Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands are revolutionizing retail by bypassing traditional intermediaries, leveraging digital platforms, and offering personalized experiences, transforming how businesses connect with and understand their customers.

Currently, India boasts a presence of more than 800 D2C companies with the market expected to be worth $100 billion in 2025.

In the last couple of years, several aspects of the business have been changing rapidly, like research and development, products and customers, manufacturing and marketing, and so on.

D2C brands get the advantage to showcase their story directly to the customers and can achieve the center platform as it directly delivers products and services to the end customers.

India has 190 million online consumers and around 700 million internet users, making it the third-largest digital retail market after China and the United States.

In India, direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands could be looking at a $100 billion addressable consumer opportunity by 2025, according to estimates by Avendus Capital.

For a D2C brand, the content on the website, app, and social media act as a discovery destination, educating consumers, engaging them, and intuitively guiding them through the journey of making a purchase.

The backbone of any D2C brand is being able to advertise digitally and to a very focused and customized target audience and this has made us reach out to customers in corners of the world, unlike in traditional media.

Mamaearth which is the first unicorn of 2022 with an operating profit of Rs 461 crore has had the most humble beginnings when no retail store wanted to keep its products.

Vivek Gupta, Co-Founder of meat delivery start-up and India's first D2C unicorn Licious stated, “The Indian consumer is evolving very fast. So a lot of problem statements in India need Indian solutions and that is where D2C plays a very important role."

India's influencer market is expected to reach Rs 2,200 crore by 2025.

The brands are seeing a healthy increase in positive consumer sentiments over the last few months, making this festive season one of the most anticipated periods for the D2C industry.

The digital age makes it easy to burn money and it simultaneously makes it difficult to build and sustain a profitable brand.

While the success and scalability of the D2C route might vary for brands depending upon their category, D2C e-commerce still holds its ground strong enough for any business that wants to strengthen and control its sales and customer relationships.

As competition gets fierce, D2C brands will be required to strategically play their cards in an ever-evolving and competing an online marketplace.

D2C scaling requires a nuanced and integrated understanding of consumer channels and deep-diving over a period of time into the metrics to fuel growth and expansion.

Product innovation, technology, and customer-centricity to be growth pillars of the sector.

The current wave of D2C growth will continue as long as there are investors to fund the growth.

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) business model or strategy eliminates middlemen/ intermediaries between producers and consumers. It gives producers/ manufacturers larger control over pricing, consumer data, direct relationship building, and higher margins.

Marico is one of the first few traditional FMCG companies to invest in the D2C domain through the acquisition of Beardo and Just Herbs.

With more and more people accepting these nutrient-rich supplements as an add-on in their daily lives, it is soon expected that the average consumer to switch to consuming gummies for their nutritional requirements.

D2C business model witnessed an impressive growth trajectory in the past year with D2C brands registering a whopping 88% rise in demand in 2020 when compared to the previous year.

With the onset of the pandemic, it has become more apparent for beauty brands to hold a strong digital presence, especially in commerce operations.

D2C brands are the disruptors as they have gained huge attention and reached a large customer base through social media.

D2C allows manufacturers to test new products with certain demographics and receive feedback on a smaller scale

The global consumer electronics industry is projected to show considerable growth over the forecast period 2019-2025, courtesy a surging demand for products such as televisions, smartphones, and wearable devices.

Have we suddenly become more conscious about our consumer choices? Do you think more consumers think about the environment while making purchase decisions?

Reduced access to stores has prompted rise in cross-border ecommerce, with 46% of global shoppers buying direct from international brands online, rising to 52% among 25-34 year olds.

Fuelled by over 47 million internet users in India, e-commerce is at an all-time high, with more brands seizing the opportunity to reach users through D2C.

There have been quite a few such companies/ brands that rebranded itself to become D2C since the business model has been attracting both consumers and investors alike.

According to Euromonitor, the global healthy snacks market is forecast to reach US $ 98 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 5.8% between 2020 and 2025.

According to a recent report, India?s D2C market is estimated to reach a whopping $100 billion by 2025.

D2C model is bringing many changes in this new landscape, creating a more engaging experience, improving retailer?s customer relationships, keeping transparent transactions, producing better products with better pricing.

Investors pumped in US $ 1.4 billion into the D2C brands between 2014 and 2020, of which 54% went into the beauty and fashion segment.

The broader meat market has been largely unorganised with brands like Licious, Meatigo, FreshToFarm, etc., quickly gaining prominence courtesy their vertically integrated supply chains with high bars on quality.

How has the D2C Platform Accelerated E-commerce Business?

Let?s look at a few key drivers that can help in building a long term sustainable D2C business model.

Effective marketing for D2C brands involves studying different social commerce platforms separately, build content, visual imagery, and rich video assets that connect with consumers.

D2C will no longer be limited to niche brand offerings but will emerge as a powerful sales medium owing to its stability against disruptions because of digital infrastructure and internal supply chain value.

The consumer inclination towards D2C brands has proved true for the furniture category as well with even investors backing brands catering to this space.

A report by PGA Labs and Knowledge Capital suggested that the D2C start-up segment saw an investment of close to US $ 417 million in 2020.

Millennials in India are at the forefront of the newly established coffee culture and are very enthusiastic to try alternative coffee brewing methods at home.

Having the retail fulfillment infrastructure and technology in place can help you better manage logistics.

With a value of over Rs 10,000 crore, the Indian mattress industry is growing rapidly thanks to the pandemic and an increasing awareness of sleep health benefits among consumers.

Evolution in technology and the onset of the pandemic have shifted commerce from brick-and-mortar to online.

The market for Ayurvedic and herbal wellness products in India is expected to grow from around US $ 4 billion in 2018 to over US $ 9.5 billion by 2024.

