums to moisturisers to toners. It retails products via its website and ecommerce marketplaces.
In 2021, Minimalist secured $15 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital India and Unilever Ventures. A bunch of international investors also participated in the funding round.
67. Mosaic Wellness
Mosaic Wellness, founded in 2020 by Revant Bhate and Dhyanesh Shah, sells men and women-focused health and wellness products under the brands Manmatters and Bodywise. Both brands offer telemedicine services along with medicines, supplements and other allied products.
The Mumbai-based D2C startup has built a content community for people to confer about their health and other related subjects.
In 2021, it secured $24 Mn in its Series A funding round from Sequoia Capital India, Elevation Capital and Matrix Partners India. In total, it has raised a capital of $35.2 Mn to date.
68. Mylo
Mylo, founded in 2018 by Vinit Garg, started as a community-based platform for new and expecting mothers and gradually turned into a personal care brand. Last year, it pivoted into a personal care startup offering over 100 stock-keeping units of ayurvedic products.
In April, Mylo secured $17 Mn in its Series B funding round led by W Health Ventures, ITC Ltd and Endiya Partners. Riverwalk Holdings, Alteria Capital and Innoven Capital also participated in the funding round.
The D2C personal care startup has raised a funding of $24 Mn so far.
69. Nat Habit
Brainchild of Swagatika Das and Gaurav Agarwal, the idea of Nat habit emerged from the difficulties faced by the duo while procuring authentic ayurvedic products.
In 2019, the two founded Nat Habit, a beauty and personal care brand that sells a slew of offerings made from fresh and natural ingredients. Its product range includes products such as hair oils, masks, scrubs and face creams.
The startup was featured in the 2024 edition of Inc42’s coveted FAST42 list, which collates India’s emerging and top D2C brands.
Nat Habit claims to have clocked a revenue growth in excess of 150% YoY in FY23 and has more than 250 SKUs. Nat Habit last raised $10.2 Mn in a Series B round in December 2023. It also secured $4 Mn in its Series A round led by Fireside Ventures in 2022.
Backed by Peak XV Partners and Bertelsmann India Investments, it competes with Plum and Mamaearth in the BPC category.
70. Neemans
Founded in 2018 by Taran Chhabra and Amar Preet Singh, Neemans aims to upend the Indian shoe industry with natural, renewable, recycled and biodegradable fibres in its shoes.
The company claims that its products have a considerably lower carbon footprint and lower impact on the water table compared to conventional products, which are dominated by synthetic fibres.
The startup has so far raised $9.8 Mn in funding and is backed by names such as Anicut Capital and Sixth Sense Ventures. With more than 3 Lakh users under its belt, the omnichannel brand prices its products anywhere between INR 2,999 and INR 6,999.
Earlier this year, the company also ventured into the apparel industry with the launch of its collection of clothes.
The Hyderabad-based startup locks horns with the likes of international giants in the shoe industry such as Skechers, Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Puma, AJIo, among others.
71. Nestasia
Home decor brand Nestasia is the brainchild of Anurag Agarwal and Aditi Murarka Agarwal, whose passion for decorating and designing homes spawned the rise of the startup in 2019.
The D2C brand sells a range of home decor products such as crockery garden accessories, and kitchen utilities, among others. Unlike other marketplaces, which connect buyers and sellers, Nestasia operates a full-fledged D2C business that buys products from Indian artisans and then sells them directly to customers.
The startup last raised $4 Mn as part of its Series A funding round in December 2021, which saw participation from Stellaris Venture Partners, Mamaearth’s Varun Alagh, Delhivery’s Sahil Barua, and Livspace’s Anuj Srivastava and Ramakant Sharma, among others.
The D2C brand currently lists more than 6,000 products across eight key product categories and has so far fulfilled more than 1 Lakh orders.
72. Noise
Founded in 2014 by Amit Khatri & Gaurav Khatri, Noise is a smart wearable and wireless headphones brand. It sells products on its website and ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart.
The bootstrapped startup reported a 8% year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit to INR 35.5 Cr in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) against a total income of INR 804.9 Cr during the same period, up over 2.2X YoY.
73. Nua
Founded in 2017 by Ravi Ramachandran, Nua is a women-focused wellness brand. Its offerings include sanitary pads, skin care and intimate hygiene products.
