Jewellery has been an integral part of Indian culture for centuries. From wedding ceremonies and family gatherings to festivals or regular wear, Indians just can’t do without it. This is probably one of the key reasons that has propelled India to secure a prominent position in the global jewellery industry.
According to a Statista report, the Indian jewellery industry garnered a staggering revenue of $76.77 Bn in 2023, making it the world’s leading market in the sector, surpassing China, the US, Japan, and Russia. Furthermore, the industry is projected to maintain a compounded annual growth rate of 4.93% by 2026.
Another notable study from Inc42’s State of Indian Ecommerce Report 2023 reveals that 47% of cross-border sales on Amazon pertain to jewellery.
Moving on, the jewellery industry has lately undergone a paradigm shift, with the new generation now seeking lightweight, minimalist, and customised jewellery to complement the contemporary lifestyle.
However, what has fuelled this shift is worth understanding. Per Ishendra Agarwal, the founder of D2C jewellery brand GIVA, “Earlier people used to look at jewellery as an investment, but today, it is more about fast fashion, justifying Indians inclination towards lightweight jewellery. Notably, this trend entered the US and China a few years ago and has started impacting India of late.”
Moving on, traditional jewellers, on the other hand, have today transitioned to understanding their customers through data-driven insights. Moreover, we today have SaaS startups that offer end-to-end tech solutions tailored to fit all key requirements of jewellers. Further, many jewellery stores, both online and offline, are today using augmented reality (AR) to woo customers. And we have barely scratched the surface here.
Notably, at the forefront of the Indian jewellery industry’s current state of affairs are the increasing number of startups in the space, which are leaving no stone unturned to set the latest industry.
Consider Metaman for example — the Bengaluru-based startup is determined to shake up the men’s accessories and jewellery market. Similarly, Jaipur-based Voylla started with women’s jewellery but ventured into the men’s jewellery space in 2015. Today, the startup takes pride in crafting contemporary accessories per the current fashion trends.
According to Inc42, India currently has more than 15 funded jewellery startups, which have together raised more than $288.6 Mn since 2014. These new-age ventures are not only addressing the evolving taste of Indians but also playing a key role in writing the next chapter of the Indian jewellery industry.
A day ahead of Dhanteras, we have compiled a list of 10 startups that are making waves and setting new trends in the glamorous Indian jewellery industry.
(Note: The list below is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. We have listed the startups in
alphabetical order.)
1. Bluestone
Founded in 2011, BlueStone is an omnichannel jewellery startup that offers a diverse range of over 8,000 exquisite designs, spanning categories like rings, pendants, and earrings.
The company generates revenues from online sales and a network of both company-owned and
franchise-operated retail stores.
This direct-to-consumer (D2C) jewellery brand recently secured INR 550 Cr from existing and new investors. Some of the key names that backed the startup include Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha; Ranjan Pai, the chairman of the Manipal Group; Amit Jain, the CEO and cofounder of Cardekho Group; Deepinder Goyal of Zomato, etc.
In the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), the Bengaluru-based startup’s operating revenue stood at
INR 770.7 Cr, up 67% year-on-year (YoY).
Furthermore, there are reports that Singapore’s Temasek Holdings is poised to invest $100 Mn in the Tata-backed startup for an approximately 20% stake. The investment deal is expected to confer a valuation of nearly $500 Mn upon BlueStone.
2. Caratlane
Chennai-based CaratLane is an omnichannel jewellery brand, which offers a diverse selection
of loose diamonds. Incorporated in 2008 by Mithun Sacheti and Srinivasa Gopalan, CaratLane functions as a subsidiary of Titan. Over the years, the company has successfully secured a total of $617.8 Mn in five funding rounds.
Titan is poised to acquire a 27.18% stake in CaratLane for INR 4,621 Cr. This investment places a valuation of over INR 17,000 Cr ($2 Bn) on CaratLane, officially elevating the omnichannel jewellery brand to unicorn status.
CaratLane operates in both India and the United States. Two years ago, the startup launched international shipping to overcome existing geographical and economic barriers.
Today, as part of the Tata Group heritage, the company boasts an extensive presence with over 123 retail stores spanning 45+ Indian cities.
Additionally, it is equipped to ship globally to 132 countries, including the USA, the UK, Singapore, Dubai, Australia, and Canada.
3. GIVA
Ishendra Agarwal, Nikita Prasad, and Sachin Shetty founded GIVA in 2019 to provide exquisite silver jewellery. However, the startup has since pivoted to offering gold jewellery to its customers.
As of July 2023, the D2C jewellery brand boasted its presence in over 50 stores in major Indian cities, along with plans for nationwide expansion over the next five years. Committed to innovation, GIVA launches more than 250 new designs every month.
Currently, the Bengaluru-based startup ships to Australia, Cambodia, the Caribbean, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, the US, Spain, Thailand, the UK, and Vietnam.
It last raised INR 270 Cr ($32.9 Mn) in a Series B funding led by Premji Invest in July.
4. GoldSetu
Incorporated by Vikas Verma and Anuj Sachdev in 2021, GoldSetu is a B2B jewellery startup, which enables jewellers to purchase, organise, market, and sell jewellery.
The startup also takes pride in its mission to revolutionise the Indian jewellery business with its end-to-end tech solutions tailored to fit all key requirements of jewellers.
The startup also showcases itself as a one-stop B2B jewellery store for jewellery retailers and claims to have an extensive inventory, comprising more than 50,000 products across categories like gold, diamond, platinum, and other high-quality jewellery items.
