Thank You, Sponsors, For Making Inc42's Sixth Edition Of The D2C & Retail Summit A Hit

On July 25, Inc42 brought together over 350 of India’s most influential D2C and retail founders, CXOs, investors and enablers for The D2C & Retail Summit 2025 at The Oberoi in Gurugram to chart the rise of new commerce, where D2C and retail merge together. The summit mapped how brands can win for both Bharat and global consumers.

The lines between D2C and traditional retail have blurred, giving way to a new era of unified commerce. The agenda of the sixth edition of The D2C & Retail Summit was meticulously crafted to reflect this reality.

The summit, which was strictly invite-only, intentionally intimate and laser-focused on seasoned leaders sharing their thoughts on building brands for tomorrow, saw intensive discussions on how brands can win both Indian and global consumers.

It brought together an unparalleled mix of 50+ D2C and retail industry leaders, including Viraj Bahl of Veeba, Pawan Gadia of Ferns N Petals, Dr. Shashank Sinha of Drools, Sidhant Keshwani of Libas, Akash Agarwalla of Zoff, Sibabrata Das of Atomberg, Pankaj Vermani of Clovia, Shivani Malik of Da Milano, Kannan Sitaram of Fireside Ventures, and Archana Jahagirdar of Rukam Capital, among others.

The speakers, across 15+ high impact sessions, discussed the most pressing challenges faced by D2C and retail brands today. From cracking offline in an online-first world and decoding the new Indian consumer to breaking into the INR 100 Cr club and mastering the evolving consumer reality – no topic was left unexplored.

Industry experts delved deep into each subject, delivering actionable frameworks to help brands thrive in this convergence. Every session was followed by engaging Q&A rounds, sparking insightful discussions. The day concluded with a networking dinner, where attendees connected with speakers and peers, forging meaningful collaborations.

The day exceeded every expectation–brighter, bolder and more impactful than we imagined! This success wouldn’t have been possible without the relentless support of our sponsors and partners, whose energy and commitment fuelled the event from start to finish.

To them, we extend our deepest gratitude.

Presenting Partner For The D2C Retail Summit 2025 Google

Google has established a significant presence in India’s startup ecosystem through sustained investment and collaboration. As founding members of the NASSCOM 10K initiative and through the Google for Startups Accelerator, it has supported Indian startups with mentorship and technical resources. Its technology infrastructure — spanning AI models, cloud services, Android, and Play, enables companies like Nykaa, Sarvam, and Glance to build solutions across healthcare, education, and climate sectors.

The company continues to expand its partnerships with government entities, such as MeitY Startup Hub, and industry bodies, like NASSCOM, focusing on AI development through programmes like Agentic AI Roadshows and GenAI Buildathon to support early-stage startups.

Satya Raghavan, director, marketing partners at Google was part of a fireside session on the theme, ‘Signals That Convert: The New Funnel For D2C Discovery In 2025’. During the chat, he explained consumer behaviour and how they consume ads, saying, “We used to believe that consumers followed a linear path that first they saw an ad, then came awareness, followed by consideration, desire, intent and finally, conversion. But that traditional funnel is broken. It’s probably dead. To address this, we developed our 4S framework, which suggests that consumers today are streaming, scrolling, searching, and shopping not in any particular order. The key now is to show up across all these touchpoints at the right time.”

Neeti Walia, head of commerce and mid-market sales at Google, participated in a panel discussion on the theme, ‘The Marketing Stack For A New Consumer Reality’. The panel also included Oriflame’s marketing director Irina Bonich, Bold Care’s cofounder & CMO Rahul Krishnan and FreshToHome’s CBO & head, strategic growth Santosh Kumar.

Talking about customer acquisition, Walia said, “Customer acquisition isn’t linear anymore. It’s no longer just searching. There’s video commerce, creators and multiple formats. You need to know which platforms bring meaningful users who actually stay, not just churn out in 30 days.”

Co-Presenting Partners For The D2C & Retail Summit 2025 Nitro

Founded in 2023 by Umair Mohammed, Pratik A and Shamail Tayyab, Nitro Commerce is a Delhi NCR-based startup working to improve how D2C brands approach growth and customer engagement. The company uses AI to help brands tackle common challenges like anonymous website traffic, low conversion rates and complex marketing workflows.

Drawing on over a decade of experience in building marketing technology for some of India’s leading commerce brands, Nitro cofounders are now creating innovative martech solutions to support the next generation of D2C businesses. Nitro’s goal is to make it easier for these brands to scale in an increasingly competitive ecommerce landscape.

Nitro cofounder and CEO Mohammed moderated a fireside chat with Atomberg Technologies cofounder & COO Sibabrata Das on the topic ‘The Multi-Channel Engine Powering Atomberg’s ₹1,000 Cr Brand’.