So far, it has raised $12.5 Mn in aggregate from the last four funding rounds. Its cap table includes Lightbox VC, Kae Capital and actor Deepika Padukone, among others.
It claims to have served more than 5 Mn customers so far. It further asserts to have 10 SKUs and witnessing 50% of its customer base revisiting its website.
74. NutriGlow
Set up in 2011 by Aditi Suneja and Ashish Aggarwal, Nutriglow sells men and women-focused haircare, skincare, body care and make-up products via its website and ecommerce platforms.
The Noida-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup claims that its beauty products have natural and certified organic ingredients and vegan-friendly and paraben-free formulations.
In June 2022, it secured an undisclosed amount of funding from ecommerce rollup GOAT Brand Labs for developing its infra and research and development (R&D).
75. Organic Harvest
Founded in 2013 by Rahul Agarwal, Organic Harvest is an organic personal care brand that offers plant-based skincare, haircare, body care products and essential oils via online and offline channels.
According to its website, It claims to use ingredients and raw materials that are approved by international organisations – EcoCert, OneCert, and Natrue.
At the beginning of 2022, it received a capital infusion of INR 75 Cr from Good Glamm Group in exchange for a majority equity. In March 2023, it was reported that the content-to-commerce unicorn was all set to buy out the entire 100% stake in Organic Harvest and would give an exit to the D2C brand’s founders by the end of next year.
It said that it operated 25K retail outlets as of October 2022 and looked to increase the number of its retail outlets to 1 Lakh by 2024.
76. Perfora
Jatan Bawa and Tushar Khurana crossed paths during the Jagriti Yatra, a two-week long entrepreneurship train journey, in 2016. With a wealth of experience garnered from startups such as OYO, Cure Fit, and Vahdam Teas, the two found common ground during the journey and eventually conceived the idea for an oral care brand, Perfora, in 2021.
Perfora offering a diverse range of oral care products, including electric toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwashes, flossers, teeth whitening products, and more.
This direct-to-consumer (D2C) oral care brand distributes its products through its official website and various e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, Blinkit, and others. Since its incorporation, Perfora boasts of serving over 2 Lakh customers.
Backed by notable investors such as RPSG Capital Ventures, Sauce.VC, Lotus Herbals Family Office, Huddle, and others, Gurugram-based Perfora has successfully raised a total of $3.7 Mn in funding through multiple rounds.
77. Pilgrim
After a combined experience of over two decades in the beauty and wellness industry, Anurag Kedia joined forces with fellow IIT Bombay alumni, Gagandeep Makker, to embark on an entrepreneurial journey.
At the core of their mission was the vision to craft vegan, cruelty-free, and toxin-free beauty products that would be accessible to the Indian market at affordable prices.
Together, they established Pilgrim in 2019. This D2C beauty brand distinguishes itself through the use of carefully sourced ingredients from around the world, spanning from South Korea to France. Pilgrim’s product range comprises items like hair growth serums, night serums, day creams, night gel creams, facial masks, and more.
With a portfolio of over 90 SKUs, Pilgrim earned recognition as one of the fastest-growing D2C brands, earning a place on the 2022 edition of Inc42’s FAST42 list. Pilgrim claims to have served more than 50 Lakh customers and add over 5 Lakh new customers every month.
Supported by prominent investors such as Fireside Ventures, Temasek, and Rukam Capital, Pilgrim has successfully secured nearly INR 214 crore in funding to date.
78. Pluckk
Incorporated in 2021 by Pratik Gupta, Pluckk is a D2C fruit and vegetable brand, which distinguishes itself by offering users a diverse selection of over 400 products spanning 15+ categories. These offerings include salads, dips, juices, cuts, mixes, and exotic fruits and vegetables.
Currently, Pluckk operates in major cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Pune. It has plans to extend its presence to more cities in the coming years. The brand distributes its products through its dedicated app, website, and quick commerce platforms like Amazon, Swiggy, Dunzo, Zepto, and Reliance Signature Stores.
In early 2023, Pluckk secured $5 Mn in seed funding from Exponentia Ventures. It has also secured an undisclosed amount of funding from actor Kareena Kapoor Khan.
79. Plum
Founded in 2013 by Shankar Prasad, Plum sells a wide variety of beauty products in skin care, hair care, personal care and makeup categories via its website and ecommerce marketplaces. It claims to operate nearly 1,500 assisted retail outlets and over 15,000 unassisted outlets throughout India.
