Should I chase a high-margin niche product or a high-volume everyday product?
The short answer
As a bootstrapped first-timer, bias toward gross margin, in India, gross margin is the single strongest predictor of which D2C brands ever reach profitability, because it's what pays for CAC, RTO/COD losses, and marketplace fees. High-volume, low-margin products only work once you have real scale and cheap distribution, which you won't on day one. Aim for a product where you keep 55-70% after landed cost, then earn the right to go broader.
A quick summary to orient you. The real value is below: the resources worth your time, from people who've actually done it, not us.
Here are the resources
Hand-picked from around the web, each with a note on why it earns your time. India-specific ones carry a badge.
3 resources2 India-specific3 link-checked
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Why we picked it
A data-backed India newsletter deep-dive arguing that gross margin is the single strongest predictor of which D2C brands reach EBITDA positivity. Exactly the kind of India-specific pattern-matching that explains why revenue growth and profit diverge here.
Why we picked it
This is the checklist we'd hand anyone before they order their first batch: it splits evaluation into market-based criteria (size, competition, seasonality) and product-based criteria (margin, shipping, weight, scalability). It forces you to model real landed economics rather than getting seduced by a big-looking sticker markup.
Why we picked it
Frames where India's D2C ecosystem is headed next - full-stack, quick-commerce-integrated, no longer just 'brands selling online' - essential context for planning a scaling roadmap that doesn't get outdated in two years.
