New-age consumer brands to create $50-bn listed market capitalisation by 2030: Elevation Capital

Even as funding activity shows some signs of a pick-up in the Indian startup ecosystem, there is rising scepticism around the potential for new, large and profitable businesses that can be created in the consumer tech space. Mayank Khanduja, partner at Elevation Capital, the VC firm that has backed over 190 companies and deployed more than $2.6 billion of capital since 2002, however, thinks the opportunity is still large.

Mamaearth (Honasa Consumer) is the only new-age discretionary brand and the Gurugram-based company has a market capitalisation of around $1.7 billion, Khanduja told Moneycontrol. “Now, what we are saying is that by 2030, this cohort of new-age discretionary brands will grow from around $1.7 billion to $50 billion of listed market capitalisation and that will be on the back of 15-20 IPOs in the coming six years.”

The optimism is because of more spending capacity, especially in the hands of Gen Z shoppers. E-commerce penetration and the availability of credit options are the other catalysts which are spurring the growth of consumer brands.

For instance, in 2020, when Elevation invested in Country Delight, a tech-enabled fresh dairy essentials , the average spend per household was about Rs 1,500 per month but that number is now at Rs 4,000, Chirag Chadha, Principal at Elevation Capital, explained. While the average spend increased because of more assortment, Chadha said it was also because customers are showing more willingness to pay for premium products.