12 New-Age Investment Platforms Fuelling India's Digital Gold Rush.

India's appetite for gold is world renowned. For centuries, the yellow metal has been associated with prosperity, wealth, tradition and increasingly as a safe haven for investors, especially in times of economic uncertainty.

Such has been the penchant for gold that India has consistently emerged as one of the biggest consumers of the metal globally for the past many decades, with demand settling around the 747.5 metric tonne mark in 2023. 

And with gold prices breaching the INR 80K mark per 10 gm - climbing just under 5% in two weeks - the gold rush is not about to subside any time soon. Since January 1, 2024, gold prices have gone up by a staggering 23%, underscoring its quality as a stable asset class. 

When it comes to investing in gold, the rise of digital platforms disrupted the market just as it did with stock broking and mutual funds. What was previously limited to buying physical gold in the form of coins, bars, or jewellery, has now changed to digital gold. 

Fintech startups catering to the digital gold rush brought in convenience and flexibility. These startups offer gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), fractional ownership, and even cater to impulse buying by allowing gold investments for as low as INR 1.

The shift from physical to digital gold has created more liquidity and accessibility for investors, who want exposure to gold without the hassles of storage, insurance, or purity concerns.

Naturally, a whole host of investment tech startups and fintech companies are looking to tap into the gold rush. For instance, PhonePe, Paytm and Google Pay have built gold marketplaces connecting buyers to multiple platforms, while the likes of Jar and Gullak are offering differentiated gold investment offerings.

With Dhanteras being the peak day for gold sales in India, it's time to look at how startups are disrupting the digital gold segment and catering to India's new-age gold rush. 

Editor's Note: The list is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. The gold investment platforms have been listed in alphabetical order.

Meet The Startups Facilitating Gold Investments.

💹 DIGIGOLD

Airtel Payments Bank launched gold investment platform DigiGold in 2021 and currently offers gold investments through the Airtel Thanks App.

It took the telecom behemoth a step closer to offering full-stack fintech services, adding to its UPI and digital lending play. Launched in partnership with SafeGold, Airtel's DigiGold operates just like any other digital gold investment platform, allowing customers to store gold with SafeGold at no additional cost, and enabling trades through the Airtel Thanks app. 

Like in most other gold platforms, there is no minimum investment value requirement and customers can start with as low as INR 1.

Additionally, Airtel Payments Bank's savings account customers can invest in gold using the Airtel Thanks App. Customers can also gift DigiGold to their family and friends, who have a savings account with Airtel Payments Bank.

💹 DVARA SMART GOLD

Founded in 2019 by Jaydeep Banerjee and Clemenstone Verghese, Dvara Smart Gold is backed by Axilor Ventures, angel investors as well as Dvara Holdings, the parent company. 

Dvara SmartGold is part of the 'Dvara Venture Studio', which co-creates ventures with entrepreneurs and scales them up. 

The platform allows customers to invest in gold through small, flexible instalments through uniquely designed gold micro-savings plans, wherein customers can invest as per their risk appetite. 

With an SIP-like approach, Dvara enables customers to utilise their savings seamlessly at any point in time as per their requirement. The company claims its vision is to build a full stack financial services platform, anchored around gold as an asset class.

💹 GROWW

Even though Groww has built a reputation as a mutual fund and stock broking app, the company introduced gold investments to capture the wave of digital gold. 

The company has attracted significant funding from prominent investors such as Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital, and has rapidly acquired users to become the largest digital discount broking platform in India by active investors. 

The company reported 119% growth in its revenue for FY24 as a result of its rapid growth, with income rising to INR 3,145 Cr in FY24. Groww also maintained its operational profitability of INR 535 Cr for FY24 compared with INR 458 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Mutual funds remain Groww's strongest suit. As of October 2024, Groww's active stock investor base stood at 1.2 Cr. The company claims that nearly one in four new SIPs in the country are happening via Groww.

