In contrast to IT companies and pharma, shopper manufacturers from India have hardly ever gone international.
There are two causes for this, says Ananth Narayanan, Founder and CEO of BRND.ME (previously Mensa Manufacturers), in a fireplace chat with Shradha Sharma, Founder & CEO of YourStory, on the ultimate day of TechSparks 2025.
The primary is that it was very laborious to grasp international customers whereas sitting in India.
That, nonetheless, is altering. The rise of world e-commerce platforms has made it doable to review and serve customers wherever on the planet, he says.
The second purpose lies in how the distribution labored.
“If Dabur wished to enter the Center East, for example, it wanted distributors, workplaces, and native setups earlier than even promoting there. At present, for Rs 120–140 in India, or $4 within the US, you’ll be able to ship virtually wherever on the planet. That’s modified,” says Narayanan.
What wants to alter subsequent, he believes, is ambition. “If Indian founders have international aspirations, we will create the following era of world shopper manufacturers. Why ought to it solely be Unilever and P&G?”
At BRND.ME, Narayanan and his group are constructing in two key areas: well being and wellness—with manufacturers like MyFitness, Botanic Earth, and Majestic Pure—and life-style, the place they now run the most important social gathering and celebration enterprise in India, and the second largest within the US, UK, and UAE.
“So it’s completely doable to construct international manufacturers from India,” he says.
Know-how and AI: New model engine
The opposite massive shift driving this chance is expertise and AI.
“Individuals typically consider tech as front-end tech,” says Narayanan. “However the usage of AI and tech can remodel model constructing itself—from product improvement, pricing and advertisements. All of this may be automated and accomplished very effectively at scale. It lets you compete with the larger guys,” he provides.
Constructing a world model from India
One in every of BRND.ME’s flagship model, Majestic Pure, is now a preferred aromatherapy manufacturers.
“We don’t retail a lot in India as a result of aromatherapy isn’t a big market,” Narayanan explains. “However right here’s the attention-grabbing perception – India is among the many prime three or 4 exporters of important oils, physique oils, therapeutic massage oils, and diffusers. We’ve at all times made the merchandise however by no means constructed a model.”
The corporate needs to alter that through the use of India’s sourcing, design, and expertise benefit to construct international shopper identities.
“That [Majestic Pure] enterprise is now doing round Rs 400–450 crore in annualised income and rising quickly,” he says. “It’s doable to construct scale. It’s doable to grasp customers globally. And it’s doable to construct very attention-grabbing and defensible manufacturers.”
At present, Majestic Pure sells throughout Goal.com, Walmart.com, TikTok Store, and direct-to-consumer channels, effectively past Amazon.
“We’ve a degree taking part in discipline now,” says Narayanan. “We’ve expertise. We’ve nice model managers. Why can’t we construct international manufacturers from India?”
Edited by Affirunisa Kankudti
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