Aakash Malhotra

Deepdive: It’s crazy how quickly Jiomart is finally gaining market share in quick commerce, and yet nobody is talking about it. So, here are some numbers that deserve everyone’s attention. But, before presenting the numbers, we need to set the context. Let’s dive in! ... Reliance has decided not to focus solely on Tier-1 India, where competition is fierce and heavily targeted, which requires significant discounts and marketing spend. Instead, it has expanded massively into over a thousand cities at once, giving it a strong presence in smaller markets where there is little to no competition. Because there’s hardly any competition, it is promising 30-minute delivery times, which work well across much of India. This approach helps to improve profitability per order, making it a smart move. ... And the best part? Since most of these markets are in smaller cities, Reliance can service them using existing stores rather than setting up new dark stores. This strategy offers two major benefits: 1 - It reduces costs related to establishing and running new dark stores. 2 - It ensures a better turnaround of inventory from existing stores … And it’s all working, even though media isn’t reporting on it. How do I know? Numbers. The growth figures are astonishing. Look at the average daily orders: - For all of Jiomart (whether offering 30-minute delivery or not), in FY25, average daily orders increased by 62%. - In Q1 FY26, this jumped by an impressive 68% quarter-over-quarter and a staggering 175% year-over-year! ... This represents true market expansion in quick commerce because, in many of those thousand cities, services like Blinkit, Zepto, and Instamart are not yet available. In fact, Instamart, which has the widest coverage of all major quick commerce players in India, is present in 130 cities. Jiomart Quick is already delivering 30-minute deliveries in over 1,000 cities. This is a full-scale land grab in action. Did you know this? .. PS: I release several biz/economy deepdives like this one daily. If you liked this one, do hit that “Follow” button, and join my WhatsApp community where I share a lot more such insights with 31k+ people every day: https://lnkd.in/gg7ThrEG Best, Jayant

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Most D2C brands don’t fail because of the product. Not because demand isn’t there. Not because the team lacks creativity. And definitely not because they didn’t post enough on Instagram. They struggle because their content isn’t aligned with the buyer’s journey. I see it all the time: The team is posting great stuff. But it’s scattered. Reactive. Disconnected from how customers actually buy. The result? Lots of effort, little traction. High CAC, low retention. Strong top-of-funnel, but zero momentum after checkout. What’s missing isn’t content, it’s clarity. You don’t need more content. You need the right content, mapped to the right moment. That’s where the D2C Growth Funnel comes in. It’s not a marketing trend. It’s the strategy behind consistent, scalable growth: 1️⃣ Attract with relevance 2️⃣ Capture with education 3️⃣ Nurture with proof 4️⃣ Convert with trust 5️⃣ Expand with experience Every high-performing brand I’ve worked with, whether they’re bootstrapped or 8-figure Follows this pattern. Because when your content mirrors your customer’s mindset, everything changes: → Lower CAC → Higher AOV → Better LTV → More repeat buyers This isn’t just theory. It’s the engine behind brands that grow faster and stay growing. Save this for your next campaign planning session. Share it with your marketing team. Or just steal the funnel and make it your own. ♻️ Repost to help another founder. Follow Marc Allard for real growth strategies that scale.

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We just wrapped up something special with the Delhi Government on the occasion of #PM Modi’s birthday 🎉🇮🇳 What made this project exciting wasn’t just the scale—it was how we pulled it off. #AI completely flipped the game for us: ⚡ Pre-production → scripts, storyboards, even scene mockups, all AI-accelerated. 🎥 Production → AI-generated models, virtual sets, cinematic shots without the usual heavy lifting. ✨ Post-production → edits, VFX, multilingual versions, all turned around in record time. What used to take weeks with giant crews and budgets? AI did it in days—with more creative freedom than ever before. This isn’t just a #campaign. It’s proof of how AI is rewriting the rules of video creation—before, during, and after the shoot. The result? A powerful, emotionally charged film that set a new benchmark for government communication. If you’re still thinking AI is a tool, you’re missing the point. It’s a full-blown creative revolution. Megalodon #marketing #ArtificialIntelligence

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When a brand sells over 90 T-shirts every minute in a year… you know it’s not just fashion, it’s a movement. Zudio Trent Limited isn’t here to play safe—it’s rewriting India’s fast fashion playbook. With prices starting at ₹399 and stores popping up across Bharat, it’s winning hearts from metros to Tier-3 towns. 📌 FY24 in 60 Seconds. 👕 90 T-shirts sold. 👖 20 pairs of denims sold. 🌸 19 fragrances sold. 💄 17 lipsticks sold. And that’s every single minute. 📈 Market Context: India’s apparel market: $87B+ in 2024 Fast fashion CAGR: ~18% Rising disposable income in Tier 2–3 cities is fueling Zudio’s growth engine. This is what happens when a brand nails: ✅ Affordable pricing. ✅ Trendy designs. ✅ Massive store expansion. ✅ Understanding what Bharat actually wants. The Strategy Lesson for #Founders & Retailers: Win the frequency game. If your customers keep walking back through the door — price and scale can turn a mid-size retailer into a national phenomenon in just a few years. From college kids to working professionals, everyone’s walking into Zudio… and walking out with more than they planned.

