The first edition of YourStory’s Brands of New India Mega Summit witnessed insightful conversations with some of the most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders on the second and final day of the event.
Licious co-founders Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta; Lizzie Chapman, Co-founder and CEO, ZestMoney; Arjun Vaidya, Venture Lead, Verlinvest India; Darpan Sanghvi, Group Founder and CEO, Good Glamm Group; Malika Datt Sadani, Founder and CEO, The Moms Co.; Rhitiman Majumder, CMO and Co-founder, Pickrr; and more came together at the virtual event to talk about the elements that have been crucial for their success and factors that will further propel the growth of the Indian D2C brands.
You can watch videos from all the sessions from Day 2 of Brands of New India Mega Summit here.
Here is an overview of the grand finale of the Brands of New India Mega Summit 2022:
Trends shaping customer-brand relationship
The day kick-started with conversations on some important enablers for a successful journey of D2C brands - logistics and content. As the day progressed, the summit saw important stakeholders from the D2C ecosystem stress upon the importance of ‘listening to the customer’ to unlock scale and holistic growth.
“A brand is beyond a product. It’s an emotional connection. This is achieved through storytelling and it is integral to building a brand,” said Good Glamm Group’s Darpan in his fireside chat, reiterating the importance of staying “authentic and innovative” in today’s competitive ecosystem.
“Relationship of trust with the customer is essential for long-term success of any business,” said Lizzie in a session where she emphasised on having a distinct and authentic digital relationship with the customers.
Participating in a panel discussion on innovative ways through which a brand can connect with their customers, Malika said, “Trust is the most important pillar for any brand to succeed and for that, they need to have conversations with their customers and create content that’s relevant to their needs.”
Tapping beyond Tier I: The loyal vernacular markets
“In the next phase, Tier ll cities will be the main generator of bigger brands. They have the manpower and we are seeing great traction from these places,” said Pickrr’s Rhitiman during his leadership talk with Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO, YourStory Media.
The importance of building and simplifying solutions for vernacular markets was also brought up in several sessions.
“59 percent of our revenue comes from Tier II and III cities. Consumers from this region show high stickiness, brand loyalty, and a lot more brand love,” said Manish Chowdhary, Co-founder, WOW Skin Science during his panel discussion on improving payments experience for D2C customers.
“Brands should provide the same customer experience to users from Tier ll and lll cities as they do in metro cities. You will find more loyalty in Tier ll cities,” opined Licious’ Vivek, attending a fireside chat alongside his co-founder Abhay.
The D2C frenzy: Factors fuelling further growth
“Reach out. We are an ecosystem and we are here to support each other. Foster those conversations. Give back without expecting in return and buy products,” said Arjun Vaidya, Venture Lead, Verlinvest India while counting the key factors that will foster the growth of the D2C brands further.
Day 2 also saw founders, entrepreneurs, and business leaders put forth their thoughts on elements that businesses should focus on to ensure success in the hyper-competitive D2C space.
“Every consumer is more educated and is interested in taking a step towards health and sustainability. Along with this, constant innovation at product level can be a game changer going forward,” added Akshay Varma, Co-founder, Beco.
Akshay participated in a panel discussion alongside the founders of other emerging D2C brands such as FlexNest, Sleepy Owl Coffee, Open Secret and Praakritik. The summit gave a platform to the next wave of D2C brands to showcase and talk about their vision for the customers and sector at large. Encouraging high potential brands is one of the core objectives of the Brands of New India property.
You can watch videos from all the sessions of Brands of New India Mega Summit here. Don't forget to tag #BrandsOfNewIndia when you share your experience, learnings, and favourite moments from the event on social media.
For information on future events, collaborations, and information regarding the D2C ecosystem, please visit our website.