D2C

The resources brand builders actually use.

Every guide, video, podcast, report and tool behind 482 answered questions on building a direct-to-consumer brand, in one place, each with a note on why it is here.

What founders use most, ranked by how many answers lean on it.

  1. The technical registry documentation, mostly relevant if you or your dev team are evaluating a seller app's integration... GitHub Article ONDC Developer Docs, Onboarding of Participants ONDC-Official
  2. The cleanest plain-English explainer of how ONDC actually works end to end, from a credible business publication rather than a... Forbes India Article ONDC Explained: What Is It, Top Buyer and Seller Apps, and More Forbes India
  3. A neutral, well-sourced overview of ONDC's origin, governance and structure, useful background before you take any single... Wikipedia Article Open Network for Digital Commerce Wikipedia contributors
  4. A deeper strategic explainer on why ONDC exists and what it's trying to disrupt, useful context for understanding the network's... Inc42 Article How India's Ambitious ONDC Project Can Reinvent Indian Ecommerce Inc42
  5. A logistics provider's view of packaging, useful because it connects design choices directly to shipping cost and damage rates,... sekologistics.com Article Ecommerce Packaging Innovations for D2C Brands SEKO Logistics
  6. India's largest ecommerce logistics platform's own best-practices guide, written for the exact courier, RTO and damage... shiprocket.in Article Best Packaging Practices for eCommerce Sellers Shiprocket
  7. A full India-specific unboxing-experience guide from a packaging supplier, useful for budget-tiering ideas from a plain kraft... upackarts.in Article D2C Brand Packaging India: Unboxing Experience Complete Guide Upackarts
  8. A detailed, India-specific breakdown of exactly what must appear on food packaging and which materials need BIS certification... foodsafety.institute Article FSSAI Packaging and Labelling Requirements Food Safety Institute
  9. The real story of one of India's leading sustainable packaging suppliers, useful both as a supplier lead and as a case study in... yourstory.com Article Sustainable Packaging Provider Bambrew Readies for the Next Phase YourStory
  10. Makes the business case for why partnerships deserve a line item in your growth plan rather than being an occasional favour to... adroll.com Article Brand Partnerships: Why They Matter for D2C Brands AdRoll
  11. The widest example set in one place - Starbucks x Spotify, Nike x Apple, Taco Bell x Doritos - useful for pattern-matching what... blog.hubspot.com Article 20 Examples of Successful Co-Branding Partnerships (and Why They're So Effective) HubSpot
  12. Positions co-branding as a full growth-channel strategy for 2026 rather than a one-off tactic, with performance data (3x... creatorcommerce.shop Article Brand-to-Brand Partnerships: 2026 Playbook CreatorCommerce
  13. An Indian ecommerce agency's collection of D2C brand success stories - useful as further reading once you've internalised the... greenhonchos.com Article Ecommerce Case Studies and D2C Brands Success Stories Green Honchos
  14. The clean baseline definition of co-branding as a distinct marketing strategy - useful as the term-of-record reference when you... en.wikipedia.org Article Co-branding Wikipedia contributors
  15. A D2C-specific (not generic SaaS) comparison of the big three Indian gateways, weighing fees, settlement speed and AMC rather... dhanaay.com Article Best Payment Gateway India 2026: Razorpay vs Cashfree vs PayU Dhanaay
  16. A broader roundup beyond just GoKwik vs Shopflo, useful for seeing the full competitive set, including smaller or cheaper... decentro.tech Article 15 Best Checkout Apps for eCommerce Stores Decentro
  17. Straight from Shopify on what checkout extensibility actually lets you build, UI extensions, Shopify Functions, the Branding... shopify.com Article Checkout Extensibility Opens New Ways to Customize Checkouts on Shopify Shopify
  18. The clearest technical explanation of why UPI Intent out-converts Collect, from the gateway that actually routes the... razorpay.com Article UPI Intent vs Collect: Which One Actually Works Better? Razorpay
  19. Payoneer's own India-specific guide, useful because it's the go-to for exporters and marketplace sellers who want... payoneer.com Article How to Receive International Payments in India Payoneer
  20. A head-to-head comparison of every major cross-border option, not just Payoneer, with fees called out explicitly, read this... skydo.com Article Top PayPal Alternatives in India: Compare Wise, Payoneer, Stripe & More Skydo
  21. Straight from the newsroom that decides which funding rounds get covered, this tells you exactly what makes an announcement... techcrunch.com Article How to Announce a Funding Round TechCrunch
  22. A practical set of pitch-email templates and structure rules, cite credible data, double-check names, keep it short, that turns... hubspot.com Article How to Pitch Editors & Win More PR [+ Templates] HubSpot
  23. HARO's shutdown-then-relaunch as Connectively left it flooded with AI-generated pitches, so this roundup of working... prezly.com Article 12+ Connectively (HARO) Alternatives Prezly
  24. The most founder-friendly PR book on the market, it covers building press materials, formulating a strategy and handling media... amazon.com Book You Need PR: An Approachable Guide to Public Relations for Early-Stage Companies Jenna Guarneri