💹 GULLAK

Founded in 2022 by Manthan Shah, Dilip Jain and Naimisha Rao, Gullak is a platform that helps users automate savings to invest in gold. 

The startup claims its mission is to promote financial literacy and responsible saving habits. The app is designed for accessibility, targeting users who may be new to investing. 

Uniquelly, Gullak users can also lease their gold to get an extra 5% return each year, apart from the returns they can secure annually through the digital gold assets. Alternatively, users can also choose between spare change savings and one-time investments according to their investment appetite. 

The Bengaluru-based startup counts Kunal Shah (CRED), Y Combinator and Rebel Partners as some of its major investors.

💹 JAR

Founded in January 2021 by Nischay Ag and Misbah Ashraf, Jar allows users to invest as little as INR 1. It claims to have more than 1.5 Cr users on the platform.

Users can automate savings and make daily investments anywhere between INR 10 and INR 500 in digital gold. In addition, they can also invest round-up amounts from their daily spending and liquidate without any lock-in period. 

Recently, with an eye on diversifying its product mix, Tiger Global-backed Jar entered the ecommerce space with its D2C jewellery brand Nek. "Gold is widely understood and stable. Since our users save in gold, launching Nek as a jewellery brand was a natural progression," cofounder Nischay said.

He added that revenue from the core digital gold vertical will remain the primary growth driver, contributing over 50% to the overall topline.

💹 JUPITER MONEY

Founded in 2019 by Jitendra Gupta, Jupiter Money is a Bengaluru-based neobanking and investments platform that allows savings accounts customers to invest in digital gold assets.

The gold investment feature is a part of Jupiter's array of fintech products, including banking, personal finance management, goal-based investments, and more. 

It is pertinent to note that Jupiter received the NBFC licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April last year, which has added to the company's digital lending prowess. 

It has raised a total funding of about $169 Mn till date and counts the likes of Tiger Global, Peak XV Partners, and Matrix Partners among its investors. However, given several regulatory headwinds in the fintech space, the company has not been able to eke out profits. 

Jupiter's consolidated net loss more than doubled year-on-year to INR 327 Cr in FY23, against an operating revenue of just INR 7.1 Cr.

💹 ORO MONEY

Founded by Parth Shah, Sreekesh Krishnan, Rakesh Mani in 2021, Oro Money allows users to tap into the value of their gold assets. 

It connects users with financial institutions to provide them with better access and accurate information about their gold's worth. Oro Money claims to be combining traditional gold investment with technology, catering to users who prefer digital solutions. Currently, it is operational in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and Vijayawada, as per its website.

The Chennai-based startup includes Singularity Ventures, Three State Capital, PI Opportunities Fund and 021 Capital among its other investors.

💹 PLUS GOLD

Founded by Raj Parakh and Veer Mishra in 2023, Plus Gold provides a platform for making investments in gold through systematic investment plans (SIPs) or one-time transactions. 

With recent funding of $1.2 Mn led by JITO, Plus Gold plans to expand its tech infrastructure, improve user experience, and introduce AI-driven investment advisory services. The startup addresses key barriers like storage and purity assurance while targeting India's massive gold market.

By integrating technology into the investment process, Plus Gold aims to attract both new and seasoned investors looking for a reliable way to diversify their portfolios. 

The Bengaluru-based startup has raised INR 7 Cr in total funding. It counts the likes of US bank Wells Fargo & Company (WFC), Card91 cofounder Vineet Saxena, Amazon Pay head Vijay Rajagopal, among others, as its investors.

💹 PLUTO MONEY

Founded in 2023 by Muhammad Danish and Reev Ranj, Pluto Money is an online platform offering automated goal-based saving solutions. 

The startup is focused on empowering users to make informed financial decisions and has hence focussed on goal-based savings as its primary model, with gold being part of an array of investment options. 

