{"id":6940,"date":"2026-02-27T13:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T07:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thirdeyesight.in\/?p=6940"},"modified":"2026-03-01T13:15:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T07:45:29","slug":"indias-d2c-journey-after-a-rapid-scale-up-why-its-now-all-about-discipline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myechoproject.com\/TES\/indias-d2c-journey-after-a-rapid-scale-up-why-its-now-all-about-discipline\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s D2C journey: After a rapid scale-up, why it\u2019s now all about discipline"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Samar Srivastava, Forbes India <br>Feb 27, 2026 <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">India\u2019s young consumers are discovering the next big beauty serum, protein bar or sneaker brand not in a mall, but on Instagram reels, YouTube shorts and quick-commerce apps that promise 10-minute delivery. What began as a trickle of digital-first labels a decade ago has now become a full-blown wave. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands\u2014built online, fuelled by social media and venture capital\u2014have reshaped India\u2019s consumer landscape and forced legacy companies to rethink everything from marketing to distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">India today has more than 800 active D2C brands across beauty, personal care, fashion, food, home and electronics, according to industry estimates and consulting reports. The Indian D2C market is estimated at $12\u201315 billion in 2025, up from under $5 billion in 2020, and growing at 25\u201330 percent annually. The pandemic accelerated online adoption, but the structural drivers\u2014cheap data, digital payments and over 750 million internet users\u2014were already in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike traditional FMCG brands that relied on distributors and kirana stores, D2C brands such as Mamaearth, boAt, Licious and Sugar Cosmetics built their early traction online. Customer acquisition happened through performance marketing; feedback loops were immediate; product iterations were rapid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Importantly, these brands are discovered online\u2014but as they scale, consumers buy them both online and offline, increasingly through quick-commerce platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart, as well as modern trade and general trade stores. The omnichannel play is now central to their growth strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Anil Kumar, founder and chief executive of Redseer Strategy Consultants, the ecosystem is maturing in measurable ways. Brands are taking lesser time to reach \u20b9100 crore or \u20b9500 crore revenue benchmarks and, once there, mortality rates are coming down. There is also an acceptance that if a brand is not profitable in a 3\u20135 year timeframe, that needs to be corrected. \u201cThere is a lot of emphasis on growing profitably and not just through GMV,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Big Cheques, Bigger Exits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The D2C boom would not have been possible without capital. Between 2014 and 2022, Indian D2C startups raised over $5 billion in venture and growth funding. Peak years like 2021 alone saw more than $1.2 billion invested in the segment. Beauty, personal care and fashion accounted for nearly 50 percent of total inflows, followed by food and beverages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some brands scaled independently; others found strategic buyers. Among the most prominent exits:<br>> Hindustan Unilever acquired a majority stake in Minimalist, reportedly valuing the actives-led skincare brand at over \u20b93,000 crore. For Hindustan Unilever, the annual run rate from sales of its D2C portfolio is estimated at around \u20b91,000 crore, underscoring how material digital-first brands have become to its growth strategy.<br>> ITC Limited bought Yoga Bar for about \u20b9175 crore in 2023 to strengthen its health foods portfolio.<br>> Emami acquired a majority stake in The Man Company, expanding its digital-first play.<br>> Tata Consumer Products acquired Soulfull as part of its health and wellness strategy.<br>> Marico invested in brands such as Beardo and True Elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Private equity has also entered aggressively at the growth stage. ChrysCapital invested in The Man Company; L Catterton backed Sugar Cosmetics; General Atlantic invested in boAt; and Sequoia Capital India (now Peak XV Partners) was an early backer of multiple consumer brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Valuations were often steep. boAt was valued at over $1.2 billion at its peak. Mamaearth\u2019s parent, Honasa Consumer, listed in 2023 at a valuation of around \u20b910,000 crore. Across categories, brands crossing \u20b9500 crore in annual revenue began attracting buyout interest, with deal sizes ranging from \u20b9150 crore to over \u20b93,000 crore depending on scale and profitability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet exits have not always been smooth. <strong>\u201cWhile it takes 7-8 years to build a brand most funds that invest in them have a timeline of 3-5 years before they need an exit,\u201d says Devangshu Dutta, founder of Third Eyesight, a retail consultancy.