In March 2022, the D2C beauty brand secured $35 Mn in its Series C funding round from A91 Partners, Unilever Ventures and Faering Capital.
The startup generated revenue to the tune of INR 250 Cr in FY22 and has set its eyes on doubling its revenues in FY23 to INR 500 Cr.
80. Power Gummies
Founded in March 2018 by Divij Bajaj, nutraceutical startup Power Gummies sells flavoured and chewable vitamins for hair, nail and skin problems. Its products are gluten-free and certified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Its revenue soared by over 6X to INR 54 Cr in FY22 as compared to INR 8.8 Cr a year ago. So far, it has sold over 40 Lakh products to more than 10 Lakh customers.
It plans to launch 40+ SKUs in the next five years, including a dedicated range for kids. It also looks to ramp up its presence in the UK and other international markets and build more manufacturing facilities to regulate production, daily operations and logistics.
To date, the startup has raised a total of INR $12.9 Mn in funding. Power Gummies’ cap table includes 9Unicorns, Venture Catalysts, DSG Consumer Partners, Wipro Consumer Care Ventures, and Sharpp Ventures.
81. Rage Coffee
Founded in 2018 by Bharat Sethi, Rage Coffee sells a host of coffee-based products across India. Certified by FDA, FSSAI and ISO, Rage Coffee claims to have so far served more than 7.5 Lakh customers and has 18 SKUs in its kitty.
In March, this Delhi-based food and beverage D2C brand received an undisclosed investment from Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. Prior to that, it secured nearly $5 Mn in its Series A funding round.
In total, it has raised $7 Mn in capital from marquee names such as Sixth Sense Ventures, 9Unicorns, Refex Capital and Keiretsu Forum Chenna.
Rage Coffee logged revenues of INR 23.5 Cr in FY22 and is targeting a revenue of INR 92 Cr by FY23-end. Earlier, it had also underlined plans to double down on its physical presence and scale its number of outlets to 10,000 by March 2023.
82. Revour Consumers
Revour Consumers was founded in 2019 by Jaideep Singh Gaur and Ranjit Singh and specialises in selling kitchen and home-based electrical appliances.
The startup partners with various OEMs to produce consumer electronics, including light bulbs, electric kettles, fans, and irons.
Revour Consumer clocked a revenue of INR 17.5 Cr FY22 and has so far served more than 30 Lakh customers across the length and breadth of the country.
The startup has so far raised $1 Mn in funding and counts Oriano Clean Energy as its key investor. Going forward, the D2C brand plans to deepen its focus on consumer electronics and intends to introduce new product lines.
83. Sanfe
Founded in 2018 by Archit Aggarwal and Harry Sehrawat, Sanfe is a D2C femtech brand that started with the vision of addressing the stigma around women’s health and hygiene. After debuting with a roll-on to tackle period pain, the brand has now forayed into the beauty segment.
In addition to sanitary and hygiene products, the company sells skin and hair products. The company claims to have catered to more than 10 Mn customers and sold 28 Mn-plus products by the end of FY21.
Targeting Gen-Z and millennials, the company sells its products through its website and other ecommerce marketplaces. Backed by S Chand Family Office, Seeders and Lets Venture, the D2C brand has raised $4.5 Mn in funding since its inception.
84. Slurrp Farms
A dearth of healthy snacking options in the market for their kids brought two mothers — Meghana Narayan and Shauravi Malik — to the discussion table. The duo found a big gap staring right at them in the kids’ snacks market.
To fill in this gap, they founded Slurrp Farm in October 2016. The D2C brand sells a range of healthy products from ready-to-mix pancakes and dosas to noodles and pastas.
Slurrp Farms, which sells its products via its website and ecommerce marketplaces, caters to users in countries such as the UAE, the US, and the UK, apart from India.
Backed by the likes of the Investment Corporation of Dubai, Fireside Ventures and actor Anushka Sharma, Slurrp Farms has so far lapped up a total of around $9 Mn in funding.
Building on its current growth momentum, the D2C snacks brand is eyeing a revenue of INR 500 Cr by 2025.
85. Snitch
Founded in 2019 by Siddharth R Dungarwal, Snitch started off as an retail fashion brand but later pivoted to the online channel as Covid-19 pandemic swept through the world.