Pluto Money offers features such as goal setting, spending comparison, customised expense checklist, and more. The company claims its platform allows users to automatically invest money into various low-risk instruments like emergency savings accounts, digital gold and others. 

💹 RUPTOK

Founded in July 2020 by Ankur Gupta and Yashwardhan Aeren, Ruptok Fintech provides disbursal of loans against gold jewellery. Such loans can also be facilitated with digital gold as collateral. 

Ruptok provides instant liquidity while keeping gold safe in secure vaults. It's an ideal solution for those looking to unlock the value of their gold without selling it.

Ruptok's fully digitised gold loan process disrupts traditional lending, reducing overhead costs while reaching a broader customer base with minimal physical infrastructure.

The startup claims to have disbursed loans worth over INR 300 Cr and served more than 2 Lakh customers to date. The platform also serves as a banking correspondent to CSB Bank and Fincare Small Finance Bank.

Thanks to colending agreements with partners, Ruptok offers loan top-ups to existing borrowers against the same pledged gold assets, based on the appreciation of the gold. 

💹 SPARE8

Founded in 2021 by Ronit Harisingani and Shardul Saiya, Spare8 offers a unique platform where users can effortlessly invest in gold by rounding up spare change from their everyday purchases. This fintech platform enables micro-investments, making gold accessible to everyone, no matter their financial background. 

By simplifying the process of saving and investing, Spare8 claims to promote active investments and financial literacy while helping investors build wealth incrementally. With no minimum investment requirement, platforms like Spare8 make it much easier for those testing the waters on gold as an asset class.

The Mumbai-based startup's micro-investment model opens up a vast untapped market by catering to users who may not traditionally invest, creating a new customer base for digital gold.

💹 YELLOW METAL

Founded in 2020 by Rahul Boggaram and Nikhil Boggaram, the startup offers gold loans to rural people within 30 minutes. It charges an interest rate of 9.48% annually on gold loans, according to its website.

The startup ensures all its loans are backed by certified physical gold stored in secure vaults. Besides this, users can invest in digital gold with as little as INR 1, making it accessible to everyone. 

Yellow Metal also provides instant liquidity options, allowing users to redeem their gold investments whenever needed, without the hassle of managing physical gold.

The Bengaluru-based startup counts WaterBridge Ventures, Spiral Ventures, LetsVenture's LV Angel Fund and Java Capital's Csquare Venture Partners Fund as some of its investors.

How Boba Bhai Is Setting The Stage For Bubble Tea Revolution In India.

Bubble tea, a Taiwanese tea-based beverage, has dominated Asia Pacific and North America for quite some time, so much so that the global bubble tea market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 9% to become a $6.17 Bn opportunity by 2033.

This global drink has now found a fervent following in India. Social media platforms, particularly Instagram, reflect this trend, with hashtags like 'bubble tea' and 'boba tea' accumulating millions of posts.

Over the past two years, bubble tea has captured the interest of Gen Z in India, much like other global trends such as Turkish ice cream, Neapolitan pizza, K-Pop burgers, and ramen.

"In India, the bubble tea market is still in its early stages. But it’s growing rapidly. In the next 10 years, I see it becoming a $3 to $4 Bn market opportunity in India," said Dhruv Kohli founder and CEO Boba Bhai.

While global brands like Chatime, Coco Fresh Tea & Juice, and Lollicup US dominate the bubble tea landscape globally, India is witnessing a rise in small players and even small cafes entering this new category. Among these emerging players are Dr Bubbles, The Bubble Tea Junction, Bubble Bee, Cha Bar, and Got Tea.

Following this trend, recently, Chai Point has also launched its own bubble tea. Among these, a new startup named Boba Bhai has emerged to tap into this emerging market.

"I am glad that players like Chai Point are selling bubble tea because it sends a signal to the market that India is evolving. This serves as market validation, indicating that players recognise India’s shift towards bubble tea," Kohli said.

