Top Indian Creators Who Turned Content into Companies

India’s creator economy has crossed its tipping point. What began as brand deals and sponsored posts has matured into something far more durable: creator-led businesses. Today’s influencers are no longer just selling products. They are designing, manufacturing, funding, and scaling them. With the Indian creator economy projected to contribute USD 6 billion by 2030, creators are following a clear path: advertising → subscriptions → commerce. From fashion and beauty to home, shapewear, tech, and merch, these creators are proving that community is the strongest form of capital.

Below is a detailed look at Indian creators who didn’t just build audiences, but built companies.

Kusha Kapila — UnderNeat

Followers: 4.1M (personal), 176K+ (UnderNeat in 48 hours)

Funding: INR 8–10 crore (seed)

Investors: Fireside Ventures, Ghazal Alagh

Kusha Kapila’s leap from creator to founder was swift and strategic. Her shapewear brand UnderNeat positions itself as mass-premium, offering quality products priced 30–40% lower than international competitors like Skims.

What UnderNeat sells:

• Shapewear: corsets, waist cinchers, body shapers
• Outerwear: leggings, shorts, T-shirts
• Upcoming: swimwear, loungewear, accessories

Why it scales:

• Built for Indian bodies, climates, and price sensitivity
• D2C-first with offline premium retail tie-ups
• Influencer-led storytelling without looking like ads

UnderNeat isn’t just selling shapewear. It’s selling comfort without compromise, and investors noticed.

Bhuvan Bam — Youthiapa

Followers: 20.2M+ (Instagram)

Category: Merchandise & apparel

Bhuvan Bam transformed BB Ki Vines into Youthiapa, one of India’s earliest and most successful creator merch brands. Graphic tees, hoodies, phone cases and accessories borrow directly from his characters and catchphrases.

Why it works:

• Deep emotional recall
• Community-first humour
• Demand was so high that the site crashed at launch

Youthiapa proved that storytelling converts.

Also read: Views Over Followers: The New Creator Playbook Taking Over Instagram

Prajakta Koli — Merch Garage

Category: Apparel, diaries, keepsakes

Prajakta’s Merch Garage mirrors her voice: warm, self-aware, and deeply relatable. Her 2024 “Fictional Men” collection, inspired by romance novels, showed how niche passions can still scale when trust is high.

Why it works:

• Emotion over trend
• Comfort-first design
• Products that feel personal, not promotional

Nikhil Sharma — Label MN

Category: Streetwear

Founded: 2018

Business Model: D2C merchandise

Label MN emerged as a natural extension of Nikhil Sharma’s identity as a travel-first creator. The brand focused on functional streetwear designed for movement, long rides, and everyday exploration. Graphic tees and hoodies carrying messages like “Keep Riding” mirrored the philosophy that built his YouTube audience.

How it scaled:

• Leveraged YouTube-led traffic instead of paid ads
• Limited drops to manage inventory risk
• High recall value due to creator-led storytelling

Current status:

While Label MN is not aggressively scaled today, it stands as one of India’s early examples of a creator converting lifestyle into commerce, paving the way for later creator brands.

Sejal Kumar — Sejal Merchandise

Category: Lifestyle merchandise

Business Model: D2C

Sejal Merchandise grew alongside Sejal Kumar’s evolution from a college creator to a multi-genre digital personality. The brand focuses on emotion-led products rather than trend-driven fashion.

Product mix:

• T-shirts, hoodies
• Tote bags, mugs, phone covers
• Messaging centred around confidence and self-expression

How it scales:

• Strong community conversion from long-form YouTube
• Products act as identity markers rather than apparel
• Lower operational complexity keeps margins stable

The brand succeeds because it doesn’t chase fashion cycles. It sells belonging.

Juhi Godambe — Arabella

Category: Luxury resort wear

Founded: 2015

Positioning: Premium, slow-fashion

Arabella predates the current creator-brand wave and operates closer to a traditional fashion house than influencer merch. Juhi Godambe’s education at the London College of Fashion shaped the brand’s structured approach to design and sourcing.