Snitch is a men’s fast fashion brand that sells products such as Shirts, T-Shirts, Jeans, Trousers, among others. Featured on the second season of popular TV show Shark Tank India, the company last raised INR 110 Cr in Series A funding from SWC Global, and IvyCap Ventures, among others.
The company sells its offerings through its website and app, as well as other major online marketplaces.
It competes with names like XYXX, DaMENSCH, Chromozome, BlissClub, Freecultr, Bombay Shirt Company among others.
with Plum and Mamaearth in the BPC category.
86. SoleThreads
Founded in 2020 by Gaurav Chopra, Sumant Kakaria, Aprajit Kathuria and Vikram Iyer, Solethreads manufactures footwear products.
The company sells its products through both its own website as well as ecommerce platforms. Solethreads has raised INR 57 Cr in funding to date and is backed by names such as Fireside Ventures, DSG Consumer Partners and Saama Capital.
It competes with the likes of Flatheads, Bacca Bucci, Yoho, among others.
87. Soothe Healthcare
Set up in 2012 by Sahil Dharia, Soothe Healthcare sells sanitary napkin products and baby diapers under the brand Paree and Super Cute, respectively. It retails its products through various distribution channels including direct selling and selling through intermediaries.
In October 2022, Soothe Healthcare secured INR 175 Cr as part of a strategic funding round from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and other existing investors. With the funding round, the startup’s cumulative fundraise reached INR 301 Cr.
Symphony International Holdings, Sixth Sense Ventures and badminton player Saina Nehwal are among its investors.
88. SUGAR Cosmetics
SUGAR Cosmetics, founded in 2015 by Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee, is an omnichannel D2C brand that sells products in lips, skin, eyes and nail care categories. It claims to operate more than 45,000 multi-brand stores spread across 500+ cities in the country. The D2C brand also has 125+ exclusive outlets in its kitty.
In May, the Mumbai-based D2C brand closed its $50 Mn Series D fundraising round led by L Catterton’s Asia fund. Existing investors A91 Partners, Elevation Capital and India Quotient also participated in the funding round.
The startup has so far raised a cumulative funding of $87.5 Mn from investors.
In the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), it widened its loss to INR 75 Cr, while revenue from operations stood at INR 221.1 Cr during the same period.
89. Super Bottoms
Pallavi Utagi’s tryst with entrepreneurship started when she, as a new mom, struggled to find quality diapers for her newborn baby. While conventional cloth diapers had absorbency issues, synthetic nappies left her baby with rashes.
Realising that there was a huge gap in the space, Utagi leveraged her years of research experience in the pharma space to launch her new venture Superbottoms – an eco-friendly and baby skin-friendly nappy brand – in 2016.
SuperBottoms’s range of products includes cotton ‘langots’, potty training pants, and kid’s clothing, among more.
In August 2023, the D2C brand secured $5 Mn as part of its Series A1 funding round led by Lok Capital and Sharrp Ventures. SuperBottoms is also backed by DSG Consumer Partners and Saama Capital.
The startup retails its products via its website as well as Amazon and Flipkart. Leveraging its online presence, SuperBottoms doubled its revenues YoY to INR 40 Cr in the fiscal year ended March 2022.
90. Sweet Karam Coffee
Brainchild of Anand Bharadwaj, Nalini Parthiban, Srivatsan Sundararaman and Veera Raghavan, Sweet Karam Coffee sells preservative-free South Indian sweets and snacks. Its range of offerings also includes the ubiquitous filter coffee and ready meal mixes, catering to audiences across the country.
Founded in 2015, the D2C brand aims to solve the problem of poor availability and accessibility of well-packaged traditional sweets and snacks, which are free from palm oil.
The brand SKC sells its products via its website and app and has customers in more than 32 countries. SKC competes with the likes of new-age startups such as id Fresh Food, DropKaffe, Chaayos, TagZ, among others.
Backed by Fireside Ventures, the startup picked up $1.5 Mn funding in October 2023.
91. TagZ
The D2C snack brand came into the limelight after featuring in the maiden season of the TV show Shark Tank India and has not looked back since then. Founded in 2019 by Anish Basu Roy and Sagar Bhalotia, the company sells popped chips, which are neither baked nor fried.
The idea came from Roy’s experiences during his international travels, which pushed him to tinker around in the healthy snacks category.
