What’s sizzling hot? 🔥

🐄 Milking Money

Digital B2C players are turning out to be seminal for India’s dairy revolution. They are introducing the much-needed tech in a hitherto unorganized sector; Technologies like feed management, cattle traffic management, health tracking devices, etc. are helping India shoulder 21% of the world’s total milk demand.

A significant player in this space (you possibly couldn’t have missed their YT ads, literally, because they are unskippable😜) is Country Delight. It offers fresh farm-to-home deliveries of milk and veggies, within 24-36 hours. It has now raised $108 mn to broaden its product base to include grains, spices, oils, and snacks.

As per ET reporting, in e-grocery space: BigBasket is still the biggest player holding 37% share, followed by Amazon (15%), Blinkit (13%), Flipkart (11%) and Reliance’s JioMart (4%).

PS: Myntra has also joined the ultra-fast delivery wagon with its M-Express service that will deliver fashion and beauty products within 24-48 hours.

💄Farm to Face

Luxury personal care brand RAS (pronounced as ‘Ruh-s’) offering tinted liquid lip balms, face oils, serums and more has raised $2 mn. IMO what sets RAS apart from a smorgasbord of BPC Indian brands, is its vertically-integrated research facility and farms in Raipur.

RAS is trying to leverage the white space in Indian luxury skincare where only a few conventional brands have managed to make a name: Forest Essentials and Kama Ayurveda. Listen to this amazing podcast on Kama’s founder journey.

BPC is one of the biggest bets of D2C players and investors, with companies like Mamaearth, MyGlamm and Nykaa trying to build their own house of brands in this niche. And after beauty comes the healthy foods and snacks market threatening mainstream companies with their narrative about ‘being healthier & more transparant’. One such brands True Elements saw investment from Marico recently.

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💦Chup Chup Chappak

CHUPPS, a footwear brand that embraces the art of chilling with its 100% vegan and sustainable flip flops raised $1.5 mn from Green Frontier Capital, India’s first-ever Green tech venture fund. GFC supports early-stage companies which are focused on delivering breakthrough innovation. It recently invested in EV-based BLUSMART cabs.

CHUPPS has developed a unique technology of blending in natural tree fibers, along with recycled materials, to create upcycled footwear. CHUPPS is working towards widening its catalog to include sustainable sneakers, outwear shoes, etc.

🗞️Marketplace Updates

• Good news for our D2C buddies, one more sales channel is coming up to take you closer to your customers - Swiggy Minis. This platform will onboard local stores and D2C brands on a dropship model.

• We hear stock market bells for Pepperfry, as it passes resolution to become a public company, a pre-requisite to become a public stock.

• Meta has partnered with VC fund Kalaari Capital to help Indian businesses scale via business skilling support. Startups from edtech, social commerce, gaming, fintech amongst other emerging sectors will participate in the initiative.

👩‍🎤 Celebrity Corner

Actor Kriti Sanon has officially embarked on her journey as an angel investor with investment in a fitness start-up called The Tribe - which offers virtual and ‘in-studio’ products such as training workshops with the coolest trainers and tailor-made nutrition plans. The brand has been eyeing a proper launch for almost 2 years - we hope Kriti’s investment will move the needle in the right direction.

Brands that caught our eyes 👀

💊Drop, Fizzle, Zing

Itti aims to reduce the amount of discarded plastic resulting from the use of household cleaner bottles. It sells cleaners in form of a candy size tablet - just drop it in a bottle, add water, let it frizzle and voila, your cleaning solution is ready to use. One bottle will last a similar amount of time as would the similar-sized bottle of any other cleanser. You can bid adieu to your bulky cleaner bottles and refill packs. Chery on top it is vegan and claims to contain no chemical surfactants.

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🍛Darzi for your Food

What’s the most difficult part of embarking on a healthy lifestyle? Meal-planning right?(experts say exercise plays only 25% role in your weight loss journey, rest is diet). With over 65 calorie counted and portion-controlled meals to choose from, InstaDiet  offers you the option to choose and personalize your diet meal to achieve your desired weight outcome. These fresh meals are delivered to your doorstep. Other than these, you can also order ready-to-eat snacks, milkshake powders, sweets that are again calorie counted and highly nutritious.

☔Absorb it!

Absorbia is part of GB family and while you can give us flak for blowing our own trumpet here, we cannot-not talk about this product as we approach the monsoon season. If the strong musty smell, soggy snacks, and damp clothes test your patience in the rainy season - try Absorbia. It soaks up the excess moisture from its immediate surroundings and collects it as water, preventing all forms of moisture damage. You can get different sized packs to keep in your shoes, closets, car etc. Pretty cool!

Trend of the week: Atheisure🏋️

Pandemic imbibed the idea of comfort over fashion in us and also how we should lead a healthy lifestyle. This has incidentally led to rise of a new category of fashion called athleisure - athletic and comfortable attire that goes for your workouts and casual hangouts. This market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.6%, to reach Rs. 9 Lakh Cr by 2024.

Reads and Recommendations 📚

• After Y-Com, Sequoia warns its portfolio founders about how good times are dead.

• Amazon 101:

  • Why should you segment Amazon Keywords

  • Amazon’s New Product Effect

• 7 books every Indian Entrepreneur should read

That’s all for this week!

Stay tuned for more insights about the D2C ecosystem in India.

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