DSGCP Deepak's Musings #112: The e-Conomy India 2023 Report

June 21, 2023

All things consumer & insurgent brands. What I am currently reading, thinking about, and reflecting upon. You can follow me on Twitter at @dishahdadpuri or follow DSGCP at @dsgcp.

🇮🇳🇮🇳 Insights: The Bain & Company-Google-Temasek “The e-Conomy India 2023 Report” 🇮🇳🇮🇳

A must-read for anyone following India and how digitalisation is impacting its one billion connected Indians. From my lens, technology and the internet have opened up so many opportunities as consumers are easier to access and technology has made it possible to offer more personalised products and services.

e-Conomy India 2023

The economy of a billion connected Indians.

Insurgent brands and channel strategy

Yes, insurgent consumer brands who may have first gone to market via online channels are now taking a more omnichannel approach. Most brands will need to be where their target consumers are either to be discovered, trialled or purchased. And given that most Indians still make the bulk of their purchases offline be it at a modern trade or kirana store, brands need to be there. But incumbents should not disregard them and call them hype. Many of these insurgent brands are taking meaningful market share from the market leaders. Examples include bOat, Mamaearth, Veeba and Epigamia to name a few. For those interested, please watch the Bain & Company and DSG Consumer Partners webinar on Game Changers: The Insurgent Consumer Brands Playbook.

Pandemic boom over, D2C brands now switching to offline channels: Tata Consumer MD

Portfolio update: Kopara closes new funding round

It has been wonderful working with Simran Khara over the years on her mission to build India’s leading plant-based cleaning brand. And we are excited to announce DSGCP’s participation in the new round led by our close friends at Saama Capital.

D2C personal hygiene brand Koparo raises USD 1.5 mn in Pre-Series A

With these funds, the company aims to build its offline presence, invest in brand building, and drive product innovation. Earlier, Koparo had raised a seed round of USD 750K last year from Saama and DSGCP, who have doubled down in the current round.

India’s pet market continues to attract investor interest

The latest to invest in this category is global consumer fund L Catterton. DSGCP has invested in Bangalore Headquartered Supertails. We agree with L Catterton, the pet market is at a point of inflection and we are at the start of a long term growth cycle.

L Catterton enters India pet-food market with Drools investment

L Catterton has acquired a minority stake in Indian pet food Drools Pet Food Private Limited in a deal worth around $60m.

Building brands takes time

Three great case studies on building brands sustainably, slowly and brick-by-brick.

The Opposite Of Overnight Success: How U Beauty, Nécessaire And Shani Darden Skin Care Are Carefully Becoming Powerhouses

Previously, it seemed like every brand wanted to be a unicorn. Now, it appears they want to be more like hardy, slow-growing quahog clams.

India’s growing demand for coffee ☕☕

Indian consumers continue to increase their coffee consumption. Expect this to continue as consumers are offered more options and brands, small and large, continue to educate the market and do more activations. We expect a large number of insurgent brands to try and take some of the incremental growth. DSGCP has so far backed Sleepy Owl Coffee which specialise in cold-brew and RTD, and Chai Point which now has a coffee brand C.A.T.

From Third Wave to a fourth wave, India’s specialty coffee market is booming

An unprecedented, pandemic-led specialty coffee boom in India is bringing in new brands, new cafes, new flavours, and a coffee culture that’s here to stay.

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