The era when shopping meant just stepping into a mall or market has long gone. The retail game has been flipped on its head by the rise of D2C (direct-to-consumer) brands in India!
Today’s digitally connected consumers’ shopping preferences have changed the way companies sell and market their products. The Food & Beverage industry has experienced a recent surge of startups establishing their brands using eCommerce to sell their products direct-to-consumer (D2C).
These next-generation brands are building a highly engaged customer following without putting their products on retail shelves, eliminating the need for middlemen and extra costs associated with brick-and-motor locations.
With Indian palates craving more when it comes to fresh and exotic cuisines and flavours, homegrown entrepreneurs have seemingly found a market lucrative is expected to grow to $68 Bn by 2030.
The F&B industry commands a 27% share in the Indian D2C space, just after the beauty and personal care segment at 28.6%.
The influx of new startups with innovative product ranges has revitalised the sector, prompting us to compile a list of the brands.
COUNTRY BEAN
Country Bean started in 2017 is a direct-to-consumer coffee brand that aims to provide a cafe-like coffee experience at home. It is the first flavoured coffee brand of India from Bengal. The company launched in 2018 as India’s first flavoured coffee brand and have served over 4,00,000+ customers since. As a profitable bootstrapped business, they have grown 10x in the last 2 years alone. Country Bean is on a mission to build India’s most innovative coffee company through products that are easy-to-use. They want coffee-drinkers to enjoy great coffee but without the fuss. All of their products focus on the core philosophy of convenience without compromising on taste. They offer flavoured instant coffee and other products that enhance the enjoyment of coffee.
Aditi Somani Satnaliwala, the founder of Country Beans says, “Running it from Kolkata has been a rewarding experience. “Kolkata has some amazing talent and we’ve been fortunate to have some of that incredible talent on our team. We have a wonderful, growing team and it is very fulfilling to hear from customers. The Internet has made it possible to run a national or even a global business from your bedroom — and we are proud to be building one from the City of Joy.”
EAT VERSE
Eat Verse is one of India’s fastest expanding online cloud kitchens, straight from the heart of Kolkata! EatVerse’s growth strategy revolves around expanding its cosmic footprint in Kolkata, bringing its unique culinary offerings to more neighbourhoods and communities. The company aspires to be the go-to destination for food enthusiasts, establishing itself as a key player in Kolkata’s vibrant food scene.
THE BAKLAVA BOX
The Kolkata label The Baklava Box is perhaps the largest online seller of authentic Turkish baklavas in the country and has some terrific gourmet potential. Started by Vatsal Agarwal in 2019, the brand creates sweet and nutty desserts from the Middle East. There’s no denying that Kolkatans love sweets, and when it comes to gourmet desserts, Vatsal knew there’d be many takers. He opened the first store on CIT Road and launched the signature product — Turkish baklavas. Apart from baklavas, they also offer a huge selection of desserts like Turkish delights, kunafas, dates, gourmet cookies, fusion Indian sweets like modak, laddoo and flavoured dry fruits.
BEYOND WATER
“Beyond Water” was launched by Devang Singhania and Shachi Singhania in 2020. It is a pioneering D2C brand that seeks to revolutionise how individuals personalise their water consumption. With its range of portable and convenient products, it provides customisable solutions for hydration issues. This Kolkata-based brand is India’s 1st Liquid Water Enhancer company that turns any glass of water into a flavoured beverage with added vitamins and electrolytes, that too without any calories or sugar. Their mission is to gain people’s trust back in bottled beverages. They want India to drink better. What makes them unique is that they allow their customers to personalise their drinks by adding as much of our concentrates in their water. At the same time, they are the only company whose products are 100% natural, with 0 sugar and 0 calories. They are extremely portable that allow you to make a tasty drink wherever you want on the go
SCOOPSKI
Kolkata- based foodtech start-up, Scoopski was established in August, 2018 by Vedika Tibrewal. Her initial plan was to create a sustainable home kitchen for her mother to manage when the kids moved out. But the idea slowly metamorphosed into something bigger than she expected thanks to the response they got to their edible cookie dough. Currently, Sccopski offers 11 flavours of cookie dough, and a prepaid Gift Card. The cookie dough jars range between Rs 300 and Rs 500 and are available in Nutella Chocochip, Caramel Sea Salt, Biscoff, Monster, Mint Chocolate, and Red Velvet flavours, among others.
SWEET HANDI
Kolkata is known for its sweets, particularly sandesh and rosogolla. However, there’s an entire spectrum of flavours that the city has to offer and Sweet Handi simply exposes this spectrum. This Kolkata startup founded by Abhirup Banerjee is an e-commerce setup that sells Bengali sweets across the country, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. It allows customers to place orders online. The order can be customized according to the geographical location. Sweet Handi has collaborated with all the major sweets retailers in India; therefore, making the delivery of Bengali sweets across India.
The world of D2C is full of opportunities. To succeed in the rapidly evolving retail industry, it’s crucial to focus on innovation, technology, and delivering an exceptional customer experience.
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