Founded in 2023 by Dhruv Kohli, Boba Bhai sells bubble tea in 45 flavours and K-Pop burgers with an Indian twist. With 27 outlets across seven cities, including Delhi, Gurugram, Udaipur, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai, the company currently boasts an annual revenue run rate (ARR) of INR 24 Cr and a monthly revenue run rate (MRR) of INR 2 Cr.

Kohli claims that the startup achieved revenues of INR 8 Cr in the first six months of operations. By December 2024, he aims to reach INR 60-65 Cr in revenue and capture 75-80% of India’s bubble tea market share.

 

So far, the startup has raised INR 12.5 Cr ($1.4 Mn) from investors such as Titan Capital, Global Growth Capital UK, Arjun Vaidya, Mars Shot Ventures, DeVC, Warmup Ventures, Varun Alagh, and Peercheque. Additionally, with a monthly repeat rate of 45%, it serves over 60K customers a month and has an overall user base exceeding 4 Lakh customers.

The Boba Bhai Inception Story

The genesis of Boba Bhai stems from Kohli's craving for bubble tea when he returned to India from Australia in April 2022. Kohli was surprised to find that the beverage that he had been cherishing for a long time living abroad was a scarce product in India. The three-time founder, Kohli, then decided to take things into his own hands to introduce this exotic beverage to the Indian pallets.

After spending three months with his R&D team, Kohli realised that the Indian market lacked affordable options, with the then-existing products being vastly different and overpriced than the original ones.

Recognising the opportunity to cater to the Indian palette and create a new market segment, Kohli observed consumer preferences. Understanding that India’s young generation is the fastest-growing market segment, Kohli targetted Gen Z and millennials.

What initially began as a hobby project for Kohli soon started attracting customers in droves, 40,000 to 60,000 customers monthly.

"Our vision isn’t just about building another F&B brand, it’s about integrating bubble tea into people’s lifestyles," Kohli said.

While ambitious goals drove him to launch the brand, the first few months proved challenging for the founder.

"We understood that creating a category from scratch wouldn’t be simple, especially with established giants like Cafe Coffee Day dominating the tea & coffee market. Despite lacking resources and capital, we remained determined to leave our mark. Our objective wasn’t merely to introduce another pizza or biryani but to pioneer a new category," Kohli said.

Kohli faced significant hurdles when launching his startup, particularly in educating customers about bubble tea, as it was unfamiliar to many.

Another hurdle for Kohli was setting up the supply chain from scratch in India. Kohli added that sourcing vendors to adapt to the requirements of bubble tea, such as straw size and packaging, posed a major challenge.

"Additionally, aligning production processes with those used in China, where bubble tea is typically served cold and primarily through delivery, required strategic partnerships with vendors. To address this, we partnered with vendors from different states," the founder said.

To overcome these challenges, he focussed on crafting clear messaging strategies to communicate the benefits of bubble tea and diligently sourced reliable vendors within India.

Boba Bhai's Go-To-Market Strategy

Launched as a D2C delivery model, the startup currently serves its customers through Swiggy, Zomato, and its own website. It has 27 offline stores across India in cities like Delhi, Gurugram, Udaipur, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai. These stores are situated in malls, high streets, and standalone locations, with a majority of them located in Bengaluru and Udaipur.

While currently serving its customers via these four channels, the startup aims to expand to include quick commerce and modern retail in the near future.

Currently, the sales split between its channels is 80% from online platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, and its own website, while the remaining 20% comes from its offline stores.

The QSR brand, which initially started with six products, now offers 20-25 items along with a range of 45 bubble teas. Its bestsellers include Taro Lava, Mocha, Jamun Kala Khatta, and Chili Alphonso Mango iced tea. Apart from selling bubble teas, the startup offers K-Pop burgers. The product range starts from INR 99 and goes up to INR 219.

As per Kohli, Boba Bhai sets itself apart from competitors by emphasising the uniqueness of its product range, offering a diverse range of bubble teas. Moreover, the brand positions itself as a lifestyle brand rather than an F&B one, as it aims to integrate bubble tea into people’s daily routines.

