Jewellery has always been more than an accessory in India—it’s a symbol of heritage, status, and personal milestones. The market size of gems and jewellery was $92 billion in India in 2023 and is projected to grow at more than eight per cent by 2027, according to Statista, a market research firm. As women’s self-purchases of jewellery rise with greater economic independence, brands like Indriya are rethinking their approach to cater to traditional and modern sensibilities. According to Indriya’s ROC filings accessed by Tofler, for the six months from 2022 to 2023, the company’s revenue from operations was reported as Rs 0, while it incurred a loss of Rs 1.71 crore.
In a recent conversation with BrandWagon Online, Shantiswarup Panda, head of marketing, Indriya, discusses how the brand is positioning itself in the competitive fine jewellery market, balancing heritage craftsmanship with innovative design, and leveraging a hyper-local marketing strategy to build a strong presence in key urban clusters. (Edited Excerpts)
Can you tell us more about your overall marketing strategy for the brand? How are you positioning yourself in the market, especially with the support of Aditya Birla, and how do you plan to compete with other established players in the industry?
Our marketing strategy is centred around our stores because we are a retail-first brand. For us, everything starts with the store and extends outwards into the local catchment area. Our primary focus is to ensure that people around our store are first aware of our brand, then find it appealing, and ultimately visit the store to experience the jewellery themselves. We approach the entire funnel—awareness, consideration, and action—keeping this local strategy in mind. We’re aware that there are strong, well-established brands in India, and we respect the competition, but our current focus is on the catchment areas around our five stores across four cities. We’re not concerned about areas where we don’t have a presence yet; our goal isn’t to make all of India aware of Indriya at this point. Instead, we focus on ensuring that wherever we have a store, we do everything necessary to reach the customers in that area and give them a compelling reason to visit us.
Once they visit, we aim to deliver a differentiated and superior store experience. Our jewellery consultants are highly trained, and each store has a dedicated stylist and a private bridal lounge for an exclusive shopping experience, especially for large purchases. We also integrate technology seamlessly into our stores, with touchscreen devices at every counter to help streamline the browsing and checkout process, so customers can spend more time enjoying the jewelry and less time on formalities like billing. Overall, our marketing and customer experience strategies are catchment-specific. When we run a campaign, it’s targeted only in cities and areas where we operate, rather than on a broad national level. For example, if you searched for Indriya in Mumbai, where we don’t have a store, we wouldn’t show up at the top because we prioritise spending in areas where there is a tangible return, where customers can visit our stores.
How did you approach the concept and execution of the latest campaign for Indriya, and what was the inspiration behind it?
The idea started with a clear understanding of who we are as a brand and where we wanted to position ourselves. Jewellery is uniquely close to a woman’s heart, more so than any other category I’ve worked in, like fashion or skincare. Jewellery represents both status and personal pleasure and with more women gaining economic independence, there’s been a shift towards women buying jewellery for themselves, simply because they love it. We wanted to reflect that shift in our campaign. Our brand, Indriya, stands for exquisite design and craftsmanship, so we focused on storytelling to bring that to life. Instead of the usual craftsmanship narrative, which starts with design and ends with the consumer, we flipped it. We began with the consumer’s experience and feelings when they interacted with the jewellery and interspersed that with the emotions of the artisans who crafted the pieces.
We featured three signature products—Gulposh, Lumiere, and Swarna Varia—and used three social media influencers to showcase them. The campaign was beautifully directed by Anvita Dutt, who immediately understood our vision. The result is a poetic, emotional film that highlights the love and craftsmanship behind each piece, and we’ve received great feedback so far.
Could you tell us more about the range of products you offer, particularly in terms of your diamond collections and any options in more affordable categories, like demi-fine jewellery? How do you cater to customers seeking luxury as well as those looking for more accessible pieces?
At Indriya, we position ourselves in the fine jewellery space, meaning we primarily use gold, platinum, diamonds, and precious stones. We don’t typically work with silver, except for small items like anklets, which are traditional buys.