Show the next 24

Playbooks

A goal, and the route through it a step at a time.

Pick what to sell Choose a category you can win and a product people actually want. 4 steps Launch your D2C brand From a product idea to your first orders: pick what to sell, make it, put up a store, and open the doors. 6 steps Find a manufacturer in India Find a factory, sample it, and place a first order you can trust. 4 steps Develop and package your product Turn a sample into a product, packaging, and a cost you can price around. 4 steps Build your online store A store that looks real, loads fast, and takes payments and COD. 4 steps Turn store traffic into orders Fix the leaks: conversion, product pages, and the right apps. 3 steps Get GST-ready and compliant Register, get GST-ready across states, and clear the licenses you need to sell. 4 steps Protect your brand and IP Trademark your name, fight counterfeits, and handle customer data right. 3 steps Build a prelaunch audience Gather an audience that's ready to buy before you open the doors. 4 steps Get your first 100 orders The scrappy, unscalable work of going from zero to a hundred paying customers. 5 steps Grow with influencers and UGC Seed creators, run UGC, and turn affiliates into a channel. 3 steps Run profitable ads Meta, Google, and creatives that actually return, and scale without breaking your numbers. 6 steps Grow organically with SEO and content Compound free traffic with SEO, content, and earned press. 3 steps Retain and bring buyers back Email, WhatsApp, and loyalty that turn one order into many. 4 steps Make money on every order Know your costs, price for value, and make sure the unit economics actually work. 5 steps Sell everywhere Amazon, quick commerce, ONDC, and offline retail: win every shelf, not just your own. 5 steps Master fulfillment and CX Inventory, shipping, returns, and support that create repeat buyers, not tickets. 5 steps Go global, cross-border Where to sell abroad first, and how to ship and get paid across borders. 5 steps Raise funding for your brand Know your numbers, weigh the options, and find the right investors and grants. 4 steps Scale past 1 crore What breaks at each level, the operations to hold it together, and the money to fund the next. 5 steps

The questions brand builders start with

I want to build a D2C brand but I haven't picked a product yet. How do I actually decide what to sell? Don't start from 'what's trending', start from the overlap of a real, repeat problem you understand, a customer you can reach affordably, and margi... Beginner 3 resources → How many pre-orders or sign-ups actually prove people will pay, versus just being polite interest? Clicks and "interested" DMs are free to give and mean almost nothing - the real signal is money or a firm written commitment changing hands before ... Beginner 4 resources → How do I actually find a manufacturer to make my product in India? Start with a one-page spec sheet so every factory quotes the same thing, then work three channels in parallel: B2B directories like IndiaMART and T... Beginner 5 resources → Shopify or WooCommerce for my first store in India? For a first D2C store in India, default to Shopify unless you already know WordPress cold or need heavy content/SEO customization from day one. Sho... Beginner 4 resources →
The India edge

Built for the Indian market

634 of our resources are tagged for India: GST and compliance, finding manufacturers, marketplaces and quick commerce, ONDC, RTO and COD, and cross-border export.

Questions for what you sell

Beauty & Personal Care Food & Beverage Fashion, Apparel & Accessories Wellness & Nutraceuticals Home, Kitchen & Decor Electronics, Gadgets & Appliances Baby, Kids & Toys Pet Care Category-agnostic

Questions for your situation

The Aspiring Brand Builder The Maker / Artisan The Trader Going Own-Brand The Just-Launched Founder The Marketplace Seller The Scaling Brand The Omnichannel Operator The Cross-Border Founder The Bootstrapped Side-Hustler The Product Person The Creator-Led Founder The Tier-2/3 Founder
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →