Indian consumers willing to pay premium for differentiated products, says Bluestone CEO

Lenskart co-founder Peyush Bansal along with Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, Co-founder and CEO at Bluestone at Startup Mahakumbh in Delhi

Highlighting a shift in Indian consumer behavior, Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, Co-founder and CEO of jewelry brand Bluestone, said people are willing to pay high price for quality and differentiated products.

In a recent statement, Kushwaha emphasized the changing preferences, particularly among the new generation, who are increasingly valuing uniqueness over traditional price sensitivity.

He explained, "For a long time, product innovation stopped in the category (jewelry) as everyone assumed that people will not pay for quality designs. The category itself became boring, and a lot of new generation folks started moving away from it."

Kushwaha was speaking at a fireside chat, alongside Lenskart co-founder Peyush Bansal at Startup Mahakumbh in Delhi.

Debunking the notion, Bluestone claims to have adopted a design-heavy approach, offering high-quality designs with transparent pricing, including higher making charges.

Kushwaha observed a surprising openness among consumers towards this approach, indicating a willingness to invest in products that stand out in terms of design and quality.

While acknowledging that the market has shifted significantly, the CEO believes there is still ample room for growth.

"If you have a great product, people are open to paying for that," he added.

Pyuish Bansal, echoing Kushwaha's sentiments, attributed this shift to people's aspirations for improved lifestyles.

"People have aspirations. Now, a key question is whether people will pay for the brand. A brand is not advertising. Just because you are heavily advertising, doesn’t mean you can charge a premium. It comes with a trust or some proposition of design,” he stated.

Bansal emphasized the importance of credibility in building a brand over time. "You (brand) need to gain that credibility over a period of time,” he added.

Offline VS online

On being asked about effectiveness of online and offline or hybrid channels to offering a D2C product, Bansal remarked, “These are mere buzzwords. I don’t believe in them. When we opened our stores, we did not even know about these terms. It’s all about knowing your customers.”

He further elaborates, “Customer doesn't walk away with channel, but with a product. You need to know what business you are in and what is the service you're providing. Rest everything you have to learn to cut out and just focus on that.”

The Lenskart co-founder drew instance from his own experience with the brand, saying how it struggled to have a potential buyer purchase its product online, which eventually led them to open offline stores.

“The conversion rates were 2-3 percent. We were wasting a lot of money getting people on the website, but they were not buying. So we opened store for trails, and the same customers started coming to there, and hence it became omnichannel. But you cannot start with a channel. Start by solving a problem and customise accordingly,” he said.