Etchcraft taps into India’s growing personalized accessories market

The Indian personalized accessories market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.8% during the period between 2021 and 2026, according to a report by Ken Research. This growth is largely driven by an increasing demand among the millennials and younger generation.

Unsurprisingly, there are a bunch of players including GIVA and The Name Strings that are looking to tap into this market, which appears to be largely fragmented without any marquee names. One of the companies that has been trying to tap into this space for a while is Etchcraft Emporium. Founded by Raghav Bansal and Vidhan Jain in 2019, Etchcraft aims to stand out from the competition by giving more affordable premium accessories. 

The Delhi-based D2C firm was among the first in its space to leverage 3D printing technology for personalized accessories. One of the initial offerings, which sort of helped drive future consumer interest, was a bespoke lamp that featured a photograph chosen by the power. The company claims it can do instant customization and engraving in just 15 minutes.

Since then, the company has gone on to generate a revenue of Rs. 9 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2023. In the previous fiscal year, it recorded a revenue of Rs 5 crore. To date, it has served more than 2 lakh customers.

“We have observed that a significant portion of our sales are driven by individuals aged between 18 and 35 living in metropolitan areas. However, we have also witnessed remarkable growth in our sales figures from Tier II and III cities,” the founders told Entrackr. 

Even as Etchcraft has a strong online presence, the company is looking to capitalize on the offline market. It ventured into offline space in February 2021. The second wave of pandemic, which affected several businesses between March 2021 and August 2021, dented Etchcraft’s offline foray. 

“But, we demonstrated resilience by redirecting our focus towards enhancing our online operations and rapidly scaling up our digital footprint to adapt to the changing circumstances,” the founders said.

Going forward, the company is looking to diversify its product portfolio by entering into newer categories, where other brands are yet to aggressively pursue. 

The personalized accessories market is growing, but it’s still largely driven by fragmented D2C firms, which either rely on Instagram or Google search for discoverability. This is where the opportunity for the likes of Etchcraft comes in: building trust and more returning customers, and eventually growing organically. 

However, to further capitalize on this market, the company will need to continue scaling up its marketing efforts as well as diversifying product offerings to reach a wider audience. While a lot of customers are concentrated in the urban cities for such products, there is also potential in smaller towns and cities. Etchcraft understands this well too. 

“We have witnessed remarkable growth in our sales figures

from Tier II and III cities, indicating our expanding market reach and widespread appeal,” the founders said.