Festive cheer lights up growth prospects for lesser-known D2C startups

Festive season 2025 boosts visibility and sales for homegrown D2C brands, with creative strategies driving 10-100% growth across startups and small businesses

The ongoing festival season is shaping up to be a big opportunity for lesser-known, home-grown direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands in the country to grow their visibility and win new customers.

 

According to Deloitte India, the festival retail market, which is growing at nearly 23 per cent, provides fertile ground for young brands to scale.

 

“As Diwali lights up homes across the country, it also ignites opportunities, especially for small and young D2C brands ready to break through. The festival season is not just a sales window; it is a stage where discovery meets intent and where sharp storytelling can turn casual clicks into enduring customer love,” a Deloitte India spokesperson said. 

   

The festive retail market is estimated to be $125-$150 billion in 2025.

 

A report by Rukam Capital also said that 43 per cent of shoppers are open to trying new startups, and 61 per cent of Tier-I consumers prefer local brands over big names, essentially showcasing growth prospects for young companies. 

 

As a result of consumers looking to discover new products and local brands, several emerging firms are eyeing to grow 40-50 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y).

 

Skincare company SkinInspired said the festival season encourages exploration among consumers.  

 

“We witnessed close to 100 per cent growth in festival season sales in 2024 compared to 2023, and an additional 50 per cent growth in 2025, reflecting strong repeat purchase behaviour and expanding brand awareness. Our festival season customer acquisition grew from around 5,000 to 15,000 customers, driven largely by our website’s D2C performance, influencer collaborations, and dermatologist-led awareness campaigns,” said Piyush Jain, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the firm.

 

Similarly, Flyberry Gourmet, a gourmet brand, said the festival window (Diwali to New Year) has consistently delivered 35-40 per cent higher sales than regular months, Akarsh Makhija, CEO and founder of the firm, said. 

 

He added, “We expect this festival season to deliver 40-50 per cent growth over last year, supported by stronger visibility, wider availability, and deeper consumer connection. We are targeting 15,000-20,000 new customers this Diwali across all channels.”

 

Not just funded firms, bootstrapped companies are also seeing the festival period as a window to register around 10-20 per cent growth. 

 

Ushra Shah, co-founder of dessert-making company MousseStruck, said, “Taking historic data into account, we are on track to see at least a 20 per cent jump during the Diwali season.”

 

Likewise, Arjun Gupta, founder and CEO of sports and athleisure firm KragBuzz Sports, said, “Over the past two festival seasons, a yearly growth of 10-12 per cent was consistently recorded in our sales. This festival season, we expect a minimum of 10 per cent growth in sales and new customers, backed up by better online visibility, more powerful influencer partnerships, and reach in smaller cities.”

 

Notably, as deep-pocketed brands flood the market with festival discounts, smaller home-grown companies are taking a different route. They are rolling out creative strategies such as curated product bundles, hyperlocal outreach, and tech-driven personalisation.

 

For instance, Vedansh Goyal, founder and director of 1.5 Degree, a company that makes plant-based dairy alternatives, said it's making value packs (instead of deep discounting), launching limited-edition festival flavours with a strong gifting appeal, collaborating with hotels, restaurants, and café/catering (HoReCa) partners, and onboarding users via WhatsApp.

 

Style Lounge, a beauty-tech platform, said, “As part of our strategies to stand out amid heavy festival discounts by larger brands, we are offering festival grooming packages and bridal combos for convenience and high value. This is converting festival trial users into repeat customers, tying up with resident welfare associations (RWAs) and corporates, and reaching customers via WhatsApp,” Deepak Gupta, the co-founder said. 

 

Both companies, 1.5 Degree and Style Lounge, are eyeing over 100 per cent growth during the festival season on the back of innovative strategies.