From the cricketer Shikhar Dhawan to 9 Unicorns, the backers of TagZ have pumped in over $4.2 Mn in the startup to date. The growth has also seen an uptick as the D2C brand claims to have logged a 30X increase in volumes in the past 18 months, ending May 2023.
Retailed through 5,000 stores across 22 cities and via quick commerce platforms, TagZ also sells its products overseas in markets such as Kuwait, Dubai, Maldives and Australia.
92. Tailor And Circus
Back in 2016, Vasanth Sampath, Gaurav Durasamy and Abishek Elango came together to explore the idea of making antimicrobial, self-cleaning underwear for astronauts. In the subsequent months of research, they found that the homegrown men’s and women’s undergarment segment was plagued by basic issues such as lack of comfort and style.
After much deliberations, the idea of Tailor and Circus took shape and the startup was launched in 2016. The D2C brand manufactures underwear for both men and women, offering products such as trunks, bralettes and maternity undies. The startup also sells tops for both men and women and allows users to customise their products and build a matching underwear cart.
The startup last raised seed funding of $241K from multiple angel and institutional investors in April 2021. It competes with the likes of homegrown brands such as Freecultr, XYXX, and DaMensch, among others.
The startup sells its products on marketplaces such as Amazon India and Myntra and through its own website.
93. TenderCuts
Founded in 2016 by Nishanth Chandran, TenderCuts sells a wide variety of meat and seafood products such as chicken, mutton, eggs and frozen food products via its website and offline stores.
The startup last raised INR 110 Cr in a round led by Paragon Partners in February 2021. To date, it has raised $29.1 Mn in funding from marquee names such as Stride Ventures and Nabventures.
In August 2023, the D2C meat delivery brand was acquired by omnichannel meat brand Good To Go in what appeared to be a distress sale for an undisclosed amount.
94. The Ayurveda Co. (T.A.C)
Founded in 2021 by Param Bhargava and Shreedha Singh, The Ayurveda Company manufactures and retails products across multiple categories such as haircare, wellness, skincare, immunity boosters and health supplements.
Opting for an omnichannel strategy, its 5,000 physical touchpoints traverse 18 cities across 15 Indian states, including Delhi NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. The startup is targeting to grow these retail points to more than 20,000 by FY25.
In March 2023, the D2C ayurvedic beauty and personal care brand raised INR 100 Cr in a Series A funding round led by consumer-centric venture fund Sixth Sense Ventures.
Since its inception, T.A.C has raised $16 Mn in funding, across debt and equity, from marquee names such as Sixth Sense Ventures, Wipro Consumer Care Ventures and Vector NXG.
95. The Beauty Co
Founded in 2018 by Suraj Raj Vazirani, The Beauty Co is a D2C personal care startup, which sells toxin-free body care, haircare, skincare and essential oils via its website and ecommerce marketplace such as Nykaa, Myntra, Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm Mall, BigBasket and Snapdeal.
The startup’s founder claims that at least 99% of the ingredients used in The Beauty Co’s products are natural. It operated more than 40 stock keeping units as of 2022.
96. The Divine Foods
Founded in 2019 by Kiru Maikkapillai, The Divine Foods is a D2C superfoods brand that sells packaged products centred on Indian kitchen staples such as turmeric, moringa, millet, and others.
Its products primarily encompass four categories, including women care, immunity boosters, diabetic care and kids. The D2C brand’s range of offerings include skincare products, mil mixes, powdered superfoods, and spreads.
Incubated under the Tamil Nadu government’s flagship seed funding scheme, TANSEED 4.0, the startup counts names such as superstar Nayanthara and her husband-director Vignesh Shivan as its investors. The Chennai-based D2C brand secured an undisclosed amount of funding from the celebrity duo in October 2023.
The startup claims to have so far served more than 25,000 customers and is available in five nations across the globe.
97. The Moms Co
The Moms Co, founded in 2016 by Malika Sadani, sells organic products for expecting mothers and babies in the face, hair, pregnancy, and body care categories. It claims to have catered to more than a million customers since its inception.
In 2021, the Delhi-based D2C brand was acquired by beauty unicorn Good Glamm Group. In March 2022, Inc42 reported that Good Glamm Group had increased its stake in The Moms Co to 90% from 75%.
At the end of September 2022, the brand claims to have had an offline presence in 5,000 retail outlets spanning 20,000 pin codes across the country.
98. The Pant Project
The Pant Project was founded by siblings Dhruv and Udit Toshniwal and offers customised bottom wear for both men and women, with free alterations and monogramming services provided to customers.
