Screw it! Just DIY🛠️

Lenskart gets bigger, ONDC challenges Amazon, FSSAI certified Paan

Jul 4

Hey 👋

June was a crazy month for us at Globalbees. The editorial team went into overdrive during work days and got lazy over the weekends. Before we go any further, apologies for our short hiatus. We’ve been nudged, pushed, and asked a lot of questions about the missing Pulse by all our avid readers. We are finally back online to give you your weekly dose of D2C happenings.

Rajinikanth Style GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

While dark clouds are looming in the start-up ecosystem w.r.t funding, there is still news aplenty about promising D2C brands raising funds and on the marketplace side, government brainchild, ONDC is looking to ramp up in the coming months.

Let's hop right in...

What’s sizzling hot? 🔥

😎Watta Vision

The week saw Lenskart getting a step closer to building Asia’s largest omnichannel eyewear retailer as it acquired a majority stake in Japanese eyewear brand Owndays. This acquisition extends Lenskart presence to 13 more Asian markets including Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The combined revenue run rate of the 2 companies will stand at a whopping $650 mn!

Lenskart seems to have unlocked Scrooge McDuck’s money Walt with its ongoing funding round with Alpha Global at a $4.5 bn valuation and its Singaporean sub Neso raising more than $100 mn. All this success is centered around a 3 pronged game plan:

vertically integrated supply chain
being closest to the customer
and finally the Warby Parker strategy to portray spectacles a fashion accessory!
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🌱Plants, they kinda grow on you

The horticulture sector got a much-needed push in recent years as increasing numbers of millennials became plant parents (some to show off their home gardens on social media). While the sector is still largely fragmented and unorganized, players like Ugaoo, PlantMe Agro are making shopping for home gardening, available at the click of a button.

One such hyperlocal Horticulture marketplace Urvan raised ₹ 3cr.funding round. Urvan’s hyperlocal delivery ensures the plants reach customers fresh & healthy. As per market studies, the Indian horticulture retail market is valued at $2 bn.

🛍️Democratizing e-commerce

Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), GoI alternative to monopolizing platforms, will be opened for public use in 75-100 towns by August.

For the uninitiated, ONDC was started by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade to offer a “decentralized” online structure where buyers and sellers need not be on the same platform to interact (just like UPI).

ONDC network is based on open protocol. It will enable local commerce across segments, such as grocery, food order, and hotel booking, to be discovered and engaged by any network-enabled application.

So, will ONDC be able to generate this level playing? Know more

👚Pop that shop

Luxury fashion e-commerce platform Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop raised $10 mn from actor Madhuri Dixit and a group of investors. Here’s the thesis behind starting the brand - most Indian designers manage to build strong brand equity with consumers but fail to make a commercially viable business. Hence, the inception of Purple Style Labs - an Indian luxury fashion house that will take Indian-origin designers to a global scale.

🗞️Marketplace Updates

Government ❤️ D2C: Suppliers with a turnover of < ₹ 40 L will not have to obtain GST registration for intra-state supplies made through e-commerce portals from Jan1, 2023.
Go Green or go home🌱: After making its packaging eco-friendly, Amazon aims to make its logistics sustainable by sourcing 5000 EVs from Tata.
Can’t digest💩? Zomato to acquire Blinkit for ₹4447 crore in an all-stock deal. But, why is this deal so difficult to digest for the janta? Read here.

🍪 D2C Bites

Low cal ice cream & popsicle brand NOTO raises another round of funding (to the tune of ₹4 cr.!) Scoop it all, NOTO!
Period care startup Lemme Be closed ₹13.5 cr. funding round. PS: Our social media team is obsessed with Lemme Be social strategy and content creation!
Healthy snacks company Open Secret secures funding; while the funding amount remains undisclosed, what we can tell is India’s snack market stood at $5.57 bn in 2020 and is estimated to touch a $13 bn mark by 2026. Yummy!
Brand that has “inspired” many Indian brands - which in turn inspired many brands - The Ordinary, launches in India in partnership with Nykaa.

Brands that caught our eyes 👀

💊Solving the root cause

Ayurveda + Dermatology + Nutrition - is Traya Health’s 3-pronged strategy to tackle hair loss problems as 3 out of every 5 Indians over 26 yrs. of age face some kind of hair fall/loss trouble. Traya offers hair diagnosis followed by a recommended treatment plan on a subscription model. The brand also offers supplements like biotin and hair serums.

FSSAI certified Paan

The Betel Leaf Co. is India's first FSSAI-certified online Paan delivery company that redefines and contemporizes Paan into a more millennial-accepted avatar. They sell 45 flavors of paans, starting from simple ones like mango to adventurous tastes such as tiramisu, that don't spoil for 48 hours. There's also gift packs, subscriptions, and catering! Try it now and let us know if your boujie taste buds like it.

Trend of the week: DIY Tools🧰

Screw it! you don’t urban clap, you can fix it yourself. These brands provide you with all the DIY power tools you need from screwing a nail to cleaning your car to making yourself a bookshelf. The India power tools market was valued at US$ 5,209.0 mn in 2021 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 8.9% over 2021-2028.

PS: If you are a builder at heart and love Goa (who doesn’t): check out Maker’s Asylum. A super cool start-up with a unique offering for all the builders out there.