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Often times there's a tussle on how a person working in a marketing agency would bring value to a brand. Or, how a person working with a brand would adapt to the agency. 1. Working with many brands as an agency partner gives a breadth of experience. While with a single brand, it's about deep work. 2. With agency; you touch multiple categories, execute, recommend, design playbooks, make campaigns, solve for CAC, product pages, landing, creatives, so on. With brand; you own one p&l, you breathe one logo, handle budget, supply chain, pricing, positioning, launches. 3. With agency; you are exposed to tons of datasets (brands, categories, campaigns), you learn and recognize patterns, very much like machine learning. While with a brand, it's more like Gen AI. You build equity, voice, products. Every output is unique to that one brand. .... Having worked in both the places (corporate experience in agency and building Pueritia from scratch), I can confidently say - More than anything it's about the mindset. People trying to switch to a brand for better work life balance, and brand folks switching to agencies for better salaries. Spoken to so many people during these years, when they were at the cross-juncture. Agency sharpens your speed and accuracy, while brand sharpens your building abilities and patience. Any smart person with the right attitude can make this switch easily and thrive successfully. #agency #brand #marketing

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They burnt ₹32 lakhs on ads. And return? Barely enough to cover costs. The founder told me that "We thought scaling meant doubling ad budgets. Instead, we doubled our losses." I took a few hours, and found what actually went wrong. 👇 1️⃣ No funnel thinking → Traffic was coming, but there was no path beyond the first click. 2️⃣ Creative fatigue → Same ads, same messaging. Customers scrolled past without noticing. 3️⃣ Wrong KPIs → Focus was on “reach” and “views,” not actual conversions. When we stepped in, the goal wasn’t to spend more. And what we did at House of Unblur to fix the leaks: ✔️ Cut 40% of wasteful campaigns ✔️ Introduced fresh creative variations weekly ✔️ Shifted focus from vanity metrics to revenue-linked KPIs Same spend. 3.5x revenue. The lesson? 💡 Brands don’t fail because ads don’t work. They fail because the system doesn’t work. I personally believe that scaling isn’t pouring more fuel but it’s repairing the engine first. #trend #brands #ads #lesson #scaling

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We audited a brand where the founder kept switching off Top-of-Funnel (TOF) ads because of “low ROAS.” But here’s what they didn’t see 👇 → Those same TOF ads were reaching new audiences and driving them into the funnel, ultimately feeding the MOF + BOF campaigns. → When they turned them off, no new prospects entered, causing the entire funnel to collapse. After rebalancing spend across TOF-MOF-BOF, the brand saw: ✅ 30% lower CAC ✅ Higher repeat purchases ✅ More consistent scaling The takeaway? Judge your funnel as a team sport: TOF ads act like a playmaker in football, setting up the passes that allow your MOF and BOF campaigns, the strikers, to score conversions.

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👉In 2002, entrepreneur Vivek Sahni took a big risk. After running a graphic design firm for nine years, he decided to start something very different—a beauty and skincare brand built on the ancient science of Ayurveda. 👉 Along with partners Dave Chang, Rajshree Pathy, and Vikram Goyal, he launched Kama Ayurveda. 👉 The idea was simple yet powerful—bring authentic Ayurvedic beauty products into modern lifestyles. But turning this idea into reality was not easy. 👉 In the early days, Kama Ayurveda began with only nine products. These were sold in select outlets like Good Earth, The Oberoi salons, and Taj Khazana stores. 👉 But sales were small, and very few people knew about the brand. Competing with big, established names in skincare was tough. 👉 To make things worse, Ayurveda was not as trendy back then as it is today. Convincing customers that Ayurvedic products were effective and worth the price was a challenge. 👉 Many times, progress was slow, and growth looked uncertain. 👉 But instead of giving up, Vivek and his team decided to push harder. They tied up with the 100-year-old Arya Vaidya Pharmacy in Tamil Nadu, which gave them authentic formulations and access to natural ingredients. 👉 Slowly, they expanded their product range to include skincare, haircare, and body products. Word-of-mouth marketing helped spread awareness. 👉 For almost 10 years, they worked hard to build credibility. Finally, in 2012, Kama Ayurveda opened its first exclusive store in Khan Market, New Delhi. This was a turning point. Two years later, they went digital with their website and social media presence, reaching a wider audience. 👉 The brand grew rapidly after that. By 2019, global beauty giant Puig invested in the company. Some of Kama Ayurveda’s products, like Kumkumadi Beauty Fluid and Bringadi Hair Treatment Oil, became bestsellers. 👉 Today, the brand has 56 stores, 45 shop-in-shops, and sells online through Amazon, Nykaa, and Flipkart. 👉 Even during the COVID-19 lockdown, when stores were shut, the company adapted by offering online consultations and strengthening digital sales. 👉 From struggling with limited sales to now clocking Rs 110 crore in revenue, Kama Ayurveda’s journey proves that patience, persistence, and belief in one’s vision can turn struggles into success. 👉 The brand continues to grow, staying true to its promise—authentic, chemical-free Ayurvedic beauty for a modern world.

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