Leading internet first brands in India 2021, by raised capital

As of March 2021, Firstcry was the leading internet first brand, having raised 553 million U.S. dollars. This was followed by Lenskart. Others on the list including - Rebel Foods, Livspace.com, Fresh to Home, Nykaa and Urban Ladder raised more than 100 million U.S. dollars in funding each.

India’s Internet first brands

Internet first brands record most of their revenue through e-commerce retail even though some do have offline retail options. A booming e-commerce market in India promised a steady inflow of funding for internet first brands. Within the market, the beauty and fashion sectors are popular for investment. The most successful internet first brand in terms of revenue was Urban Ladder.

The Lenskart story

Lenskart represents the story of many internet-first brands in India. In 2010, Peyush Bansal and his co-founders established the online-only brand to sell optical prescription eyewear. The business model filled a market with a huge gap, in addition to making eyewear affordable across the country. Online sales of fashionable eyewear were pushed through new technologies such as 3D - fitting of spectacles. Eventually, much like its counterparts, the company expanded to omnichannel retail.