Chai Piyo with IPO ☕
All things noteworthy in the D2C space
Hey👋
Welcome to this week’s edition of GlobalBees D2C Pulse! In case you missed our last few editions, check them out here!
In the last decade, D2C brands have conquered our Instagram feed with irresistible ads and now they are putting on a dress and marching towards conquering the Wall Street! In Today’s newsletter we cover D2C brands making IPOs - a cherry on top of the D2C market that is already flooding with funding.
What’s in the news?
👀 Warby Parker eyes an IPO and AllBirds takes flight🕊️
We like to focus on Indian D2C brands for our newsletter, but when a poster child for the D2C model decides to file for an IPO, we can’t resist writing about it.
US based digital first brands Warby Parker (eyewear) and AllBirds (eco-friendly wool sneakers) are going public with an approximate valuation of USD 3 bn & USD 2 bn, respectively. While these companies are still loss making, they are firing on all cylinders with a solid YoY growth and are high on expansion.
Well, Indian D2C brands are not behind either, rumour has it that BoAt is planning to raise USD 400 mn through an IPO in India with a valuation of USD 1.5 bn!
☕ Mo’ money mo’ chai
Some say ‘tea is liquid wisdom’, we say ‘Vahdam Tea is liquid money’, having received INR 174 cr. in Series D funding led by IIFL. Vahdam Tea is an online tea brand, started in 2015 by Bala Sarda. It has also been publicly praised by Oprah Winfrey!
With fresh funding, Vahdam Tea plans to venture into complimentary categories such as organic spices & herbs, and expand its global footprint in the wellness category. Tea export market stood at whopping USD 755.86 mn in FY 21. No wonder Vahdam Tea has a target of making INR 500 cr. annual revenue in next 3 years!
Other new age players in the tea segment that are challenging monopoly of Nestle and Unilever include Tearaja, Udyan Tea & Teabox.
🤑 Flipkart wants a bigger piece of the D2C pie
Flipkart is launching a programme called the Flipkart Boost to spot and build early stage D2C hustler brands. Flipkart will offer to these brands its expertise in advertising, cataloguing, logistics, etc., and also help them approach VCs. Flipkart Boost plans to pick 100 brands for this programme - Hurry up, auditions are on! Amazon and Big Basket have similar service fee programs for digital first start-ups; it seems like e-comm platforms are gearing up these brands for the Indian Thrasios!
PS: Flipkart, through its venture arm, has itself invested in an Indian Thrasio named GOAT Brand Labs.
🍿Tech bites
Here’s a list of updates on some tech start-ups enabling the D2C eco-system:
Clootrack, a customer analytics platform that helps brands understand why customers stay or churn, raised USD 4 mn.
COGOS, a tech based logistic player enabling intra city transportation for businesses, raised USD 2 mn.
Shiprocket, another tech based logistics player is working with Temasek for a USD 200 mn funding round.
Social commerce platform Coutloot raised USD 8 mn.
Bikayi, an e-commerce enabler, raised USD 10.8 mn.
Brands that caught our eye!
🌍 Experiencing the world with Pilgrim
Pilgrim is a unique skincare brand that develops beauty products using native knowledge and ingredients from around the world. Currently, it has two skincare range - Korean (Secrets of Jeju Island) and French (Secrets of Vinatherapie).
Pilgrim curates global experiences for its customers and doesn’t merely import global ingredients like most other skincare brands. Super psyched to know what the next range will be!
✅ Switchfix fixin' the waste problem
A brand’s ethos are not only communicated through its products, but also its packaging, branding and customer communication.
Switchfix, a brand selling 100% clean soaps and shampoo bars, has won hearts with its packaging - plastic free, comprising of recycled paper box, wax paper, glass bottles and paper strips instead of bubble wrap. The box is also designed to be repurposed as a storage box for items like jewellery. Your danish cookie box will now have some company! Do check out their Blue Tokai collab collection.
Trend of the week: Male grooming👨🏻🦰
Today's men don’t shy away from pampering themselves. Market research agency Mintel revealed that an average man in India spends around 42 minutes grooming per day. This has resulted in a boom in the male grooming industry with a wide range of brands developing products for men.
The Indian male grooming market stood at USD 643 mn in 2018 and is projected to grow to cross USD 1.2 bn by 2024. Many brands in India realise the potential of this segment and have set up profitable businesses around men’s grooming👇
Reads & Recommendations
How India shops online in 2021 by Bain & Company.
Secrets to the growth of 22 of the biggest D2C brands.
Frameworks to validate a start up idea.
Niche of nootropics with Guneesh Sahny, hosted by Sid on his podcast ‘Vyapaar’.
Business tact of the week
Trying to reduce your business’ online ad spends? Remember, the more time that passes after someone visits your website, the less likely they are to click on your retargeting ads. Accordingly, split your campaign into 3 ad groups based on the time passed since the users visited your website:
That’s all for this week!
Stay tuned for more insights about the D2C start-ups in India. Do share your feedback.
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