Zerodha co-founder and billionaire Nikhil Kamath has a tip for his “entrepreneur buddies” – take Indian brands global instead of looking to open franchises of global brands in India. He added that the Indian narrative is being lapped up globally because of its rich history, royalty, mystique and craft.
“To all my entrepreneur buddies, the future may be to take Indian brands global, not franchise global brands in India. The Indian narrative is getting cool globally, we have mystique, royalty, history, artisan, handmade, exotic, and so much more to sell…” he said.
Kamath added that in earlier years local-manufactured garments were named “John, Peter and Louis” but now Indians have the opportunity to take brands like Subko, Hatti Kaapi abroad.
“What was yesterday a garment manufactured in India called John, Peter and Louis something and marketed by western models, could be tom Subko, Hatti Kaapi, 11.11 etc sold in New York with the faces of Indian artisans who spent hours on each product individually… (sic),” he said.
Kamath had, in an earlier episode in his podcast ‘WTF is with Nikhil Kamath’, asked his guests Mensa Brands founder and ex-Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan, Future Group founder Kishore Biyani and content creator Raj Shamani why Indian brands like Louis Phillipe or Peter England called so, and why they had foreign models on the brand.
Narayanan revealed that the click-through rates on white models were higher, and that western names connoted a western brand that appeared premium to many buyers. “Is it some kind of colonial baggage that we believe that western products are better than Indian ones?,” Kamath had asked, adding that the brand name needs to be thought out carefully, has to mean something, and tell a story.
Kamath also shared in the post why he is leading the Series B funding in Subko Coffee. “There’s a clear lack of understanding about Indian specialty coffee and I think Subko is for me, one such brand that sticks out and wields such potential to change the coffee story of India around the globe. My journey from Subko, transitioning from a customer to an investor, has driven my choice to help craft this story by leading their Series B fundraise,” he said.