Of digital-first consumer brands and challenges

Bengaluru-based Sreedhar Prasad, an independent internet business expert, is about to enter the segment that he best understands. He is gearing up to launch a slew of online or digital-first brands, the details of which are under wraps.

Prasad is not the only one ready with a business plan for such direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, a category that is seeing an unprecedented growth. Hundreds of startups aim to establish their online presence in varied consumer product categories, more so in the post pandemic era, which has accelerated digital adoption in the country. This is borne out by Shoptimize, an eight-year-old D2C e-commerce platform that helps brands drive online sales. In the last six months Shoptimize’s business has doubled, says Mangesh Panditrao, its chief executive officer and co-founder. The company provides the technology back-end for internet businesses, as well as analytics, insights and digital marketing.

Panditrao says that even pre-covid they were working with a clutch of new-age D2C brands but as the pandemic hit offline sales, more brands started relooking at their digital presence and strategies.