D2CX Converge Ahmedabad Spotlights Growth Playbooks Of India’s Emerging Consumer Brands

As India’s consumer internet story matures beyond the first wave of ecommerce adoption, the next decade of D2C growth will be shaped by brands that can build strong recall, crack omnichannel distribution, and create products tailored to the country’s evolving consumption habits.

The opportunity is massive, driven by a 500 Mn-strong shopper base, over 800 Mn internet users, rising discretionary spending, deeper internet penetration and the rapid expansion of digital commerce across non-metro markets.

At the same time, the ecosystem is moving beyond the era of digital-first experimentation alone. Founders today are building with sharper focus on unit economics, stronger offline strategies and a clearer understanding of long-term brand building. As competition intensifies and consumer preferences become more nuanced, operator-led insights and peer learning are becoming increasingly valuable for both early and growth stage brands.

Against this backdrop, Inc42, in partnership with Shadowfax, hosted D2CX Converge in Ahmedabad as part of its five-city founder meetup series, focused on bringing together some of India’s most ambitious consumer brand builders in a high-trust, insight-driven setting.

Following earlier editions in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Jaipur, the Ahmedabad chapter carried forward the core ideas behind the series — creating a space where founders can move beyond surface-level networking and engage in practical conversation around growth, distribution, retention, profitability and scaling sustainably in India’s rapidly evolving consumer landscape.

The evening brought together a curated mix of founders and operators from categories spanning food and beverage, personal care, fashion and FMCG — all navigating different stages of scale but facing a common challenge: building enduring consumer brands in an increasingly crowded market.

The sessions featured candid conversations and operator-first insights from the following leaders from India’s D2C ecosystem: 

• Ankit Chona, MD and founder, HOCCO
• Shivam Dang, head of marketing and new initiatives, Shadowfax
• Priyam Parikh, director, Wagh Bakri Tea Group
• Jigar Patel, founder and CEO, Brillare Skin Science
• Sulay Lavsi, founder, Bummer
• Aditi Handa, cofounder, The Baker’s Dozen
• Shiroy Mehta, CEO, Aava Natural Mineral Water
• Karnika Bansal, head of D2C Brands, Shadowfax

Decoding HOCCO’s ₹1,000 Cr Roadmap

The fireside chat, themed ‘Decoding HOCCO’s ₹1,000 Cr Roadmap’, featured Chona. In a conversation with Dang, he unpacked how the brand adapted to India’s evolving food and beverage (F&B) and digital landscape and built a challenger brand by combining differentiated products, operational depth and a sharp understanding of evolving consumer behaviour.

A large part of the discussion centred on HOCCO’s early conviction that India’s mass-premium ice cream segment lacked meaningful innovation despite the rise of several new-age F&B brands. Chona spoke about building products that stood out not just through flavour, but also through visual identity, packaging, and experimentation with formats. 

“Everybody can make a mango ice cream, but to make it look like a mango and smell like a mango, that worked for us.”

He also reflected on why the company chose to scale aggressively from the outset rather than take a cautious, phased approach. Rather than limiting itself initially to a few low-cost SKUs, HOCCO invested heavily early on in manufacturing, supply chain, distribution, and product breadth — a strategy Chona believes helped the brand gain acceptance much faster. 

Beyond growth tactics, he emphasised the importance of financial discipline and operational clarity while scaling consumer brands. Speaking directly to early stage founders in the room, he highlighted strong unit economics and clear visibility into business metrics as non-negotiables before pursuing aggressive scale.  

“If you’re not CM2, CM3, whatever number you want to be at, if you’re not positive there, then I think that is the one thing you need to fix,” he said.

The session also touched upon team building, fundraising philosophy and the importance of aligning with long-term investors and operators who share the founder’s vision. Across the discussion, one theme remained consistent, building enduring consumer brands requires conviction, speed of execution and a willingness to constantly experiment without losing sight of profitability.

The ₹100 Cr Playbook Of New-Age Consumer Brands

The evening’s panel discussion brought together founders building consumer brands across categories such as tea, bread, water, skincare and innerwear to decode what it really takes to scale towards the ₹100 Cr mark in today’s competitive market. Moderated by Shadowfax’s Bansal, the conversation explored everything from finding the right channel mix across D2C, marketplaces and retail to unlocking repeat cohorts, managing burn, building emotional differentiation and adapting to rapidly evolving consumer behaviour without losing brand focus.

Parikh of Wagh Bakri Tea Group said that premiumisation ultimately comes down to building products consumers can trust over the long term, not the short term.

“My grandfather told me two rules. One, if you cannot yourself finish that entire cup of tea that you tasted, don’t put it in the packet. Second, in good conscience, if you cannot give it to your kids, don’t put it in the packet,” he said. 

Speaking about how Brillare built trust in the highly competitive beauty and personal care category, Patel highlighted how salon-led distribution became a strong premiumisation lever for the brand. “It is a saying in our industry, that women trust their hairstylist more than their dermatologist.”

He added that while salons allow brands to command a premium, they also create a far higher accountability loop, making product efficacy non-negotiable.

Meanwhile, Handa of The Baker’s Dozen, questioned the startup ecosystem’s obsession with raising capital early, calling it one of the worst pieces of advice founders receive.

“Raise funds only if you really need to. And don’t raise funds as a habit,” she said.

On the operational side, Mehta of Aava Natural Mineral Water, highlighted why execution and reliability matter far more than vanity metrics when building premium consumer brands.

“Your Instagram followers don’t matter, your bank account balance doesn’t matter, your ads don’t matter, your marketing doesn’t matter. If your supply doesn’t reach on time, you’re out,” the CEO said.

Adding a younger, digital-first perspective to the discussion, Lavsi of Bummer explained how the brand built resonance with Gen Z consumers by deeply understanding emotional buying behaviour in the innerwear category. 

“Most of these guys have not really bought their own underwear in the first place. It’s usually when you’re in a hostel, surrounded by friends, moving around campus in your boxers, that you start wanting to wear something other than what your mom bought for you.” 

As the discussion wrapped up, one theme stood out across categories and business models alike: premiumisation in India is no longer just about pricing higher, but about building deeper trust, stronger operations, and sharper consumer understanding.

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