Key strengths:

• In-house craftsmanship
• Sustainable production practices
• Strong offline and global consumer base

How it scaled:

• Built credibility before influencer commerce became mainstream
• Focused on product quality over social virality
• Positioned as a lifestyle label, not a creator brand

Arabella proves that fashion-first brands with creator founders can outlive trends.

Gaurav Taneja — Mera Merch

Category: Apparel & accessories

Business Model: D2C merchandise

Mera Merch capitalised on Gaurav Taneja’s credibility across fitness, aviation, and motivation. The brand doesn’t rely on novelty but on shared values.

What it sells:

• T-shirts, hoodies, accessories
• Messaging tied to discipline, effort, and resilience

How it scales:

• Strong repeat buyers from a loyal fanbase
• Content-led launches reduce marketing costs
• High trust factor offsets product commoditisation

Mera Merch functions as a community uniform, not a fashion label.

BeYouNick — KRA

Category: Streetwear

Positioning: Urban, expressive, youth-led

KRA channels BeYouNick’s roots in hip-hop culture, gaming, and street expression. The brand deliberately avoids mass fashion language and instead targets a niche audience that values individuality.

How it scales:

• Drop-based launches create scarcity
• Strong Gen Z resonance through cultural alignment
• Visual identity mirrors the creator’s content style

KRA survives because it knows who it is not for.

Deeksha Khurana — DeeClothing

Category: Oversized, unisex streetwear

Founded: 2020

Co-founders: Deeksha Khurana & Kritika Khurana

DeeClothing focuses on comfort-first fashion, reflecting the founders’ everyday style rather than runway trends.

Product philosophy:

• Oversized fits
• Gender-neutral silhouettes
• Affordable pricing

How it scales:

• Instagram-led discovery
• Consistent restocks instead of hype drops
• Accessible fashion reduces return friction

DeeClothing works because it removes complexity from buying decisions.

Alicia Souza — The Alicia Store

Category: Stationery, home, apparel

Founded: 2012

Business Model: Print-on-demand + handcrafted products

The Alicia Store evolved from illustrations into a full-fledged lifestyle brand. Each product retains Alicia Souza’s hand-drawn storytelling, preserving authenticity at scale.

How it scales:

• POD reduces inventory risk
• Strong gifting economy demand
• Loyal repeat buyers over viral spikes

This is a rare example where art didn’t dilute with commerce.

Masaba Gupta — House of Masaba

Category: Fashion, beauty, lifestyle

Stake: 51% acquired by ABFRL (2022)

House of Masaba is no longer just a creator-led brand; it is a corporate-backed fashion powerhouse. The brand spans apparel, bridal wear, accessories, and beauty.

Why it scaled:

• Strong design differentiation
• Cultural storytelling as brand equity
• Strategic acquisition enabled national retail expansion

Masaba represents the endgame of creator-led fashion: institutional scale.

Aashna Shroff — Snob Home

Category: Home décor

Extension brand

Snob Home translates Aashna Shroff’s visual aesthetic into interior products, completing her lifestyle ecosystem.

How it scales:

• Cross-selling with fashion content
• Aspirational but accessible design
• Trust-driven conversions from long-term followers

The brand succeeds because it feels like stepping into the creator’s home.

Nupur Sanon — Label Nobo

Category: Women’s apparel & accessories

Meaning: No Boundaries

Label Nobo blends bohemian, Indian, and western influences, reflecting Nupur Sanon’s personal style rather than seasonal fashion.

How it scales:

• Versatile collections with longer shelf life
• Creator-led styling builds relatability
• Clear brand philosophy guides design decisions

Label Nobo thrives on identity consistency, not volume.

Bigger Pattern: Why These Brands Work

• Trust reduces CAC
• Community replaces paid distribution
• Creator storytelling compresses go-to-market time
• Brands scale when they solve personal problems first

These businesses aren’t side hustles. They are infrastructure built on attention.

Influencers are no longer just part of the marketing funnel.

They are the funnel.

And as funding, manufacturing, and D2C infrastructure catch up, creator-led brands aren’t a trend.

They’re the next chapter of India’s startup story.