To ensure uniqueness, the startup communicates personally with customers, maintaining consistency from packaging to store ambience. Additionally, it prioritises sustainability, using biodegradable materials and offering eco-friendly options like paper straws.

What's Ahead Boba Bhai?

The startup's expansion plans for FY25 include targeting top cities in India and tripling its offline footprint to reach 80-100 stores. Additionally, its goal is to expand to 300 stores within three years and 500 stores within five years, aiming for an annual recurring revenue of INR 100 Cr.

"For our offline channel expansion plans, we’re currently in discussions with malls and real estate partners for store locations. However, a major challenge we encounter is finding suitable physical locations at competitive prices. Our strategy entails initially targeting top cities and gradually expanding into Tier II cities to broaden our presence," Kohli said.

Eventually, Boba Bhai plans to explore international markets such as Saudi Arabia and Dubai, where there is a significant Indian population.

Furthermore, the brand aims to diversify its product portfolio beyond bubble tea by introducing Bingsu Korean ice cream in its physical stores. Additionally, it plans to launch more bubble tea flavours in the coming months to offer customers a wider range of choices.

How D2C Brand Basil Aspires To Take On Tupperware & Milton In The Indian Lunchbox Segment.

At a time when the country’s consumer houseware market is projected to become an INR 50K Cr opportunity by 2027 on the back of the evolving lifestyle of new-age customers and an increase in disposable incomes, the Indian school lunchbox market is screaming disruption in more ways than one.

For starters, this segment (lunchbox) is dominated by a handful of traditional players like Tupperware and Milton, and bland-looking steel tiffin boxes that have been around for decades.

Also, this segment has been a laggard on the innovation front, mostly navigated by unorganised small manufacturers offering dull-looking lunchboxes made of cheap and unsafe plastic.

Interestingly, it was not before their parenthood that the founders of the consumer houseware brand Basil, Harini Rajagopalan and Mahesh Muraleedharan, found themselves staring at this glaring gap when searching for compartment-style lunchboxes for their kids.

Triggered by their newly found peeve, the husband and wife duo then decided to take the reins of disruption in their hands and launched Basil in 2023.

Since then, the Bengaluru-based D2C brand, Basil has been on a mission to craft aesthetically pleasing, innovative, high-quality kitchen and houseware products, with a special focus on bento boxes and water bottles.

The cofounders' idea first got validation when other parents in their vicinity, too, were looking to replace unsightly lunchboxes with more innovative, designer options for their kids if given a chance.

"We found that other parents shared the same frustration with the lack of appealing lunchbox designs," Rajagopalan said.

From there started the duo's journey of crafting perfect lunchboxes - pleasing to look at, non-toxic and spill-proof.

The startup floated its first product three months ago in March 2024. Since then, it has expanded its product portfolio to 25 water bottles and tiffin boxes made of premium stainless steel.

According to the cofounders, Basil, on the back of the strong adoption of its products, is one of the top 50 lunchbox brands on Amazon. During its first month of sales, it harvested INR 22 Lakh in gross revenues. It has sold its products to over 5,000 customers across India since then.

In February, Basil raised INR 3.6 Cr in seed funding in a round led by IIMA Ventures and Appreciate Capital, with participation from prominent angel investors such as Mohit Sadaani of The Moms Co., Aprameya Radhakrishna of Koo, Abhishek Goyal of Tracxn, Malini Adapureddy, founder, Deconstruct), and Brij Bhushan of Magicpin. 

Basil’s Inception Story:-

Call it coincidence but Rajagopalan and Muraleedharan could not have stepped foot into the Indian lunchbox market at a better time. Well, for one, the segment, which was valued at $400 Mn in 2021, is projected to grow to $690 Mn by 2029. Secondly, their foray happened when the concept of Japanese-style Bento boxes was gaining prominence in other parts of the world, including the US, and had yet to find acceptance in India.