Since its inception, the company has secured a total of $2.3 Mn across four rounds. Notably, the SaaS startup strengthened its presence in the space by acquiring BuymyJewel, a B2B jewellery ecommerce company, last year for an undisclosed amount. Simultaneously, it raised $1.1 Mn in October 2022 to support its growth initiatives.
5. Melorra
Founded in 2016 by Saroja Yeramilli, Melorra offers lightweight and fashionable gold and diamond jewellery for a contemporary wardrobe.
The Bengaluru-based startup sells jewellery through its website and offline stores. It delivers across 26,000 pin codes across India, the US, the UK, Europe and the UAE. In India, the startup has a presence in 718 districts and over 2,800 towns.
Since its inception, Melorra has secured $94.4 Mn in nine funding rounds. It last raised $16 Mn in a Series D round in May 2022.
The company enjoys the backing of 23 investors, with the SRF Family Office and Axis Growth Avenues AIF-I being its most recent backers. Melorra claims to have grown at a CAGR of 200% in the past few years and asserts to have clocked revenue of more than INR 360 Cr in FY22. In the short term, the D2C jewellery brand aims to generate $1 Bn in revenue by FY26.
6. MetaMan
Founded in 2022 by Anil Shetty, MetaMan sells men’s jewellery like bracelets, pendants, chains, earrings, and rings. Its investors include Nikhil Kamath from Zerodha, Prashanth Prakash from Accel Partners, and cricketer KL Rahul.
Its entire product range is priced below INR 10,000, targeting the increasing demand for men’s jewellery. Initially launching with 25 designs priced under INR 2,000, the startup’s current emphasis is on men’s fashion jewellery and essential product categories.
However, the D2C brand envisions expanding in various directions and branching into additional product Recently, Shetty told inc42 that he plans to sell the company’s products via online marketplaces such as Nykaa Man, AJIO Live, and Flipkart, among others. Going forward, Metaman plans to foray into the fine jewellery segment by launching its gold jewellery line and building variations on top of it, such as a line for different occasions.
Additionally, the brand recently acquired millennial-focussed luxury jewellery brand Drip Project for $1 Mn to strengthen its presence in the growing Indian online men’s jewellery market.
7. Pipa Bella
Founded by Shuchi Pandya in 2013, Pipa Bella is an online store that offers custom and ready-made fashion jewellery at affordable prices.
The startup, which was acquired by Nykaa in 2021, launched approximately 100 new styles of fashion accessories every week that are all priced well between INR 500 to INR 3,000. Its target audience consists of fashion-conscious urban women aged between 22 and 35 who are active on social media and quick to adopt the latest trends.
Pipa Bella draws its name from two European terms that mirror the company’s product range and its diverse customer base. A typical “Pipa” woman is bold, edgy and always ready to experiment and a typical “Bella” woman is a classicist, graceful, and more conservative.
The startup has secured a total of $1.6 Mn in two funding rounds since its inception from investors like LionRock Capital and Fireside Ventures.
8. Priyaasi
Gurugram-based Priyaasi, which started by selling just a few hundred fashion jewellery pieces in 2015, witnessed remarkable growth, reaching over 90,000 pieces sold per month in 2020.
The bootstrapped startup achieved a turnover of more than INR 35 Cr in the same year.
Despite having a minimal social media presence, this D2C brand successfully expanded its operations across various online marketplaces. Priyaasi’s journey began when its founder, Priyanka Khandelwal, launched the startup on Myntra in 2018. As of today, Priyaasi has established a strong presence on major fashion platforms, including Nykaa, Amazon, and Flipkart.
Mensa Brands acquired Priyaasi on October 6, 2021. The D2C brand currently operates across online marketplaces and has expanded its presence on the international stage by recently launching on Amazon US.
According to Khandelwal, the brand’s revenue experienced remarkable growth, increasing by over 100% from INR 16 Cr in FY20 to INR 35 Cr in FY21.
9. Sukkhi
Established in 2012, Sukkhi Jewellery is a retail startup that specialises in the design and sale of jewellery collections for women.
Founded by Bhavesh Navlakha, Sukkhi was incorporated with a vision to provide quality and trendy fashion jewellery at competitive prices.
Initially started as an exclusively offline brand, the company expanded its horizons by introducing its website in October 2016 and then scaled its presence to 27 diverse online marketplaces and made foray into two international markets.
As of 2018, online sales accounts for 33% of its revenues. The company claims to have grown at a CAGR of over 100% since its inception. The Mumbai-based jewellery startup raised $7 Mn in funding from Carpediem Capital and Duane Park in 2018.
10. Voylla
Founded in 2011 by Vishwas Shringi and Jagrati Shringi, Voylla is a Jaipur-based fashion jewellery startup. Voylla is an omnichannel brand with a presence across multiple online channels and 250 offline stores across India.
Voylla started with women’s jewellery, further venturing into the men’s jewellery space in 2015. The brand now offers women’s jewellery across 11 categories and men’s jewellery across 10 categories, in materials such as gold, silver and pearl, among others. Since its inception, the jewellery brand has secured over $15.5 Mn in funding from Peepul Capital and Snow Leopard Technology Ventures.
The startup claims one of its USPs is the traditional art-inspired designs, crafts and narratives to create contemporary accessories per the current fashion trends.
The post Shining Brightly: Meet The 10 Indian Startup Gems In The Homegrown Jewellery Industry’s Crown appeared first on Inc42 Media.