Top D2C Brands in India 2022
The world encompasses growth through innovation. D2C companies and brands are another innovation that plans to revolutionise business models. With the pandemic changing the pace of enterprises and consumer approach, several startups along with well-established brands have now started to focus on aspects like sanitation, hygiene, health, convenience and quality. The D2C business model or the Direct-to-Business approach is now allowing the brands to acquire profits along with higher popularity in the market.
As the name suggests, the D2C business model eliminates the inclusion of middlemen. The Indian market is also experiencing a major boom, as startups are turning their business to the D2C approach. As the pandemic imposed a major threat to all the markets, businesses and people, D2C brands have also suffered a loss in terms of brand investment. This rate has declined by 69%, although they faced an exceptional rise of 88% in the 2020 demand. This article is going to highlight critical aspects of D2C brands while highlighting the best 5 D2C brands in India.
How Does D2C Businesses Work?
D2C brands work on the simple concept that eradicats middlemen from the supply chain. Normally, a traditional supply chain would consist of manufacturer, supplier, wholesaler, distributor, and retailer. Such a business model often goes through long-term negotiations at every stage of product delivery. It further causes lengthy head times for the launch of products along with an everlasting cycle of customer feedback.
When it comes to D2C, the model neglects the established standards of the conventional supply chain. The D2C brand favour the decision to prefer direct contact with the customers and cut all those unnecessary distributors and wholesalers. D2C model took the advantage of cloud technology and the eCommerce business to achieve a direct connection with the end-consumers.
Benefits of D2C Brands
D2C brands have tremendous growth opportunities. Keeping this in mind, sellers can incorporate these factors into their business, ensuring them the needed push towards the D2C business model. Well, here are the benefits of factors that proved the efficacy of the D2C brands.
Exceeding Control on the Margins
D2C brands have tremendous growth opportunities. Keeping this in mind, sellers can incorporate these factors into their business, ensuring them the needed push towards the D2C business model. Well, here are the benefits of factors that proved the efficacy of the D2C brands.
A Broad Target Market
The D2C model identifies control over every stage and step of production and distribution. Through this, as customers place orders via eCommerce marketplaces sellers can view buying patterns, which area has what demand for which product, and even the access to the details for your customers. This allows sellers to analyze their business strategies, therefore, target the appropriate audience to gain higher profit margins.
High-Standard Personalization
As you will have access to all the data about your target audience, you can build superior personalization within your product range. In accordance to the previous point, as you have access to the data of the customers. You as a seller can have products personalized to fit your customer’s needs all the more.
Profit Maximization
Along with the increase in the revenue margin, D2C brands are getting a whopping share in their profits. Not just the middlemen, but the cost of processes linked with the supply of products through these channels also gets eliminated. Unlike traditional business, D2C offers a higher business profit.
Quality Products
You might think that how can a business supply model change the quality of your product? Well, it happens as the D2C model enables you to have spare profits along with required data. So, you will have the perfect recipe for testing your innovative products on regular basis. Therefore, keeping the quality of the prodcuts in check.
How you can use the D2C Model for your Business?
There are several ways in which you can use the D2C model. Here, we have covered a few u D2C brands using the business model in an innovative approach.
1. Using the Omnichannel Marketing for Enhanced Engagement
Now with the D2C model in place, brands will have the opportunity to acquire higher flexibility. Several brands have optimised their customer engagement pattern using online platforms or other non-conventional ideas.
2. Smaller Brand’s Experimental Ground
Many small D2C brands have acquired an extensive potential to attain the attention of their consumers in the best way possible. The websites of small and recent startups use exceptional website building tools along with digital marketing techniques to achieve greater connection and visibility in the market. As the middlemen of the traditional business chains have been kept aside, startups would have better potential to spend on such rewarding techniques.
3. Content’s Superiority
Many small D2C brands have acquired an extensive potential to attain the attention of their consumers in the best way possible. The websites of small and recent startups use exceptional website building tools along with digital marketing techniques to achieve greater connection and visibility in the market. As the middlemen of the traditional business chains have been kept aside, startups would have better potential to spend on such rewarding techniques.
Leading D2C Brands in India for 2022
1. Nua
Many small D2C brands have acquired an extensive potential to attain the attention of their consumers in the best way possible. The websites of small and recent startups use exceptional website building tools along with digital marketing techniques to achieve greater connection and visibility in the market. As the middlemen of the traditional business chains have been kept aside, startups would have better potential to spend on such rewarding techniques.
Highlights:
- The making of these products are all cruelty-free and made safe for every user
- Another unique feature is that they also offer a safe space to vent out and talk about menstruation and wellness.
- They provide exclusive personalization for products that they offer; and also kits for the different needs of a woman.
2. Phool.Co
Phool.Co was established in 2017 by Ankit Agarwal and Manoj Kumar with a mission to create organic packaging and leather products. A journey that began from the ghats of Ganga is now transforming lives using organic and pious flowers offered for prayers in temples. Phool.Co started with an initiative to use the flowers, otherwise wasted in the streams of the Ganges. With a highly specialized R&D team, Phool converts wasted flowers into bio-leathers, biodegradable packaging, and even incense and oils. The brand basically aims to empower under-represented women and create organic products.
Highlights:
- They aim to curb the effects caused by the decaying flowers of the temple to the water bodies and the aquatic life
- The idea of this business is that they collect and use temple flowers for a purpose that is much more sustainable.
- They not only deal with incense separately but also create gift boxes and wellness boxes for their customers.