The reinvention of the D2C business is all about building an intimate understanding of your customers in much the same way as the neighborhood store but through technology and digital experience.?

The evolving eCommerce ecosystem and consumer needs have given rise to D2C (Direct to Consumer) brands.

There is an increasing awareness among the consumers on the benefits of millet-based products and hence leading to the increase in demand for the product.

The adoption of digital wallets among the elderly audience and public, in general, was truly surprising, which gave rise to never-seen-before e-commerce growth.

Fighting against the disruption that the retail industry has seen during the pandemic, D2C is becoming even more popular with extended lockdowns and an increase in traffic on online marketplaces.?

With a growing middle class in India and faster adoption of Internet commerce, D2C brands have been able to tap on the market opportunities present in Tier II & III cities.

These Direct-to-Consumer brands are trying their best to sell their products via their platform/ store to build a more loyal customer base.

Globally, the penetration of online BPC in countries like China, the UK, and the US is between 12-18 percent versus under 2 percent in India.

Online shoppers are expected to constitute 50 percent of the online population in 2026 with significant demand from tier II and III cities.

The massive push to the digital economy has given companies a platform and a huge opportunity to connect directly with consumers which has further led to the emergence of a plethora of D2C brands.

India was the only country in the top 20 to see triple-digit growth in wearables in 2020 and continues to be the third-largest wearables market globally.

Last year, the e-commerce industry reported 26 percent order volume growth in Q4-2019 vis-a-vis Q4-2018.

Shopping patterns and consumer behaviour are no longer the same in what is now called, the beginning of the ?new normal? era.?

The UPI transactions outgrew cards, netbanking and wallets with 120 percent growth in a year, becoming the most preferred mode of payment especially for Tier- II and III cities.

The increasing number of online shoppers presents a huge growth opportunity for e-commerce and retail companies to explore and utilize as a key component for business growth.

When it comes to e-commerce, India has been at the forefront of growth and disruption of the sector, being one of the fastest-growing markets in the world.

According to the Direct-to-Consumer Purchase Intent Index, over 80 percent of consumers worldwide are expected to buy something from a D2C brand over the next five years.

D2C businesses manufacture, market, sell and ship their products to customers without relying on middlemen such as distributors or traditional retail stores.

In the post-COVID scenario, many D2C brands have brought meaningful innovations in the sleep and home solutions space and built deep customer relationships across multiple channels.

Online luxury sales grew from 12 percent in 2019 to 23 percent in 2020 and are predicted to reach 30 percent by 2025.

Launched in 2015 with about 100 exporters, Amazon Global Selling helps reduce barriers for Indian MSMEs to export to global markets.

2020 was a year of major disruption for India?s Direct to Consumer (D2C) sector.

Below are the top 6 strategies highlighted by the panelists at Startup Summit 2022 that D2C brands can adopt to grow further in this landscape.

There are indeed commonalities in business strategies among the successful D2C brands that have become unicorns

The strategy which made D2C on the rise is its close and personal relation focusing on high engagement with their customers.

According to the Direct-to-Consumer Purchase Index, within the next five years, about 80 percent of consumers will be buying from D2C brands at least once.

The D2C sector in India is worth $44.6 billion (end of FY 2021) currently, and is expected to grow to $100 billion by 2025.

Hohner Health offers a wide range of products in nutritional supplements, baby skincare, and personal care category.

Avni has launched its all-new range of plant based menstrual hygiene products including bio enzyme period wear liquid cleaner, menstrual cup wash and anti-bacterial intimate wipes.

Nack aims to simplify the modern wellness movement with healthy products and conversations and make the complex world of supplements easy to understand, access and benefit from.

SleepyCat will use the funds to further expand its product portfolio of mattresses and other sleep wellness accessories.

The youth casual wear brand has recently raised Rs 75 crore in Series B funding led by Elevation Capital.

The customers will benefit from the D2C platform rather than purchasing from other e-commerce portals due to the absence of an intermediary between business and consumer.

With the launch, Earthmade Organix becomes one of the very few brands to offer a certified range of organic hummus.

Zouk has secured $1.5 million as part of its pre-series A round.

Recently, the eco-friendly home & personal care brand has secured Rs 4 crore in seed round.

With a focus on capital efficiency, GlobalBees looks to partner with digitally native brands across categories like beauty, personal care, home, kitchen, food, nutrition, sports, lifestyle, etc.

Prabhdeep will further accelerate PUMA India’s digital transformation journey and will be responsible for leading the D2C e-commerce business.

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup manufactures ergonomic seating products that are comfortable, durable, and designed to help people achieve the best posture.

Nua has also added actor Deepika Padukone as an investor who will work closely with the brand for ideating and creating new wellness solutions.

Lenskart Vision Fund aims to nurture innovations disrupting eyewear, eye-care and omnichannel retail.

Kwik Foods has recently raised an undisclosed fund in its seed round.

With new $2.2 million funding, the brand aims to create the next generation of nutraceuticals which will rely on advanced nano technology, delayed release technology, and sustainability.

The collection includes apparel, footwear, backpack, and mobile covers available in expanded sizing - XS-2X - making this a truly inclusive offering.

These products are available on Nyumi's website, Amazon, and Nykaa.

Pilgrim has recently raised Rs 13 cr in Series A funding, strengthening its vision to make borderless beauty experiences accessible and affordable for 400 million Indian millennials.

The brand has plans in place to steadily scale across the country in the next 6-9 months.

Candes has recently raised $3 mn from various marquee family offices of Delhi.

The company is eyeing the Rs 100 crore artisanal coffee market.

The move is aimed at bringing better financial health for its dealer partners while offering customers uniform transparent price, a wider choice of vehicles and a seamless purchasing experience.