Marico’s ₹1,100 crore D2C run rate shows digital-first brands are going mainstream

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TL;DR:

Marico’s digital-first portfolio has crossed ₹1,100 crore in annualised revenue run rate, making D2C a material FMCG growth engine. The bigger test is profitability: management wants double-digit EBITDA margins by FY27 as digital brands move omnichannel.

Article:

Marico’s digital-first portfolio has crossed ₹1,100 crore in annualised revenue run rate (ARR), turning what began as a D2C expansion strategy into a material growth engine for the Indian FMCG company. The figure was disclosed at FY26 exit and remained above ₹1,100 crore in the June-quarter earnings commentary, so the significance is scale and staying power, not a fresh one-day milestone.

Marico said the portfolio rose from ₹750 crore ARR at FY25 exit to more than ₹1,100 crore by FY26. Beardo and Plix are scaling with improving profitability, while the company aims for double-digit EBITDA margins for the digital-first portfolio by the end of FY27. Foods and premium personal care, including digital-first brands, accounted for 23% of India revenue in FY26 and are targeted at about 27% in FY27.

That matters because D2C is being absorbed into mainstream FMCG rather than remaining a separate online play. Marico is pairing digital brand-building and consumer data with offline distribution, e-commerce and quick commerce. It also said 55% of core advertising spend had shifted to digital media.

CEO Saugata Gupta captured the operating discipline in May: “Our focus remains on building fewer, bigger and more profitable plays.” The emphasis is crucial. Digital-first brands can acquire attention quickly, but sustainable margins depend on repeat purchase, lower acquisition costs, supply-chain leverage and broader channel reach.

The pattern is wider than Marico. HUL bought control of digital-first beauty brand Minimalist in 2025 after it crossed a ₹500 crore annual revenue run rate, while ITC said its recent digital-first and organic acquisitions were together clocking more than ₹1,350 crore ARR in FY26. For India’s consumer market, D2C is increasingly becoming an acquisition-and-scale playbook, not a startup category.