- Even though incense might not seem as eco-friendly, this business produces coal-free incense that is safer for the environment
3. M-Caffeine
M-Caffeine is a brand that offers exclusive personal care products from caffeinated ingredients. There are very few Peta verified D2C brands and M-Caffeine is one of them. This brand started in 2015 was founded by Tarun Sharma and Vikas Lacchwani. Headquarters located in Mumbai, this brand is a boon for hair and skin care. Body products like scrubs, lotions, bathing bars, and more. Haircare products like scalp tonics, hair masks, oils, serums, and more. Besides these individual products, they also offer kits especially best for gifting. Although they are mainly focused on coffee or caffeinated base they also offer green tea-based products.
Highlights:
- 100% cruelty-free and vegan products that are certified by Peta.
- These products have no gender or color bias. Therefore making it a perfect choice for anyone.
4. Toothsie
M-Caffeine is a brand that offers exclusive personal care products from caffeinated ingredients. There are very few Peta verified D2C brands and M-Caffeine is one of them. This brand started in 2015 was founded by Tarun Sharma and Vikas Lacchwani. Headquarters located in Mumbai, this brand is a boon for hair and skin care. Body products like scrubs, lotions, bathing bars, and more. Haircare products like scalp tonics, hair masks, oils, serums, and more. Besides these individual products, they also offer kits especially best for gifting. Although they are mainly focused on coffee or caffeinated base they also offer green tea-based products.
Highlights:
- 100% cruelty-free and vegan products that are certified by Peta.
- These products have no gender or color bias. Therefore making it a perfect choice for anyone.
5. Wiggles
In this list of D2C brands, Wiggles is one of the best preventive healthcare brands focusing on the health of your pets. Offering exclusive products and services, this brand procures everything recommended by the vets. The company was founded in 2018 and has its headquarters in Pune, India. Wiggles was founded by the trio of Anushka Iyer, Rajh Iyer, and Venkat Mahadevan. With a range of pet care services, the brand also has over 42 stock-keeping units. They started off with the basics of taking care of the health and wellbeing of pets. This further transformed to services like grooming, vet services, training, and more.
Highlights:
- Wiggles is one such brand that is curated and handles almost every aspect that it has to do with pets.
- They offer not just food and medical need but also training, grooming, more
- Furthermore, they personalize products to fit your pet’s needs. And this is done with the help of vets as well to ensure that it is safe.
6. Lifelong
Here you have one of the most unique businesses on the list of D2C brands. Lifelong Online is an Indian home appliance brand using the best D2C tactics in the D2C market. Started in 2015 by Bharat Kalia, Varun Grover and Atul Raheja, the brand embodies the perfect mix for offering consumer appliances through Gurugram. The brand focused on emphasizing the pain points of the customers and accordingly offered the best solutions. Although they started out by manufacturing kitchen appliances, now they cover all home appliances.
Highlights:
- They claim to build products that are suitable for a variety of cultures
- Besides they craft well-designed products that are all available to everyone at an affordable price and yet are innovative.
7. Leaf
The Leaf studios were founded in 2017 by Ayush Banka and Paras Batra. This headphone brand is located in Delhi and after its inception, it recorded a 4 times surge in revenues. Besides, the company has also enhanced its portfolio by offering sound-enhancing technology, soundbars and other innovative earphones and headphones. While using the D2C model, the Leaf brand has achieved cost-efficacy along with a superior advantage over marketing and distribution channels.
Highlights:
- They are a proud brand that caters to longer battery life
- Furthermore, they claim to be the best for those people who binge watch movies and shows
- Users can enhance the sound by personalizing the audio to fit individual ears.
8. Wakefit
There is nothing better than a goodnight sleep. Wakefit is a D2C brand that focuses on the same ideology. Started by Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda in 2015, the brand rigorously works with its R&D to create and offer the most comfortable sleeping experience. Though their products are highly diverse, their unique product is the genuine and pure foam mattress with unimaginable layers at your disposal. The registered office for the brand is in Bangalore, India. With so much to offer, the brand is the perfect representation of proven sleeping solutions. Although the main focus of their business are the mattresses, they also offer furniture for your entire home to ensure that you have a comfortable home setting.
Highlights:
- Unlike other mattresses pure unadulterated foam that will last for a long time
- In comparison to other mattresses this brand is cost efficient by up to 50%.
- They provide furniture for every room of your home.
9. Pee Safe
Pee Safe is one such D2C brand that was established by Vikas Bagaria, Srijana Bagaria and Dheeraj Jain in 2013. Initially Pee Safe noted the issue of using public toilets and the concerns along with health hazards that are accompanied along. Therefore they started off with personal hygiene toiletries. The first product being toilet seat sanitiser spray that prevents the risks of UTI. They further developed into a brand also deals with products that caters towards women’s period products and care items, face, hair, and body care products, lastly even sexual wellness prodcuts.
Highlights:
- The products offered by the company are vegan and cruelty free.
- Pee Safe started off with a unique category and ventured into a category that was previously untouched.
- Moreover they are Peta approved and Plastic free
10. SUGAR
SUGAR cosmetics as the name suggests is a makeup and cosmetics brand that made it to become one of the top D2C brands. Founded by Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee in 2012 in an attempt to provide Indians with affordable and complexion compatible makeup products. They cover products right from skin care, makeup accessories like brushes, makeup kits and mini sets and more.
Highlights:
- All their products are 100% cruelty free, Paraben free and is a non-toxic formula.
- Their aim is to empower women and celebrate every aspect of them.
- They cater especially to every Indian skin tone
Conclusion
All in all, D2C brands are the new trend in the market. With an exceptional edge over profit margin and communication control, these brands are growing their stakes in not just India, but in the global market as well. If you are a business willing to land into the eCommerce market, D2C is the right business model to adopt. With room for product improvement, you are going to receive a lot more than just revenue.
