The Question We Asked
We reached out to 10 Indian D2C founders (ranging from ₹10L/month to ₹5Cr/month in revenue) with one question: ‘What’s the one thing you’re betting big on in 2027?’
Here are their answers, grouped by theme.
Theme 1: AI Everything (4 out of 10 founders)
Founder 1: Beauty Brand, ₹40L/month
‘We’re going all-in on AI personalization. Our AI will recommend products based on skin type, climate, and purchase history. Early tests show 35% higher conversion on personalized product pages.’
Founder 2: Fashion Brand, ₹1.2Cr/month
‘AI for creative production. We’re training AI on our best-performing ad creatives to generate variations at 10x speed. Our creative testing velocity will go from 10/week to 50/week.’
Founder 3: Supplements Brand, ₹25L/month
‘AI customer support is saving us ₹1.5L/month already. In 2027, we’re expanding it to handle pre-purchase product recommendations — basically an AI sales assistant on WhatsApp.’
Founder 4: Home Decor Brand, ₹15L/month
‘AR try-before-you-buy. Customers can see how a wall art piece looks in their room before ordering. This should cut our return rate by half.’
Theme 2: Quick Commerce Expansion (3 out of 10)
Founder 5: Snacks Brand, ₹60L/month
‘Quick commerce went from 0 to 25% of our revenue in 2026. In 2027, we’re creating quick-commerce-exclusive SKUs — smaller packs, impulse pricing, limited editions only on Blinkit/Zepto.’
Founder 6: Personal Care Brand, ₹35L/month
‘We’re shifting 30% of our ad budget from Meta to quick commerce ads. The CPO (cost per order) on Blinkit ads is already lower than Meta for us.’
Founder 7: Baby Care Brand, ₹20L/month
‘Quick commerce solved our biggest problem — ‘I need diapers NOW.’ Parents don’t plan purchases. 10-minute delivery is perfect for baby products.’
Theme 3: Offline Expansion (2 out of 10)
Founder 8: Ethnic Wear Brand, ₹2Cr/month
‘Opening 3 experience stores in tier-2 cities. Our online CAC in tier-2 is too high — customers there want to touch and try. A ₹2L/month store can do what ₹5L/month in ads can\’t.’
Founder 9: Coffee Brand, ₹45L/month
‘Pop-up cafes at co-working spaces. People try our coffee, love it, scan QR → subscribe for monthly delivery. 40% conversion rate from tasting to subscription.’
Theme 4: Community Over Ads (1 out of 10)
Founder 10: Fitness Brand, ₹30L/month
‘We’re building a WhatsApp community of 10,000 fitness enthusiasts. Free workout plans, nutrition tips, challenges. The community sells our products without us running a single ad. Our target: 50% of revenue from community-driven sales by end of 2027.’
Our Take
The common thread across all 10 founders: reduce dependence on paid ads. Whether through AI, quick commerce, offline, or community — everyone is diversifying beyond Meta and Google.
The D2C brands that thrive in 2027 won’t be the ones with the biggest ad budgets. They’ll be the ones with the strongest customer relationships and the most diverse revenue channels.
Want to Plan Your 2027 Strategy?
At Growww Tech, we help D2C brands build diversified growth strategies. Let’s plan your year.
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