Bharat D2C Conclave 2026

Bharat D2C Conclave 2026 Brings 180+ Founders, Investors and Policymakers Together

Founders and Policy Makers Share One Room as Bharat D2C Conclave 2026 Sets the Agenda for India’s Consumer Brands
D2C Industry Association (D2CIA) brings founders, investors and policy makers together in New Delhi; announces its Mumbai edition on 20 February 2027 and the launch of D2CIA Membership in December 2026

New Delhi— The D2C Industry Association (D2CIA) hosted the Bharat D2C Conclave 2026 on 6 October at Eros Hotel, New Delhi. Under the theme Towards Viksit Bharat @2047, the day brought together 180+ D2C founders, brand leaders and investors with policy makers from MeitY, FSSAI, Legal Metrology and consumer affairs.
Policy makers were part of the conversation through the day, not just on the dais. Shri Ashish Sood, Hon’ble Home Minister, Government of NCT of Delhi, was invited as Guest of Honour for the closing session, Made in India, Built for the World: The Brands of New Bharat. Also taking part:

• Smt. Sharmistha Dasgupta, DDG & HoG, National Informatics Centre (NIC), MeitY, Government of India
• Shri Hem Pande, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India
• Shri Pravesh Shankar Chaubey, Assistant Director (Technical), FSSAI
• Shri Mukesh Kumar, Deputy Controller, Legal Metrology, Uttar Pradesh
• Ms. Nirupama Soundararajan, Co-founder & CEO, Policy Consensus Centre
Dr. Anil Kohli, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardee, joined as a dignitary for the closing session.

A practical day for founders
The Conclave opened with The Policy Table on AI, where founders and policy makers discussed what the DPDP Act means for customer data, using AI in ads and pricing without crossing consumer-protection lines, and whether the industry should write its own AI code of conduct.
The rest of the day stayed on what founders can use right away:
• The ₹100 Crore Playbook, with leaders from Farmley, Beco, 4700BC, Hamilton Sciences and Suchali’s Artisan Bakehouse
• First-party data and ad algorithms, with Vishnu Vankayala, Founder, CustomerLabs
• Festive 2026 ad insights from 1,000+ D2C brands, with Sumit Bansal, Co-founder, Datadrew
• Taking a D2C brand offline, with Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, Alcovia and Glam Studios
• What investors want in 2026, with Arjun Vaidya (V3 Ventures), Devapriya Khanna (Connexus Global Ventures), Aditya Joshi (Venture Garage) and Tanwir Alam (Fincart)
• Turning first-time buyers into loyal customers, with GoKwik, SeaSoul Cosmetics, Gyros Organic Farms and Intellemo
• Compliance without the chaos, with FSSAI and Legal Metrology officials
• Trust, claims and the Indian consumer, with Shri Hem Pande and Dr. Suresh Misra
• A special address by The Economic Times – Digital on growing as a founder
• Community-led selling through in-person events, and Built Before 20, featuring seven of Bharat’s teen founders
The day closed with networking and Chai Par Charcha.
What the leaders said
Dr. M. A. Alim, National Chairman, D2CIA, said: “India’s consumer brands are now being built in every corner of the country, from the metros to Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. They create jobs, support local makers and carry Made in India to the world. Our work at D2CIA is to make sure this sector has a strong, organised voice wherever decisions about it are made.”
Rahul Sudan, National General Secretary, D2CIA, said: “Today founders sat across the table from policy makers on AI, data and compliance. Questions that usually take months to reach the right desk were heard in one day. That is the role D2CIA exists to play, and we will carry today’s inputs forward.”
Utkarsh Arora, Joint Secretary, D2CIA, said: “Delhi showed us how much founders want one place where they can talk openly with investors, peers and policy makers. We are taking the Conclave to Mumbai on 20 February, and from December, D2CIA membership will keep founders connected to that table all year round, not just for one day.”
Voices from the industry
Aman Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Farmley: “It was exciting to meet so many founders at the Bharat D2C Conclave, all building brands for Bharat and facing many of the same questions. Rooms like this are rare. D2CIA is doing important work by bringing consumer brands, investors and policy makers together on one platform, and giving the industry a stronger voice. I look forward to seeing this community grow.”
Sourabh Narula, Head of E-commerce, Quick Commerce & Modern Trade, Beco: “It was a real pleasure to share Beco’s channel learnings with so many founders at the Bharat D2C Conclave. For us, every channel has a different job. Our website, letsbeco.com, is our R&D lab, quick commerce is the modern billboard of Indian retail, and offline is where real FMCG scale lives. Quick commerce is your impulse shelf; kirana is your fortress. The questions from the room showed how many brands are working through the same choices.”
Pramathesh Palchoudhary, Chief Revenue Officer, Hamilton Sciences Pvt Ltd: “At the D2CIA Conclave, one thing became clear: many of us are quietly solving the same problems, from distribution and data to building direct consumer relationships that last, yet most founders figure it out alone. The conversations in that room, among people who have actually been in the trenches, were more useful than most content I’ve consumed this year. D2CIA is building a table where founders, investors, and policy makers are in the same conversation, and I want to be part of that.”
Kashika Malhotra, Founder & CEO, Yoginii: “As a young founder building Yoginii, it was great to connect with fellow entrepreneurs and exchange perspectives on the evolving D2C landscape. I believe the future belongs to brands that build genuine consumer trust, strong communities, and purpose-driven businesses. Platforms like D2CIA are instrumental in bringing this ecosystem together.”
What’s next: Mumbai, and D2CIA Membership
The next Bharat D2C Conclave will be held in Mumbai on 20 February 2027, bringing the same mix of founders, investors and policy makers to India’s commercial capital.
D2CIA will also launch its membership in December 2026, giving consumer brands a year-round seat at the table:
• A voice with policy makers, with members’ issues carried into D2CIA’s representations
• Compliance made simple, with regular updates on rules that affect D2C brands, explained in plain words
• Learning from founders who have scaled, through sessions, playbooks and expert support
• Access to investors and ecosystem partners, and to D2CIA events across cities
• A community of founders solving the same problems, with visibility for member brands
Brands can register their interest here.
The Bharat D2C Conclave 2026 was powered by Scalite Partners, with The Economic Times as Media Partner and Piplbyte as Compliance Partner. Supporting partners were Amazon Shipping, CustomerLabs, Datadrew and Intellemo.

