Where the money goes
A D2C brand - direct to consumer - sells on its own store instead of only through shops. Starting one costs less than most people fear, and the buyers are there. An IBEF report citing Unicommerce data expects Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to bring nearly 66% of new D2C orders in FY26. Your money splits into five buckets: stock, packaging, your store, photos and brand, and a first marketing test. Most founders overspend on the first and underspend on the last.
Stock and packaging
Stock is your biggest cost, and the one to keep smallest at first. Order the minimum a manufacturer will accept, even if the price per piece is higher. A bigger order saves a little per unit but locks your cash in boxes. Packaging comes next: mailer boxes or bags, tape, labels and inserts. Branded boxes look good but often have high minimum orders. Plain boxes with a printed sticker are fine for your first few hundred orders.
Store, payments and shipping
Your store can cost very little to start. Many store builders offer a free plan, and a domain name is a small yearly cost. Payment gateways charge per order rather than upfront. Shipping is paid per parcel, often through a courier aggregator, so you pay as you sell. Keep this bucket lean. It should never eat money that belongs in stock or marketing.
Photos and brand
Buyers judge a new brand by its photos. You do not need a studio on day one. A modern phone, daylight from a window and a plain background go a long way. A clear, bright photo sells more than a clever logo does. Spend on a simple logo and one set of colours and fonts you use everywhere. Hire a photographer once you know which products sell, not before.
First marketing test
Set aside money to learn what sells, not to scale. A small Meta ads test over two to three weeks shows which product and which message get clicks and carts. Send a few products to small creators in your niche. Share with friends and WhatsApp groups. The goal of this budget is data. If nothing sells, you have saved yourself a big stock order.
Three budgets side by side
| Line item | Lean | Standard | Stretch |
|---|---|---|---|
| First stock batch | ₹25,000 | ₹75,000 | ₹2,00,000 |
| Packaging | ₹5,000 | ₹15,000 | ₹40,000 |
| Store plan | Free plan | ₹1,199 a month | ₹4,999 a month |
| Photos and brand | Phone photos | ₹15,000 | ₹50,000 |
| First ad test | ₹10,000 | ₹30,000 | ₹75,000 |
| Buffer for returns | ₹5,000 | ₹15,000 | ₹35,000 |
What the budgets tell you
These figures are illustrative bands for a small product brand, not quotes. Your category, city and suppliers will move them. Still, the pattern holds. Stock and ads take most of the money, and the store takes the least. Keep a buffer for returns, because cash on delivery orders do come back. Start lean, prove one product sells, then move up a column.
Start on the lean column
You can move from lean to stretch later with money your sales have earned. The store plan prices in the table are The Storemate's paid tiers, and there is a free plan to start on, so your early rupees can go into stock and ads.