Shadowfax

Founded in 2015 by Abhishek Bansal, Gaurav Jaithliya, Praharsh Chandra and Vaibhav Khandelwal, Shadowfax is a Bengaluru-based logistics startup offering end-to-end solutions across express, hyperlocal and third-party logistics (3PL) services. The company caters to a wide range of clients, including e-commerce businesses, quick commerce platforms, SMEs and individual customers.

Shadowfax’s comprehensive offerings include express parcel delivery, hyperlocal fulfillment and specialised solutions for critical logistics and large-format shipments. Its intelligent technology platform connects enterprises with a vast delivery network, enabling order fulfillment across 14,300+ pincodes.

With an expanding EV fleet supporting sustainable logistics, Shadowfax is driven by its mission to build the fastest and most reliable logistics network in India. The company has shipped over 1 Bn parcels to date.

Shadowfax cofounder & CEO Abhishek Bansal was part of a fireside chat with Noise cofounder Gaurav Khatri on the topic ‘Noise @ ₹2,000 Cr: Building A Mass Wearables Brand From India’.

Meanwhile, Shadowfax cofounder & CBO Praharsh Chandra took part in a panel discussion on the topic ‘What It Takes To Win In A Speed-Obsessed Fashion Market’. The session also saw participation from NEWME cofounder & COO Shivam Tripath, Clovia founder & CEO Pankaj Vermani, and Libas founder & CEO Sidhant Keshwani.

During the discussion, Chandra emphasised the importance of speed in the supply chain. “Speed is still not built into the design layer for most brands. If you start thinking about speed from the SKU design stage, choosing which products to prioritise for quick commerce or regional dispatches, it can change your supply chain outcomes dramatically,” he added.

Powered By Simpl

Simpl, founded by Nitya Sharma in 2015, is a merchant-first network promising to make digital payments seamless and intuitive. Built around the idea of trust, Simpl enables merchants to offer a smoother, more personalised transaction experience to their customers.

With a presence across more than 26,000 merchants and millions of users nationwide, Simpl is working toward a more inclusive and frictionless payments ecosystem in India – one that strengthens the relationship between businesses and their customers through every transaction.

Shivam Dang, senior director of growth partnership & B2B marketing at Simpl, moderated a panel discussion on the topic ‘The Marketing Stack For A New Consumer Reality’.

Associate Partners Peak XV Partners

Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India and SEA) is a leading venture capital firm with 18 years of experience investing across India and Southeast Asia.

The firm has backed over 400 startups globally, with 40+ portfolio companies crossing $100 Mn in revenue. In India, Peak XV is one of the most active investors, with multiple unicorns in its portfolio.

Beyond capital, Peak XV runs community-driven programmes and cohorts, including Surge, Spark, The Guild and Pathfinders, which provide guidance and expertise to founders to scale their ventures.

Rukam Capital

Delhi-based Rukam Capital is an early-stage investor in consumer products and services companies with significant growth potential and the promise of substantial returns. The VC firm targets businesses that combine innovation with a strong mission. Recently, the firm expanded its investment portfolio with the launch of Rukam Sitara, a new arm focused on backing high-potential tech startups.

Among its portfolio are notable startups such as GO DESI, Burger Singh, Beco and Curefoods. The firm is dedicated to backing purpose-driven founders who are committed to solving complex problems at scale through their products and services.

Rukam Capital’s founder & managing director, Archana Jahagirdar, was part of a panel discussion on the topic ‘Decoding The New Indian Consumer’, along with Wipro Consumer Care – Venture’s managing partner Sumit Keshan, Fireside Ventures’ cofounder & partner Kannan Sitaram and TMRW’s cofounder and CEO Prashanth Aluru.

Emphasising the role of Gen Zs in shaping consumer brands, Jahagirdar said during the discussion, “The emergence of Gen Z has been a game-changer for consumer brands. What’s really shifted is that the lumpiness of building separately for tier I & II has gone away, thanks to social media, aspirations and consumption are now quite similar across regions. Today, brands can speak in one voice to Gen Z, regardless of where the consumer lives.”

TMRW

Launched in 2022 as a digital-first “House of Brands” under Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, TMRW is a Bengaluru-based accelerator empowering founders in the fashion and lifestyle space. Cofounded by Prashanth Aluru, alongside a team of industry veterans, its mission is to empower founders in building fashion and lifestyle brands through designs that speak and technology that listens.

TMRW partners with disruptive brands such as WROGN, Bewakoof, The Indian Garage Co., Nobero, Urbano, Vierdo, NautiNati and JuneBerry to offer full-stack support, from design and sourcing to digital marketing, manufacturing and analytics. With intelligent trend-sensing, the platform enables rapid product launches–sometimes monthly–to serve Gen Z and millennial consumers.

TMRW’s Prashanth Aluru featured in a panel discussion on the topic ‘Decoding The New Indian Consumer’. He emphasised the role of personalisation and explained how GenAI is powering it, saying, “Premiumisation is happening across every customer cohort. That makes it even more critical than personalising for a segment of one. But with the power of GenAI, personalisation can now enhance every stage of the journey, from faster checkouts to sharper recommendations or even real-time fashion advice.”

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