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Date : 15 October 2026 Posted By : EDITOR

Bharat D2C Conclave 2026 Brings 180+ Founders, Investors and Policymakers Together

Bharat D2C Conclave 2026

Bharat D2C Conclave 2026 Brings 180+ Founders, Investors and Policymakers Together

Founders and Policy Makers Share One Room as Bharat D2C Conclave 2026 Sets the Agenda for India's Consumer Brands
D2C Industry Association (D2CIA) brings founders, investors and policy makers together in New Delhi; announces its Mumbai edition on 20 February 2027 and the launch of D2CIA Membership in December 2026

New Delhi— The D2C Industry Association (D2CIA) hosted the Bharat D2C Conclave 2026 on 6 October at Eros Hotel, New Delhi. Under the theme Towards Viksit Bharat @2047, the day brought together 180+ D2C founders, brand leaders and investors with policy makers from MeitY, FSSAI, Legal Metrology and consumer affairs.
Policy makers were part of the conversation through the day, not just on the dais. Shri Ashish Sood, Hon'ble Home Minister, Government of NCT of Delhi, was invited as Guest of Honour for the closing session, Made in India, Built for the World: The Brands of New Bharat. Also taking part:

• Smt. Sharmistha Dasgupta, DDG & HoG, National Informatics Centre (NIC), MeitY, Government of India
• Shri Hem Pande, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India
• Shri Pravesh Shankar Chaubey, Assistant Director (Technical), FSSAI
• Shri Mukesh Kumar, Deputy Controller, Legal Metrology, Uttar Pradesh
• Ms. Nirupama Soundararajan, Co-founder & CEO, Policy Consensus Centre
Dr. Anil Kohli, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardee, joined as a dignitary for the closing session.

