Where Indian D2C brands win on Amazon India, and where they lose: 18 shelves compared
Indian D2C brands take 51.5% of sunscreen money on Amazon India but 0.3% of room air purifier money, across 18 shelves impuls8 measured between August and November 2026; they hold 40% or more on 3 shelves and under 10% on 5.
Indian D2C share of the money, shelf by shelf
| Shelf | Read | Amazon sales a year | Indian D2C share | Largest brand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunscreen | 19 Aug 2026 | ₹197.3 crore | 51.5% | Dot & Key 9% |
| Protein powder | 5 Oct 2026 | ₹449.1 crore | 50.8% | MuscleBlaze 15% |
| Vitamins and supplements | 4 Nov 2026 | ₹991.3 crore | 41.1% | Carbamide Forte 12% |
| Fragrance | 12 Oct 2026 | ₹216.6 crore | 38.4% | Bella Vita 20% |
| Glutathione and skin brightening | 22 Oct 2026 | ₹309.9 crore | 34.8% | NICONI 11% |
| Colour cosmetics | 5 Sep 2026 | ₹287.5 crore | 33.0% | Maybelline 24% |
| Audio | 31 Oct 2026 | ₹2,869.4 crore | 21.8% | Sony 18% |
| Men's innerwear | 2 Sep 2026 | ₹187.5 crore | 20.7% | Jockey 48% |
| Hair oil | 25 Oct 2026 | ₹153.3 crore | 20.6% | Parachute 23% |
| Menopause care (a menopause search) | 6 Oct 2026 | ₹35.0 crore | 15.2% | Centrum 35% |
| Coffee | 13 Oct 2026 | ₹152.6 crore | 11.4% | Nescafé 39% |
| Baby skincare | 17 Aug 2026 | ₹97.9 crore | 9.8% | Cetaphil 22% |
| Tea | 2 Sep 2026 | ₹96.1 crore | 9.4% | Tata Tea 27% |
| Luggage | 3 Oct 2026 | ₹202.0 crore | 8.4% | Safari 52% |
| Pet food | 16 Oct 2026 | ₹212.2 crore | 3.9% | Royal Canin 18% |
| Air purifiers (room) | 2 Nov 2026 | ₹472.2 crore | 0.3% | Coway 30% |
Each row is its own market on its own date. Shares are of that shelf's Amazon money. Sales are floors.
Weighing a category? impuls8 shows the brands in it, their prices, launch dates and search trend, so you can see who you would be up against.
Browse the brands on impuls8 →Key figures
- Indian D2C brands take 51.5% of sunscreen money on Amazon India and 0.3% of room air purifier money.
- They take 40% or more on 3 of 16 shelves: sunscreen, protein powder and vitamins and supplements.
- They take under 10% on 5: baby skincare, tea, luggage, pet food and room air purifier.
- The shelves where D2C wins are mostly ones where the buyer compares ingredients and reads reviews; where it loses, the buyer defers to a doctor, a habit or an appliance brand. That ordering is what we observe, not a cause we have proved.
- On 2 shelves too much money sits with sellers we could not trace to place D2C at all; their range is shown below.
Shelves where the D2C share is a range
| Shelf | Read | Indian D2C share | Owner not confirmed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nail care | 26 Oct 2026 | 22.6% to 65.1% | 42.5% |
| Women's innerwear | 3 Sep 2026 | 1.8% to 44.8% | 43.0% |
More than 15% of the money sits with sellers whose owner we could not confirm, so the D2C share lies between the two figures.
Read each shelf
- Audio: ₹2,869.4 crore a year, read 31 Oct 2026
- Vitamins and supplements: ₹991.3 crore a year, read 4 Nov 2026
- Air purifiers (room): ₹472.2 crore a year, read 2 Nov 2026
- Protein powder: ₹449.1 crore a year, read 5 Oct 2026
- Glutathione and skin brightening: ₹309.9 crore a year, read 22 Oct 2026
- Colour cosmetics: ₹287.5 crore a year, read 5 Sep 2026
- Fragrance: ₹216.6 crore a year, read 12 Oct 2026
- Pet food: ₹212.2 crore a year, read 16 Oct 2026
- Luggage: ₹202.0 crore a year, read 3 Oct 2026
- Sunscreen: ₹197.3 crore a year, read 19 Aug 2026
- Men's innerwear: ₹187.5 crore a year, read 2 Sep 2026
- Hair oil: ₹153.3 crore a year, read 25 Oct 2026
- Coffee: ₹152.6 crore a year, read 13 Oct 2026
- Baby skincare: ₹97.9 crore a year, read 17 Aug 2026
- Tea: ₹96.1 crore a year, read 2 Sep 2026
- Menopause care (a menopause search): ₹35.0 crore a year, read 6 Oct 2026
- Nail care: ₹16.7 crore a year, read 26 Oct 2026
How we measured
Every shelf is Amazon India sales: the "bought in past month" figure at its lower bound, times the price, times twelve, for every badged listing on the searches or categories that define the shelf. Each shelf was read on its own date between August and November 2026, several of them during Amazon's festive sale, and each is its own market: no figure here is added across shelves. Owner groups are researched by hand; a brand we could not trace stays unconfirmed. "Indian D2C" means independent Indian D2C brands; brands a larger company has bought are counted apart.
Questions people ask
Is D2C beating legacy brands in India?
It depends on the category. On Amazon India, Indian D2C brands take 51.5% of sunscreen money but 0.3% of room air purifier money, and under 10% on 5 of 16 shelves impuls8 measured (August to November 2026).
In which categories do Indian D2C brands do best?
On impuls8's reads of Amazon India, sunscreen, protein powder and vitamins and supplements, where Indian D2C brands take 40% or more of the money.
Where do D2C brands struggle in India?
Baby skincare, tea, luggage, pet food and room air purifier: Indian D2C brands take under 10% of Amazon India money on each, according to impuls8.
Source: impuls8 (impuls8.com), 18 Amazon India shelf reads, 17 Aug 2026 to 4 Nov 2026.
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