Hello! 👋

Happy Monday! Welcome to today’s issue of D2C Pulse highlighting all of the incredible things your fellow founders pulled off last week and updates on some mega enablers of the sector. If you’re enjoying this weekly D2C dose, spread the word by forwarding this newsletter wherever you share good things.

Share GlobalBees D2C Pulse

For all our coffee junkie readers, you better take a look at how expensive your coffee has gotten over time. We would say, stick to the juice by the looks of it!

What’s sizzling hot? 🔥

👕Cool. Creator. Commerce.

ReDesyn - a tech platform where ABCD: AnyBody Can Design and buy, sell or share merchandise (T-shirts, hoodies, etc.) in minutes, raised USD 500K. ReDesyn provides a full stack tech platform to content creators to create products in minutes:

• A dedicated storefront

• End-to-end order fulfillment including logistics

• Analytics dashboard, marketing tools

• “NFT capabilities” (obviously, it’s 2022!)

We checked out their website and got swayed to design our own T-shirts. While we are convinced about our T-shirt design skills (for now), check out some cool work from other designers.

🍞Bread Talk

Switching to a completely healthy lifestyle can be difficult, so why not start with the path of least resistance: stick to your current everyday consumables but just a ‘better version’. E.g. healthier bread and spreads. One of the forbearers of such a simple thought - The Health Factory raised Rs. 2 crore seed round funding last week.

The Health Factory today sells a range of whole wheat bread and multi-protein bread on platforms like Swiggy as well as modern trade stores such as Nature’s Basket swearing by the moto Bread Badlo Aadat Nahi.

⏰Tik Tok on Amazon’s clock

Amazon joins the laundry list of companies that are trying to create TikTok-like social feed - Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Spotify, Netflix. Amazon is testing a vertical photo and video feed in its app. The thesis for such a move could be the fact that TikTok #amazonfinds has 25.6 billion views. So, it makes sense that Amazon may want its customers to find these “Amazon must-haves” natively on its app rather than through TikTok or Instagram Reels.

PS: As Amazon spends more on making shopping frictionless for its users, the cost will eventually trickle down to the sellers. Amazon is raising seller fees for the holidays to manage surging inflation (Dayum!)

🍕D2C Bites

• Why just stop at Pasta love? This D2C start-up gets you Italian beds and furniture. Sunday Design has raised pre-series A funding of $1.5 million. Sunday Design is addressing a white space in the mid-range furniture and home décor segment by bringing together a global design aesthetic and pairing it with local manufacturing.

• HUFT gets Kriti Sanon on board as its brand ambassador.

• Through its accelerator program, Flipkart invested $500K in 6 Tech Startups including B2B logistic startup logistics company, and seller-centric intelligence startup SellerApp.

• Zomato-backed logistics provider Shiprocket joins the unicorn club after a new round of funding that increased its valuation to $1.23 billion.

• Nykaa is betting on e-B2B disruption with SuperStore, an app that connects new-age brands with offline shopkeepers.

Brands that caught our eyes 👀

D2C is geography agnostic. So we were going global with our picks in this segment. From now on, we will share 1 Indian and 1 International interesting brand that caught our eye. ( if you want your brand covered here, hit reply and let us know your brand’s story!)

Leave a comment

🧃Takeaway Smoothie

Packaged juice, coffee, soda… then why not a smoothie? Phyll sells vegan smoothies that are shelf-stable! They are so sure about their product that they offer to refund the cost of your first 6-pack in case you don’t like them. Flavours - chocolate, mixed berry, and green fest.

🦷Solving for the Teething Issue

Teeth a Bit offers a ‘zero’ toothpaste and mouthwash in form of a ‘tablet’ - Zero Alcohol, Zero Water, Zero Dyes, Zero Parabens, Zero Plastic, Zero Spills, Zero Leaks, Zero Cruelty toothcare products. Woah! That’s a lot of zeroes. Using it also sounds super easy - crush 1 bit with your front teeth and chew to form a soft creamy paste and voila!- go at it with your toothbrush. Keep Smiling!

Share GlobalBees D2C Pulse

Trend of the week📈: Candles 🕯️

The global scented candles market size is expected to reach $645.7 million by 2026, and India’s share of this market pie is growing, as disposable income grows and people look at feel-good options in their homes. Brands like RAD Living have candles for different moods (writer’s block), different personalities (tech freaks), messages (be my soulmate) etc. Meanwhile here's an article to settle the reed diffuser vs candle conundrum.

Here’re a few indie brands that caught our eye:

Reads and Recommendations 📚

• In times when Influencers are losing credibility in India KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) is a big business in China. Get into the details here!

• How big is Amazon’s ad business? Here’s the answer.

• The deepest dive into ONDC we have come across to date, a must-read if you are still confused about the very concept!

• CB Insights: The D2C Survival Guide: 5 direct-to-consumer companies that faced disaster — and what other brands can learn from them about business models, culture, and scaling.

• Shopify’s new collab feature to connect sellers with influencers.

That’s all for this week!

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

Liked this week’s issue? Share some love. Click the ❤️ below.