🌤️But Bangalore's weather is great.
Flipkart Flex, Nykaa's Numbers, Pet Push, Magic Surge.
Hi Surgies 👋
Quick commerce folks had a field day this Valentine's. Jewellery has been flying off the digital shelves. Meanwhile learnt that there’s something called Galentine’s Day and Palentine’s Day. (I digress, let’s get back to jewellery)
The Indian online jewellery market is set to hit $3.7 billion by 2025, fueled by rising digital adoption & demand for affordable luxury. Leading internet-first brands like CaratLane ($375M), BlueStone ($157M), Melorra ($48.9M), and Giva ($33.8M) are driving the growth. With consumers seeking trusted, high-quality, and design-forward jewellery online, this sector is all set to sparkle!
🗞️Marketplace Buzz
Nykaa just dropped its Q3 FY25 report, and it’s looking glam. Revenue shot up 27% YoY to ₹2,267 Cr, with beauty & personal care leading the charge at ₹2,060 Cr. 💰 Net profit? Up 60% to ₹26 Cr. The Pink Friday Sale in November did some serious heavy lifting here. While fashion is still playing catch-up, Nykaa’s beauty-first strategy is paying off.
Flipkart Flex: 48%- that’s Flipkart Group’s monster grip on India’s online commerce, including Myntra. Walmart’s golden child is running an aggressive pricing game, expanding categories, and digging deep into regional markets. With Amazon, Reliance and the quick commerce gang lurking, can anyone break Flipkart’s stranglehold on Indian e-commerce?
Kirana Play: Quick commerce startup KiranaPro just gobbled up Joper.app (a hyperlocal grocery delivery player) to supercharge its 10-minute delivery game. Joper brings a local vendor network across 25 cities—Ranchi, Thane, Kolkata & Jaipur. With deep tech, flexible revenue models & a growing presence, KiranaPro is making bold moves in the kirana-tech wars.
Magic Surge: Hyperlocal commerce player Magicpin just pulled off a magic trick-revenue tripled to ₹870 Cr in FY24 (from ₹297 Cr in FY23) while cutting losses by 25% to ₹78 Cr. The secret sauce? Voucher sales (92% of revenue) + logistics (MagicFleet). Processing 300K+ orders/month, Magicpin now wants 100K riders to push deliveries to 1M.
Zepto just flipped the script with Chennai’s first all-women dark store in Madambakkam. 🛍️ 25 female employees are running the show, led by store manager D. Vinitha, who’s breaking barriers in frontline retail. With 25% of Zepto’s workforce already women, this move pushes inclusivity in a male-dominated space.
🔥Burn Rate: Zomato & Swiggy are bleeding billions in their quick commerce battle—$10B in market cap has been wiped out. Ultra-fast deliveries, deep discounting, and expansion-at-all-costs = zero profitability (for now). With investors getting nervous, the big question is: Who survives this cash burn? Meanwhile, quick commerce is spawning a (whats-a-good-collective-noun: blitz) of quick-startups.
B2B marketplace Solv is reportedly merging with Jumbotail in a $50M deal. The move aims to combine Solv’s digital procurement tech with Jumbotail’s retailer network, strengthening its B2B commerce footprint. With consolidation heating up, this merger could add heft to India's wholesale supply chain.
When will ONDC start adulting? As ONDC completes two years, its journey has been a mixed bag. While it aimed to democratize e-commerce, adoption remains slow beyond food & beverage. Order growth has slowed to single digits, despite strong government backing. Traditional retailers & artisans are yet to see large-scale traction.
India’s e-commerce policy will continue to be in the works for a while. 🛒This time it’s the Trump effect that causing delays. Global trade shifts will continue to keep marketplaces, D2C companies, retailers, investors & startups guessing. Looks like the government will mull over things a bit before it hits ‘checkout’ on the policy.
🍕D2C Snippets
New Growth Engines: Mamaearth’s parent Honasa’s Q3 net profit remained flat at Rs 26 crore while revenue grew 6% on-year to Rs 518 crore. The company also achieved another feat in the first nine months of FY25 as its revenue moved past the Rs 1,500-crore mark for the first time. Honasa’s emerging brands, The Derma Co., Aqualogica, BBlunt, and Dr. Sheth's, continue to shine, delivering over 30% YoY growth.
🍵Tea Time: Sustainable tea startup Croft Beverages raised $125K in pre-seed funding. Founded by Harish Kannan, the brand is setting up its first farmer-owned mini-factory near Kotagiri, with a bold plan for 100+ such factories by 2030-benefiting 3,000+ small tea farmers in the Nilgiris. Ethical sourcing + direct farmer empowerment = a chai revolution in the making!
Eco-friendly brand The Honest Home Company raised $800K in Pre-Series A to expand its sustainable home & kitchenware range. The brand is betting big on India’s growing demand for green living, using the funds for product innovation & distribution expansion. Its range includes air fresheners, bamboo-based products, and eco-friendly cleaners. As sustainability goes mainstream, Honest Home is all set to ride the eco-wave!
Bold Bet: Men’s health brand Bold Care, backed by Ranveer Singh, just bagged $5M from Rainmatter, CaratLane’s Sacheti brothers & Gruhas Fund. 🚀 Tackling taboo topics like ED & PE, the brand has already shipped 3M+ orders. The new funds will go into R&D, expansion & holistic wellness solutions. The company clocked Rs 33 crore in operating revenue in FY24.
Pet Push: Pet care startup Supertails launched its first physical clinic in Bengaluru, marking its entry into offline pet healthcare. 🏥🐶 With 100% YoY growth, the brand plans to open 3 more clinics in 90 days and is targeting a ₹500 Cr ARR by 2026. Watch out Vetic as competition breeds demand! 🐾
📺Brandwagon
This week Zomato’s Bengaluru weather ad hit a chord. Ordered a wada sambar from Sagar Ratna right after watching this.
📚Reads and Recommendations
What’s Amazon’s 3D chess move here? Amazon is beta testing a program that will direct customers OFF Amazon if Amazon doesn’t carry the product.
"Middle class" isn't just about income- it's shaped by job security, home ownership & lifestyle choices. So, where do you fit in?
A host of D2C brands have hitched a ride on the boom in smart home appliances, paving the way for a $19.31 Bn market in India by 2030
TV is now the primary device for YouTube viewing in the U.S.
Shopify is having a rockstar year. Revenue increased by 31% YoY to $2.8 Billion.
🔥That’s all for this week! As always, share this with your fellow D2C hustlers, and let’s keep the community growing.
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