A practical day for founders
The Conclave opened with The Policy Table on AI, where founders and policy makers discussed what the DPDP Act means for customer data, using AI in ads and pricing without crossing consumer-protection lines, and whether the industry should write its own AI code of conduct.
The rest of the day stayed on what founders can use right away:
• The ₹100 Crore Playbook, with leaders from Farmley, Beco, 4700BC, Hamilton Sciences and Suchali's Artisan Bakehouse
• First-party data and ad algorithms, with Vishnu Vankayala, Founder, CustomerLabs
• Festive 2026 ad insights from 1,000+ D2C brands, with Sumit Bansal, Co-founder, Datadrew
• Taking a D2C brand offline, with Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, Alcovia and Glam Studios
• What investors want in 2026, with Arjun Vaidya (V3 Ventures), Devapriya Khanna (Connexus Global Ventures), Aditya Joshi (Venture Garage) and Tanwir Alam (Fincart)
• Turning first-time buyers into loyal customers, with GoKwik, SeaSoul Cosmetics, Gyros Organic Farms and Intellemo
• Compliance without the chaos, with FSSAI and Legal Metrology officials
• Trust, claims and the Indian consumer, with Shri Hem Pande and Dr. Suresh Misra
• A special address by The Economic Times – Digital on growing as a founder
• Community-led selling through in-person events, and Built Before 20, featuring seven of Bharat's teen founders
The day closed with networking and Chai Par Charcha.
What the leaders said
Dr. M. A. Alim, National Chairman, D2CIA, said: "India's consumer brands are now being built in every corner of the country, from the metros to Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. They create jobs, support local makers and carry Made in India to the world. Our work at D2CIA is to make sure this sector has a strong, organised voice wherever decisions about it are made."
Rahul Sudan, National General Secretary, D2CIA, said: "Today founders sat across the table from policy makers on AI, data and compliance. Questions that usually take months to reach the right desk were heard in one day. That is the role D2CIA exists to play, and we will carry today's inputs forward."
Utkarsh Arora, Joint Secretary, D2CIA, said: "Delhi showed us how much founders want one place where they can talk openly with investors, peers and policy makers. We are taking the Conclave to Mumbai on 20 February, and from December, D2CIA membership will keep founders connected to that table all year round, not just for one day."
Voices from the industry
Aman Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Farmley: "It was exciting to meet so many founders at the Bharat D2C Conclave, all building brands for Bharat and facing many of the same questions. Rooms like this are rare. D2CIA is doing important work by bringing consumer brands, investors and policy makers together on one platform, and giving the industry a stronger voice. I look forward to seeing this community grow."
Sourabh Narula, Head of E-commerce, Quick Commerce & Modern Trade, Beco: "It was a real pleasure to share Beco's channel learnings with so many founders at the Bharat D2C Conclave. For us, every channel has a different job. Our website, letsbeco.com, is our R&D lab, quick commerce is the modern billboard of Indian retail, and offline is where real FMCG scale lives. Quick commerce is your impulse shelf; kirana is your fortress. The questions from the room showed how many brands are working through the same choices."
Pramathesh Palchoudhary, Chief Revenue Officer, Hamilton Sciences Pvt Ltd: "At the D2CIA Conclave, one thing became clear: many of us are quietly solving the same problems, from distribution and data to building direct consumer relationships that last, yet most founders figure it out alone. The conversations in that room, among people who have actually been in the trenches, were more useful than most content I've consumed this year. D2CIA is building a table where founders, investors, and policy makers are in the same conversation, and I want to be part of that."
Kashika Malhotra, Founder & CEO, Yoginii: "As a young founder building Yoginii, it was great to connect with fellow entrepreneurs and exchange perspectives on the evolving D2C landscape. I believe the future belongs to brands that build genuine consumer trust, strong communities, and purpose-driven businesses. Platforms like D2CIA are instrumental in bringing this ecosystem together."
What's next: Mumbai, and D2CIA Membership
The next Bharat D2C Conclave will be held in Mumbai on 20 February 2027, bringing the same mix of founders, investors and policy makers to India's commercial capital.
D2CIA will also launch its membership in December 2026, giving consumer brands a year-round seat at the table:
• A voice with policy makers, with members' issues carried into D2CIA's representations
• Compliance made simple, with regular updates on rules that affect D2C brands, explained in plain words
• Learning from founders who have scaled, through sessions, playbooks and expert support
• Access to investors and ecosystem partners, and to D2CIA events across cities
• A community of founders solving the same problems, with visibility for member brands
Brands can register their interest here.
The Bharat D2C Conclave 2026 was powered by Scalite Partners, with The Economic Times as Media Partner and Piplbyte as Compliance Partner. Supporting partners were Amazon Shipping, CustomerLabs, Datadrew and Intellemo.

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