Its products are primarily sold through its website and other e-commerce marketplaces, including Amazon.
In the fiscal year 2021-2022 (FY22), The Pant Project reported a revenue of INR 7.3 Cr, a significant increase compared to the INR 1 Cr earned in the previous fiscal year FY21.
99. The Sleep Company
The story of The Sleep Company starts with a baby. After taking care of their newborn at odd hours, entrepreneur couple Priyanka Salot and Harshil Salot were left aghast when their multiple attempts to buy a new mattress met a dead end.
Realising the prevailing gaps in the sleep market, especially the lack of innovation, the duo decided to start their own venture and that’s how The Sleep Company was born.
Since the startup’s inception in 2019, the Salots have scaled up the platform, grabbing the interest of multiple investors, including Fireside Ventures, Premji Invests and Alteria Capital.
The Sleep Company has so far raised INR 190 Cr and is eyeing to create an INR 1,000 Cr brand. With two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Maharashtra and Karnataka, the D2C brand claims to produce 1.2 Lakh mattresses daily.
The Sleep Company clocked a revenue of INR 58 Cr in FY22 and plans to open more than 100 stores across the country by March 2024.
100. The Souled Store
Founded in 2013 by Vedang Patel, Harsh Lal, Aditya Sharma and Rohin Samtaney, The Souled Store is a casual wear and pop-culture D2C startup. It is said to have over 180 licences–Disney, Warner Bros, WWE, and Viacom18, to name a few.
The omnichannel lifestyle brand recently raised INR 135 Cr in a strategic funding round led by Xponentia Capital. To date, the company has raised a total of INR 220 Cr from multiple investors.
Its cap table includes Elevation Capital, Sahil Barua from Delhivery, Gunjan Soni from Zalora, Revant Bhate from Mosaic Wellness and Ramakant Sharma from Livspace, among others. Its product offerings include top wear, bottom wear, innerwear and activewear.
101. The Woman’s Company
The moment Anika Parashar’s daughter hit puberty, she was gripped by questions about which feminine products were good enough. While researching, Parashar found that there was a huge gap in the market for female hygiene products, and it was this epiphany that set the ball rolling for her new venture, The Woman’s Company.
After working as the COO of Fortis La Femme Hospitals for decades, she founded the startup in 2020, along with Roopam Gupta. The D2C brand operates in the women’s hygiene space and sells products such as sanitary pads, tampons, menstrual cups, and bamboo razors, among others.
The D2C startup last raised $1.4 Mn in 2021 from marquee names such as Pradip Burman of Dabur.
The startup sells its products through its website and marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Nykaa, among others.
102. True Elements
Founded in 2013 by Puru Gupta and Sreejith Moolayil, True Elements is an omnichannel brand that sells millet, grains, and seeds-based breakfast and snack foods.
Apart from its own website and ecommerce platforms, it also retails its products at brick-and-mortar stores. Backed by the likes of Marico and Maharashtra State Social Venture Fund, the startup has raised $2 Mn in funding till date.
In 2022, FMCG major Marico acquired a 53.98% stake in the Bengaluru-based startup’s parent HW Wellness Solutions for an undisclosed amount.
103. Vahdam Teas
Vahdam, founded in 2015 by Bala Sarda, is an online tea brand. It sells its products in domestic as well as international markets.
In September 2021, Vahdam reportedly secured INR 174 Cr in its Series D round led by IIFL AMC’s PE Fund. After the round, the startup claimed that it had raised INR 290 Cr in total funding from investors.
In FY22, it clocked a revenue of over INR 200 Cr, up from INR 161 Cr in FY21. However, the D2C brand slipped into the red as it reported a loss of INR 16 Cr in FY22 against a profit of INR 1.94 Cr in profit in FY21.
The startup aims to clock a net revenue of INR 500 Cr by 2024.
104. Voylla
Voylla, founded in 2011 by Vishwas Shringi, is an online artificial and silver jewellery brand. It sells jewellery and other allied products through its website and ecommerce marketplaces.
In 2021, Voylla was acquired by Thrasio-style D2C aggregator GOAT Brand Labs. Besides Voylla, GOAT Brand Labs also acquired 14 other brands, including Label Life, trueBrowns & Abhishti, Frangipani, Neemli and Nutriglow, among others.
