For a long time, Indian businesses were built on a fairly predictable model, based on an easily apparent formula for many years - service excellence, cost control, and scale were the differentiating factors for the success or failure of businesses in India. From IT services and consulting through manufacturing services and outsourcing, the emphasis was on execution rather than being innovative with their offering. There may have been products in place, but typically they were just an extension of their service offering at best.
It has been effective for many years but now, we find Indian companies in a completely altered scenario; that is to say, with consumers being better informed, more worldwide rivals than ever before, and increased levels of regulatory examination than before, coupled with customers' ever increasing need for value, trust and transparency on both a personal and business level. Because of these factors, many businesses are now avoiding the pursuit of fads and buzzwords and are instead concerned with revisiting the basics and determining how they can improve the structural problems facing their customers.
1. Reworking the Cost–Value Equation for Customers
One of the most prevalent changes has been in price and availability. In the past, customers, especially for specialized or professional services, were expected to pay extremely high prices due to a lack of available options. There were also high barriers for entry, and therefore, expertise commanded a higher price in the market.
That is currently being challenged by many new-age businesses in India, who are asking themselves whether the high prices are really necessary or merely a function of the legacy model. Many of these new-age businesses are looking at the overall costs associated with providing their services and redesigning their products to provide less friction between the customer and the service provider, create a simple customer experience, and provide as much value as possible at the lowest cost.
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This is perhaps most evident in the categories where customers have had to pay significant upfront fees or enter long-term retainer agreements in the past. Companies in these categories are now experimenting with modular pricing, outcome-based pricing, and more transparent pricing, so that the focus has shifted away from increasing margins in the short term, to building long-term brand loyalty and trust.
Mandar Lande, CEO & Cofounder of Waayu, a leading zero commission food delivery platform, says, “For years, high-commission-driven business models have forced restaurants into a tough spot by either absorbing 25-35% of the payment processing fee or passing that cost onto their customers. However, as we can clearly see today, there is a growing push back against this model. The industry's recognition that long-term growth will not be achieved through sub-optimal economics is evidenced by the fact that many businesses are now offering zero-commission and flat fee structures to restaurant partners. The new models being implemented today create a level playing field for all participants in the industry by creating sustainable business models rather than optimised for growth.”
Anirudha Kotgire, MD & Cofounder, Waayu says, “Customers and vendors alike are getting frustrated with multilayered fee structures, complicated pricing mechanisms and minimal opportunity for control. The paradigm shift is one of enabling business as opposed to extracting value. Platforms are now designed to streamline processes, decrease roadblocks and provide predictability rather than adding additional roadblocks. It is a significant fundamental change rather than a passing fad.”
2. From Niche Products to Scalable, Inclusive Solutions
Before now, product-driven business models were typically targeted at niches, leaving those in niche categories with the challenge of balancing limited demand, resulting in higher price points, along with imported offerings, having to be imported and a challenge to modify to fit Indian conditions. For these customers, either price or fit were the only options for meeting their needs.
Today, there has been a dramatic shift in this dynamic. There are increasing numbers of companies in India investing heavily in product fundamentals such as design, usability, localisation, and scalability, not just to service a very narrow market segment, but to provide access to superior products to many more customers in a vast array of verticals.
There is also an important shift occurring in how Indian companies now conduct business in the marketplace. At one time this was primarily through adapting existing global products for the Indian market, but now many Indian companies are developing home-grown solutions that are appropriate for the needs of their local markets while meeting global benchmarks. Companies in such verticals as ecommerce, technology, healthcare, sustainability, and data-based services are proving to the world that there is no reason why affordability and quality cannot be delivered together.
Archisman Misra, Founder & CEO of StudioBackdrops, India's Largest Ecommerce Website for Photo, Video & Audio Products says, “Indian creatives have always been impacted by the gatekeeping of the previous generation of creators out of the fear of becoming irrelevant. I faced the same thing when I started out as a photographer. Nobody would let me assist them or become privy to their process without any prior connections. The same existed for the tools I needed in order to learn my craft. While there is nothing I could do about learning the process and gaining access to the right mentors, I could definitely make the tools more accessible. This was the idea based on which StudioBackdrops was founded. Now we make every possible tool accessible directly to the creatives through our website and through our 200+ offline partners.”
He adds, “We have even started sharing the creation processes, the correct way to use the tools, and even guiding creators of all shapes and sizes, on how to level up their content. We are doing this through various workshops and demos conducted in person across India and through in-depth videos on our Youtube channel and Instagram account.”
3. Building Credibility Through Fundamentals, Not Optics
The third shift at the structural level should be viewed as the single-most significant factor driving this transformation; as global priorities change (especially in regard to sustainability, governance, responsible capital allocation), more businesses in India are seeing that compliance is not enough at face value anymore.
“The FMCG industry has normalised a dangerous trade-off: consumer health in exchange for scale and convenience. Products are engineered to last longer, travel farther, and sell faster—often at the cost of excessive processing, preservatives, pesticide-heavy inputs, and ingredient opacity. Front labels shout reassurance, while the back quietly tells a different story. They want to know what goes into their food, how much it is processed, and whether it genuinely deserves a place on their plate. This shift is uncomfortable for legacy brands built on shortcuts, but unavoidable. Complexity created for manufacturing efficiency is being rejected by people who want simplicity for everyday consumption. Frissly exists because we believe food should not need defending. Our approach is uncompromising: pure ingredients, minimal processing, zero additives, and an absolute refusal to make unhealthy food. No marketing gymnastics, no selective transparency. In an industry addicted to complexity, Frissly’s disruption is simple—make food clean, honest, and worthy of trust.” says Pratap Varma, Founder of Frissly, a Destination for Pure, Organic & Wholesome Foods.
Previously, companies simply had to "check the box" with regard to their disclosures of material risks responsible for their returns. Today, however, investors, partners, and regulators want to see transparency and comparability and be confident in using data to drive decisions and evaluate performance through a real integrated decision-making framework. Companies now have no choice but to upgrade from being a part of the "check the box" mentality and focus on building stronger internal processes, improved reporting practices, and more accountable business structures.
"When ESG sits in communications, it's cosmetics. When it sits in the investment committee, its character. The market has spent a decade confusing the two—and is now learning, expensively, to tell the difference." says Shailesh Dhuri, Co-founder & CEO of Decimal Point Analytics, a leading global provider of AI-powered data analytics.
In the area of ESG, the discussion has evolved into a much more meaningful discussion around implementation rather than simply intent. In this sense, companies must now answer complex questions about their supply chain, governance structure(s), and how their long-term operations will impact their stakeholders. In short, the companies that will be most successful will be those who do not simply follow "trendy" narratives, but instead take the time to establish a solid foundation upon which to create a strategy and use accurate data to execute that strategy.
A Shift From Speed to Substance
The one thing that all these changes have in common is that they represent a significant change in mindset at Indian businesses. Rather than racing toward the latest global trend, Indian businesses are slowing down only enough to address the most important issues around pricing fairness, product relevance, operational integrity, and customer trust. As a result of this new approach, most Indian businesses are shifting their focus back to strengthening their core business.
Although it may not always be the flashiest of changes, this recalibration is about strategy at its deepest level. Indian companies are not just focused on short-term growth, but they are laying the foundations for resiliency and credibility in a rapidly evolving global economy by focusing on the fundamentals rather than on optics.
The above information does not belong to Outlook India and is not involved in the creation of this article.
