Why IGP is Focusing to Expand Footprint in Tier II & III Cities

The boom in technology and wide outreach of the same has contributed prominently to the growth of the gifting industry in India. A recent report pegs the online market to grow 25 percent YoY to reach $90 billion by 2025.

The soaring growth of the industry has also led to many trends that will dominate the online gifting space for years to come. These trends include automated technology in logistics, AI-driven hyper-personalization, a rise in same-day delivery, social commerce, and interactive retail practices that will mend the communication gap between online platforms and customers.

To cater further to the gifting industry, IGP was founded in 2016 by Tarun Joshi. Tarun, as a consumer himself, identified the large gap in the market for a trusted gifting platform that could provide differentiated and quality products along with a superior delivery experience. A lot of gifting products are handmade and made by highly talented but unorganized artisans living in remote parts of India. Tarun was inspired by the huge income generation opportunity that a technology-driven gifting platform could provide to these artisans and market Indian handmade products for gifting globally. 

“Despite the size of the celebration ecosystem in India, there weren't many players serving it at scale; there was a lack of a robust supply chain, transparent last-mile delivery, or personalized options. IGP solved this for the consumer by offering a personalized and curated catalog of gifts for occasions, festivals, and special days to become the most preferred gifting destination for Indians and NRIs,” Tarun Joshi, Founder & CEO of IGP said.

What’s on Offer?

IGP offers a vast catalog of every possible category for the celebratory needs of Indians across the globe, from designer cakes and gourmet sweets to curated and personalized gifts. Every festive season the brand expands its offerings in celebratory gifting, fashion accessories, floral bouquets, decadent sweets & cakes, etc. This festive season too, it has launched a new collection of gift products, all revamped to cater to the latest vogue.

“We are a market leader in gifting categories such as Fresh (Flowers and Cakes), Home, Food, and Fashion,” Joshi stated.

Market Penetration

At present, the brand provides same-day delivery to almost 400 cities in India and 24 to 72-hour delivery in more than 1000 cities. It believes that Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) e-commerce currently is the best opportunity for brands to build direct relationships with their customers, and it has an exclusive D2C setup comprising a website and an app.

“We don’t have any plans to enter offline markets as the evolving Indian consumer is looking beyond generic products and moving towards personalized, unique, and theme-based products, and we believe that our curated & personalized design-to-delivery consumer experience fulfills their evolving needs at the comfort of their homes,” Joshi noted.

In addition to this, IGP plans to mark its brand presence exponentially in Tier II and III cities nationwide via a network of dark stores. It is in the process of setting up 100 dark stores by the end of FY23, covering India’s Tier II emerging cities.

“In India, we are seeing a significant uptick in demand from Tier II and III cities. We already have good coverage in Tier I cities and areas around it. So our focus is on emerging cities in the country, and we plan to serve them through an automated network of Dark stores,” he asserted.

Furthermore, IGP has a global footprint with customers spanning across 100+ countries and the capability to deliver gifts to over 150+ countries and 1000+ cities. It has an established footprint in the international markets of North America, the UK, and Australia.

READ MORE: How Bright is the Future of the E-Gifting Industry

Future Outlook

IGP has recorded threefold Y-o-Y growth in business for the past three years.

“We are expecting 60-80 percent growth in revenue by the end of this fiscal year,” Joshi said.

Online gifting is all about finding the right present and having it delivered on time in perfect condition. Through propitiatory tech, the brand offers its customers real-time last-mile delivery tracking, along with route optimization for last-mile deliveries.

“We are also in the process of automating our robust vertically integrated supply chain (farm to table),” he explained.

Going ahead, the brand plans to launch new categories and products based on insights gathered from its existing catalog to better serve the needs of flourishing Indian Households who consider occasions as rituals, happiness, a moment to bond and celebrate, and are increasingly turning online for quality products, personalization, and convenience.

Its future expansion plans cover India as well as international expansion in South East Asia and Europe.

“We also look forward to increasing our brand footprint in the commercially sound international markets of North America, the UK, and Australia,” he concluded.