“When we were looking to enter the segment, the concept of Bento boxes was catching up in the US and other international markets. While the trend was making its way in India, the concept wasn’t picking up. Back then, these products were largely sourced from China and had poor quality and designs,” she said.

After over a year of experimentation, during their stealth phase, the duo realised that to make Basil’s lunch boxes stand out, they needed to focus on multiple fronts. The tiffin boxes had to be stylish, sleek, and leak-proof if they aspired to compete with established players like Tupperware and Milton.

Having identified the problem statement, the next biggest challenge was to set up a manufacturing line. Rajagopalan told Inc42 that the designs for Basil’s initial products were her own creations, inspired by her children’s preferences for their tiffin boxes.

However, she didn’t limit her designs to this input. Gathering a broader consensus on consumer preferences turned out to be a slightly extensive process. Collaborating with an experienced designer ultimately helped Basil perfect its designs.

For the manufacturing, the duo, at the outset, partnered with local tiffin box manufacturers. While many manufacturers were initially sceptical about the viability of their products, the startup’s confidence in its vision convinced a few to partner with Basil for manufacturing. With this, the cofounders zeroed in on the designs for their first product, The Unicorn Bento, in early 2023.

Rajagopalan asserted that the extensive research conducted before the launch of their first product contributed to the company’s immediate success. The founder said that the company ran out of stock every two weeks.

Basil Starts To Fly But Hiccoughs Remain

After the launch of Basil’s first product, the company’s equation with manufacturers changed completely. Interestingly, the ones that were not quite sure about the product's viability began forming a beeline to forge partnerships with the startup.

“Post our first launch, we started receiving inbound queries from manufacturers looking to tie up with Basil. As a result, now we see manufacturers being more involved in the complete production cycle as well as making investments in the product,” she adds.

However, there’s a catch. Notably, Basil’s products are more assembly-heavy and take more manufacturing time. This particular challenge makes many manufacturers wary of committing to producing 5K pieces a month.

Talking about other challenges, Rajagopalan said that the pricing of products is something that still bothers the startup’s founders. She said that the startup will be in a better position to compete with the likes of Tupperware and Milton once they successfully solve the pricing puzzle. However, she said, by the time that is done the startup is targeting customers who have enough disposable income to spare.

“We are targeting consumers with access to disposable income and who value aesthetics of the designs of the products they use. For them, the characters, collaboration of elements, colours in the backdrop of the images are critical to discern if they will be investing in a product. For such parents, Basil’s products tick all the boxes,” the cofounder said.

What's Next For Basil

Given the high prices, the founders anticipated resistance to cracking the non-metro market. As expected, the product has not gained much traction in rural areas, which still rely heavily on offline purchases.

Consequently, Basil’s vision for future growth focusses less on expanding deeply into the Indian market and more on international expansion by 2026. The founders believe there’s a greater overlap between consumer preferences in metropolitan India and international markets compared to the rest of the country.

However, before expanding its geographies, the one-year-old startup must address several looming issues. Despite its stylish design, Basil’s products are not insulated, a crucial feature for keeping food warm. Rajagopalan asserts that this key product innovation is on the anvil.

The second issue is limited availability and awareness. Currently, Basil’s products are only available on Shopify, Amazon, and the company’s website, with minimal marketing efforts. To address this, the company plans to expand its online presence before entering the US market.

Basil aims to achieve an ARR of INR 100 Cr before venturing outside India. Reaching this revenue milestone will also enable the company to diversify into other school-related product categories, such as bags and pencil boxes, while maintaining its strong brand identity.

As of now, despite having solved the branding and product puzzles, Basil is still faced with an uphill task to refine its inventory management, pricing, and product features. Once these key tasks are aligned, it would be a spectacle to witness Basil locking horns with Tupperware and Milton in the Indian houseware market.