D2C unicorn Mensa aims to create 300 brands worth over Rs 1000 cr in 10 years, says founder Ananth Narayanan
The Founder and CEO of Mensa Brands was speaking at an event in Hyderabad on how to build technology-led brands.
- Dec 16, 2022,
- Updated Dec 16, 2022 12:51 PM IST
Direct-to-consumer (D2C) unicorn, Mensa Brands, is aiming to build 300 brands which are north of Rs 1,000 crore, the company’s Founder and CEO has said. Ananth Narayanan, the CEO, was speaking at the TiE Global Summit 2022 in Hyderabad on how to build a technology-led brand. The Bengaluru-based start-up partners with brands to accelerate growth on both marketplaces and D2C channels in India and globally. At present, Mensa has about 24-30 brands which are north of Rs 1,000 crore, Narayanan said. Narayanan also shared a few snippets on how he is helping D2C founders build a digital brand. Citing Mensa’s example, he said that to do so, a company needs to “use technology to manage everything.” He also said that “democratic distribution” and “brand building happening online” are the main pillars on which a technology brand is created. He dug deeper on the theme and shared that at Mensa, they have built a “mental model” where in technology is used to understand various aspects of a brand such as new products that can be launched, how to price these products, how to make the them visible on the shelf or online, and last, how to deliver those products at the right price to the customer. “We try to build a tech stack for all these elements,” he said. He meant that every element of brand building one can think of can be made into a tech product and that allows the organisation to manage the overall operations effectively and efficiently. After leading online fashion brand, Myntra, and e-pharmacy company, Medlife, the McKinsey alumnus launched Mensa in 2021 which is a house of brands with technology as the fundamental base. More than half of its brands are available outside India across the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Singapore, and UAE. The unicorn company is backed by marquee global investors including the likes of Accel Partners, Falcon Edge Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Prosus, and Tiger Global Management. It currently handles about 24 brands with 50,000 stock keeping units.
Direct-to-consumer (D2C) unicorn, Mensa Brands, is aiming to build 300 brands which are north of Rs 1,000 crore, the company’s Founder and CEO has said. Ananth Narayanan, the CEO, was speaking at the TiE Global Summit 2022 in Hyderabad on how to build a technology-led brand. The Bengaluru-based start-up partners with brands to accelerate growth on both marketplaces and D2C channels in India and globally. At present, Mensa has about 24-30 brands which are north of Rs 1,000 crore, Narayanan said. Narayanan also shared a few snippets on how he is helping D2C founders build a digital brand. Citing Mensa’s example, he said that to do so, a company needs to “use technology to manage everything.” He also said that “democratic distribution” and “brand building happening online” are the main pillars on which a technology brand is created. He dug deeper on the theme and shared that at Mensa, they have built a “mental model” where in technology is used to understand various aspects of a brand such as new products that can be launched, how to price these products, how to make the them visible on the shelf or online, and last, how to deliver those products at the right price to the customer. “We try to build a tech stack for all these elements,” he said. He meant that every element of brand building one can think of can be made into a tech product and that allows the organisation to manage the overall operations effectively and efficiently. After leading online fashion brand, Myntra, and e-pharmacy company, Medlife, the McKinsey alumnus launched Mensa in 2021 which is a house of brands with technology as the fundamental base. More than half of its brands are available outside India across the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Singapore, and UAE. The unicorn company is backed by marquee global investors including the likes of Accel Partners, Falcon Edge Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Prosus, and Tiger Global Management. It currently handles about 24 brands with 50,000 stock keeping units.