Prior to the acquisition, Voylla had raised a total of $16.9 Mn funding in Series B and Series A funding rounds. Its cap table includes Peepul Capital, Snow Leopard Technology Ventures and a slew of other angel investors.
105. Wakefit
Founded in 2016 by Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Wakefit sells a host of sleep and home decor products such as mattresses, pillows, bed frames, comforters, and back cushions, among others. It sells these products via its website and ecommerce marketplaces.
The Bengaluru-based startup manufactures products at its facilities in Bengaluru, Jodhpur and Delhi. In FY23, the startup launched 22 physical stores across 15 cities in the country. The brand clocked a revenue of INR 825 Cr in FY23 and is eyeing a revenue of INR 1,000 Cr by FY24.
Wakefit has raised a total funding of $145 Mn so far. Its cap table includes Sequoia Capital, Verlinvest and SIG.
106. Wellbeing Nutrition
An avid runner, Avnish Chhabria used to rue the lack of homegrown options for organic and plant-based nutritional supplements in India, which were necessary for him to stay at the top of his game.
His dependence on global brands ignited the idea of building a desi plant-based vitamin and mineral supplements brand. With an eye on offering a better-priced alternative to a majority of Indians who could not afford to import plant-based supplements, Chhabria founded Wellbeing Nutrition at the fag end of 2019.
Since then, it has rapidly scaled operations. It currently offers more than 53 SKUs and deploys an omnichannel strategy to woo customers. The brand manufactures plant-based vitamin and mineral supplements in the form of capsules, oral strips, and effervescents, among others.
The startup partners with a global team of gastroenterologists to nutritionists to build its line of products. Besides, it sources its raw materials from more than 200 organic farms and certified companies from across 19 countries.
Its multi-pronged omnichannel strategy helped it clock a revenue of INR 19.5 Cr in FY22. The Mumbai-based D2C brand is eyeing 100 Mn customers and INR 100 Cr revenue in 2023. It plans to foray into the US, the UK and the UAE by 2025.
Backed by the likes of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and Fireside Ventures, Wellbeing Nutrition has so far raised $10Mn from multiple investors. Last year, HUL acquired a 19.8% equity in the startup.
107. Wellversed
Founded in 2018 by Aanan Khurma, Aditya Seth and Ripunjay Chachan, Wellversed is a health and wellness brand. Its products are sold via its website and ecommerce marketplaces.
On an acquisition spree, the umbrella brand has acquired three startups – Sportfit, Rimoy Naturals and Ketofy – in the past four years to strengthen its house of brands. It claims to have offered over 12K health plans for weight loss, skin nourishment and other ailments to customers.
It has raised a total of $3.2 Mn in funding from investors such as Jubilant Foodworks, Yuvraj Singh, KLUB Works and Velocity.
In the financial year 2021, it reported earnings from operations at INR 20 Cr.
108. Wingreens Farms
Founded in 2011 by Anju Srivastava and Arun Srivastava, Wingreens Farms sells packaged food products such as sauces and spreads, spice mixes, breakfast cereals, non-dairy milk, and protein shakes, among others. It sells these products via its website and offline distribution network in more than 200 Indian cities.
In May 2022, the D2C food brand acquired Postcard’s parent company Dharmya Business Ventures for about $2.1 Mn in a cash and share swap deal.
In December 2021, it raised $17 Mn in its Series C funding round led by Investcorp. Subsequently, it also reportedly bagged INR 22 Cr in funding from Anicut Capital. So far, it has secured a total funding of $49.8 Mn from investors.
109. WishCare
Founded in 2019 by Stuti Kothari, Ankit Kothari and Ayush Kothari, WishCare is a sustainable beauty care brand that sells a range of sustainable skincare and haircare products.
WishCare’s portfolio spans products such as hair treatments, hair growth serums, face serums, and body lotions. The company claims that its products are formulated with clinically proven ingredients.
The D2C brand sells its products through its own website as well as more than 15 ecommerce platforms such as Nykaa, Amazon, and Flipkart, among others. It currently claims to serve more than 10 Lakh customers.
WishCare recently secured INR 20 Cr ($2.4 Mn) in its first round of funding from Unilever Ventures.
110. Wonderchef
Wonderchef, founded in 2009 by Ravi Saxena and celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, offers cookware, kitchen appliances, bakeware, and other allied culinary tools. It claims to operate 22 exclusive retail outlets and has served over 3 Cr customers so far.