<\/strong> This timing mismatch can create pressure\u2014pushing brands to scale aggressively, sometimes at the cost of margins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Integration Pains and the Profitability Pivot<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For large FMCG companies, buying D2C brands offers speed: Access to younger consumers, premium positioning and digital marketing expertise. But integration brings challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Founder-led organisations operate with rapid decision cycles, test-and-learn marketing and flat hierarchies. Large corporations often work with layered approvals, structured brand calendars and rigid cost controls. Cultural friction can lead to talent exits if autonomy is curtailed too quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Margins are another sticking point. In the early growth phase, many D2C brands spent 30\u201340 percent of revenue on digital advertising. Rising customer acquisition costs post-2021, combined with higher logistics expenses, squeezed contribution margins. As brands entered offline retail, distributor and retailer margins of 20\u201335 percent further compressed profitability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Large acquirers, used to EBITDA margins of 18\u201325 percent in mature FMCG portfolios, often discovered that digital-first brands operated at low single-digit margins\u2014or were loss-making at scale. Rationalising ad spends, optimising supply chains and pruning SKUs became essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The funding slowdown between 2022 and 2024 triggered a reset. Marketing spends were cut by as much as 25\u201340 percent across several startups. Growth moderated from 80\u2013100 percent annually during peak years to 25\u201340 percent for more mature brands\u2014but unit economics improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Quick-commerce has emerged as a structural growth lever. For categories such as personal care, snacking and health foods, these platforms now account for 10\u201325 percent of urban revenues for scaled brands, improving inventory turns and reducing dependence on paid digital acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next phase of India\u2019s D2C journey will be less about blitz scaling and more about disciplined brand building\u2014balancing growth, profitability and exit timelines. What began as a disruption is now part of the mainstream consumer playbook. And as capital becomes more selective, only brands that combine strong gross margins, repeat purchase rates above 35\u201340 percent and sustainable EBITDA pathways will endure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>(Published in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbesindia.com\/article\/enterprise\/startups\/indias-d2c-journey-after-a-rapid-scale-up-why-its-now-all-about-discipline\/2991796\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Forbes India<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Samar Srivastava, Forbes India Feb 27, 2026 India\u2019s young consumers are discovering the next big beauty serum, protein bar or sneaker brand not in a mall, but on Instagram reels, YouTube shorts and quick-commerce apps that promise 10-minute delivery. What began as a trickle of digital-first labels a decade ago has now become a full-blown [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,708,27,212,249,265,746,215,33,625,668,60,36,37,3,43,44,46],"tags":[1001,623,761,998,99,100,52,976,975,285,363,696,614,697,600,559,813,726,250,214,291,216,292,293,745,588,1002,59,191,69,984,724,999,670,997,898,119,120,84,86,690,864,166,195,256,499,581,121,700,674,586,294,785,718,65,301,338,641,557,707,762,820,1000,282,760],"class_list":["post-6940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apparel","category-beauty-personal-care","category-branding","category-consumer","category-e-commerce","category-entrepreneurship","category-fmcg","category-food-grocery","category-footwear","category-health-wellness","category-home-products","category-india","category-lifestyle-fashion","category-marketing","category-press-quotes","category-retail","category-soft-goods","category-strategy","tag-beardo","tag-beauty","tag-blinkit","tag-boat","tag-brand","tag-brand-building","tag-branding","tag-cac","tag-customer-acquisition-cost","tag-customer-experience","tag-customer-insight","tag-d2c","tag-digital","tag-direct-to-consumer","tag-ecommerce","tag-electricals","tag-electronics","tag-emami","tag-fmcg","tag-food","tag-food-beverage","tag-food-grocery","tag-food-and-grocery","tag-food-processing","tag-hindustan-unilever","tag-home-products","tag-honasa","tag-india","tag-indian-market","tag-indian-retail-sector","tag-inventory","tag-itc","tag-licious","tag-ma","tag-mamaearth","tag-marico","tag-market-segments","tag-marketing","tag-merchandise-planning","tag-merchandising","tag-mergers-and-acquisitions","tag-minimalist","tag-modern-retail","tag-modern-retailing","tag-omnichannel","tag-online","tag-online-retail","tag-organic-growth","tag-packaged-foods","tag-personal-care","tag-private-equity","tag-processed-food","tag-profitability","tag-quick-commerce","tag-retail","tag-retailing","tag-scale","tag-social-commerce","tag-social-media","tag-sugar","tag-swiggy","tag-swiggy-instamart","tag-the-man-company","tag-venture-funding","tag-zepto"],"yoast_head":"<!-- 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