This could be our future🔮
Brands want to hijack your dreams...
👋 Morning!
D2C companies constantly keep evolving by experimenting with and expanding their product offerings, sometimes even in a segment that otherwise seems to be well-served and saturated. Why?
“Customers are always beautifully, wonderfully dissatisfied, even when they report being happy and business is great. Even when they don’t yet know it, customers want something better, and your desire to delight customers will drive you to invent on their behalf.” - Jeff Bezos, 2016 letter to Amazon
That’s why we see product offerings like period panties (over pads), shampoo bar (over liquid), effervescent tablets (over powder) shining over the traditional offerings. More about these companies in our news section below:
What’s in the news? 🗞️
📈 No plummeting this growth
Vegan skincare brand Plum raised INR 270 cr. in a funding round led by A91 Partners, with existing backers Unilever Ventures and Faering Capital also participating.
With an Annual Run Rate of over INR 225 cr., around 40% of the company’s revenue comes via offline sales (~1000 stores), 25% from its e-commerce site, and the balance from online marketplaces. In fact, the additional funding will be used to further expand Plum’s omnichannel presence.
Indian ayurvedic skincare brand, The Ayurveda Co, also raised INR 2.25 cr. from investors including Wipro. Clean and ayurvedic practices are becoming beauty’s new frontier with participation from conglomerates like Estée Lauder and Puig joining the race.
💊 This could be our future
Millennials are aging and are trying to conceive something cooler than Chavanprash for their gut health: from kombucha, sparkling Apple Cider Vinegar to pro/prebiotic drinks and kefir water.
Brands, with their slick boxes, poppy designs, and innovative formats are holding the consumer attention when it comes to taking care of their health:
Vitamin gummies brand Welly raises INR 3 cr. from Anthill Ventures.
Effervescent tablets brand Fast&Up snagged funding (undisclosed amount).
👩🎤 Celebrity Brands:
Virat Kohli has joined Rage Coffee as an investor & brand ambassador marking his 2nd investment this year after vegan meat startup Blue Tribe.
BPC brand mCaffeine has roped in serial D2C investor and actor Alia Bhatt as the brand ambassador. Her other bets include Phool, StyleCracker, etc.
The Shetty daughter, Athiya Shetty has invested in Stage 3, a social commerce marketplace for fashion and lifestyle.
⏲️ Other Quickies
Reliance has acquired an 89% stake for INR 950 cr. in women's innerwear and loungewear brand Clovia. Reliance already owns Zivame and Amante.
The brand with ‘Go Pad free’ positioning, Healthfab, raised INR 2.17 cr.
Kale, a start-up that makes influencers out of customers raised funds from Forerunner Ventures.
Brands that caught our eye! 🧿
👯 Twinnin and winnin
BonOrganik sells clothing ‘for relationships’, from Mom-Daughter, Dad-Son, Siblings, to Friends. Could be matching T-shirts or squad goals. So next time you want to zag with your squad while the others zig, add a dash of style by dressing similar with BonOrganik.
🍫 Power of a bean
We like to satiate our after-meal cravings by resorting to chocolates to give our meals that extra allure. Such is the power of that elusive little red bean! Ambriona, the home-grown chocolate brand not only gives options around chocolate flavours like most brands but niche distinctive offerings like vegan, gluten-free, varying cocoa content ranging from 45% to 99%., no added sugar, less sugar, rich in antioxidants & dietary fibre, etc.
Trend of the week: What’s in the name?
Recently, Goodmylk (plant-based milk brand) changed its name to One Good as it plans to offer all kinds of plant-based products affordable and accessible. This made us recall many recent name/logo changes of consumer brands, as they change/broaden their customer positioning.
PS: Check out an awesome article on why to re-brand?
Reads & Recommendations 🤓
The curious case of pizza topping tax and shrinking biscuits.
Everybody wants free shipping, how to make the math work?
Brands want to feature in our dreams now.
Fun tweet that popped up in the timeline:
It’s that time of the year - IPL has started and Cred launches a new TVC based on the Rin ad. Check out a collection of vintage ads here.
That’s all for this week!
Stay tuned for more insights about the D2C start-ups in India.