In 2021, it secured INR 150 Cr in a funding round led by Sixth Sense Ventures. Godrej Family Office, Malpani Group, and other high-net-worth individuals also participated in the funding round.
It claims to have over 500 SKUs and a presence in India, the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada, among others. It is looking to increase the count of its exclusive outlets to 100 by 2025.
111. Wooden Street
Wooden Street, founded in 2015 by Lokendra Ranawat, Dinesh Pratap Singh, Virendra Ranawat and Vikas Baheti, sells furniture and home decor products such as modular furniture, kitchen and wardrobe, lighting and office furniture, among others, via its website.
It operates over 100 experience stores and 30+ warehouses across the length and breadth of the country. With 30,000 home furniture products in its kitty, the D2C brand claims to have served more than 15 Lakh customers in more than 300 Indian cities. It has several manufacturing facilities and R&D units in the country.
In April 2022, it secured around $30 Mn in its Series B funding round led by Westbridge Capital. Wooden Street then claimed that it grew its business 100% year-on-year over the previous three years, and aimed to attain a turnover of INR 600 Cr in the next two years.
112. Wow Skin Science
Founded in 2014 by Manish Chowdhary and Karan Chowdhary, WOW Skin Science is a beauty and personal care brand. It sells a host of skincare, haircare, body care and nutraceutical products via its website. It claims to have 400 SKUs and has a presence in 30,000 general trade stores across the country.
In June 2022, the Bengaluru-based D2C skincare brand secured $48.02 Mn from Singapore-based GIC at a post-money valuation of $280 Mn. Prior to that, it raised $50 Mn from ChrysCapital.
In the financial year 2021-22, it reported losses of INR 135.83 Cr while its revenues grew 3.4X YoY to INR 343.94 Cr.
113. XYXX
Founded in 2017, XYXX is a D2C menswear brand that sells a range of products across categories such as underwear, loungewear and athleisure. It is also the brainchild of Yogesh Kabra.
What works in favour of the brand is its fashionable touch and skin-friendly fabrics that it claims is suitable for India’s humid climate. The idea germinated after Kabra realised that there was a big gap in the Indian men’s innerwear market, which suffered across the board from style to comfort.
Leaving aside his father’s textile business, Kabra jumped into the fray and pursued his entrepreneurial talent, the result of which is XYXX.
The D2C brand has also seen a warm response from investors. It recently bagged INR 110 Cr as part of its Series C funding round led by Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund. Since its inception, the startup has raised INR 390 Cr in multiple rounds of funding.
With 1,000-plus SKUs, XYXX sells its products online on 14 ecommerce platforms as well as its website. It also claims to operate multi-brand outlets (MBOs) and exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) across more than 18,000 touchpoints in 150+ Indian cities. The startup closed FY22 with a revenue of INR 57 Cr.
114. Zappfresh
Founded in 2015 by Deepanshu Manchanda and Shruti Gochhwal, ZappFresh is a Gurugram-based D2C meat delivery startup. The startup grew in prominence as customers preferred online avenues to order their meat as pandemic locked people indoors.
Backed by names such as SIDBI Venture Capital, Dabur Family Office, LetsVenture and Keiretsu Forum, ZappFresh has so far raised $7.9 Mn in funding. The startup recently acquired Dr. Meat for an undisclosed amount to mark its foray into Bengaluru.
Banking on its growth numbers, Zappfresh is targeting INR 300 Cr in overall revenue by end of FY24 as it eyes deeper penetration in Southern India. It competes with the likes of players such as Licious as well as quick commerce players such as Swiggy Instamart, and Blinikit, among others.
115. Zivame
Zivame, founded in 2011 by Richa Kar and Kapil Karekar, sells lingerie, activewear, shapewear and sleepwear via its website and offline retail stores.
The startup had earlier claimed that nearly 42% of its sales come from Tier-2 and 3 cities in India.
In 2020, Reliance Brands acquired a 15% stake in Zivame. Following this, the conglomerate also announced the acquisition of an 89% stake in the lingerie brand for a consideration of INR 950 Cr last year.
Zivame claims to have built an offline presence in more than 30 retail stores and more than 800 partner stores across the country.
This is a running article, we will keep adding more names to the list.
Last Updated: June 12, 2024. The listicle has been updated to add three new brands.
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