In terms of affordability, we offer a wide assortment compared to other brands, because we know women like to see more options before making a decision. Our price points cover a broad range, starting from entry-level gold pieces. Most of our jewellery is crafted in 18K or 22K gold, with 18K used more for holding stones. To add value, we focus on designs that offer a larger visual impact with less material, so pieces look bigger but cost less. We also have versatile jewellery, like pendants that can be detached and worn as rings or chokers that can be styled differently. This gives customers more ways to wear the same piece. We help bridge the gap between gold and studded jewellery. India is still a gold-dominated market, but we offer designs that combine gold with small stones, making it easier for gold buyers to transition into the world of diamonds and precious stones. This way, we cater to both traditional and modern tastes while offering real value.
Can you share more about your design differentiators, especially given the competition in the market, including the rise of demi-fine jewellery brands?
We focus on staying within the fine jewellery space, even as trends like lab-grown diamonds and demi-fine jewellery grow in popularity. Our strategy is clear: we aim to cater to the top 35-40% of India’s urban population and build a strong presence in that segment. We’re not venturing into imitation or tribal jewellery any time soon—our focus is purely on fine jewellery and creating a brand that resonates with consumers. On the design front, we have a capable in-house team dedicated to creating unique, differentiated designs. While design preferences are subjective, we ensure our pieces offer a strong price-value equation. We focus on creating versatile designs that work across various occasions like weddings or festivals. Our design team also pays close attention to regional influences, as India’s jewellery culture is deeply rooted in local traditions. For example, what works in Gujarat might not be the same in West Bengal or Maharashtra, but we aim to blend regional techniques with broader appeal.
We study these regional designs closely and adapt them to have a more universal appeal while maintaining their authenticity. This allows us to bring regional specialities, like temple jewellery from the south to other parts of India. We strive to make these designs popular across different regions while maintaining their cultural significance. In terms of craftsmanship, we’ve built a dedicated facility to ensure high-quality production, and every piece goes through a rigorous quality-check process before it reaches our stores. Our in-house design team, along with trusted vendors and partners, ensures that our collections feature exquisite craftsmanship that consumers will love. You’ll soon see some unique pieces in our upcoming festive collection, highlighting this expertise.
How many retail stores do Indriya currently have, and where are they located? Furthermore, what is the split between digital and traditional campaign strategies?
We currently have five stores across four cities. We started with Delhi, where we have two stores, along with one store each in Jaipur and Indore, all launched on July 26th. Our fifth store opened in Ahmedabad at the end of August. Looking ahead, we plan to expand further, especially during the festive season. As far as the campaign split is concerned, we are almost 50% in traditional vs digital.
How are you leveraging your online platform, and can you give us an idea of where most of your sales currently come from — online or offline channels?
Our online platform isn’t commerce-enabled yet, meaning you can’t buy jewellery directly from our website. Currently, 100% of our sales happen through our physical stores. However, the website serves a crucial role. Today, around 80-85% of a consumer’s buying journey starts online—whether they’re at home, in a car, or even on vacation. So, while our footprint is small right now with just five stores, we need to have a strong digital presence to introduce our brand and build consideration. The purpose of our website is to tell our story, showcase our collections, and give consumers a feel for who we are and what we offer. It’s not just a product catalogue. When you visit our site, you’ll see our brand story, our philosophy, our launch film, and detailed information about our collections and store locations. It’s designed to inspire and invite people to visit our stores, where they can fully experience the jewellery—because we know that shopping for jewellery is not just about buying, it’s about the experience. Women want to see, touch, and try the pieces, and interaction with our jewellery consultants is a big part of that.
While we’ll eventually enable e-commerce, we understand that for high-end jewellery, it’s a limited channel. Most of our customers prefer to shop in person for these kinds of products, and that’s why we’ve focused on creating a memorable in-store experience. Our website is just the first touchpoint—a way to build awareness, provide store directions, and show people what we stand for.