India’s startup ecosystem is entering a new chapter, shifting its gaze from fintech and ecommerce toward wellness, consumer goods, and manufacturing as engines of growth for the next decade.
Entrepreneurs and industry leaders believe that the country’s ability to marry traditional knowledge with modern technology, while investing in skilling and innovation, will determine whether India can compete on a truly global scale.
India’s startup leaders expect wellness, consumer goods and manufacturing to drive the country’s next decade of growth, shifting focus from fintech and ecommerce that dominated the past 10 years
Wellness Gains Global Traction
“India is no longer just a raw material supplier. Earlier, international clients would ask us to ship extracts of herbs for their products. Today, the same clients are requesting finished capsules and tablets manufactured in India, because we have processes that meet United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) approvals. That is a huge step forward in terms of scale and quality,” said Shashank Garg, Founder, Matsyaveda Herbals.
He added that rising international demand for Ayurveda and government investment in Ayush will help scale India’s wellness industry.
Consumer goods also offer significant headroom, said Vipul Gupta, Founder, Re’equil. “India’s per capita personal care consumption is far below global averages, leaving huge headroom,” he said, adding that affordability and distribution innovation would matter as much as product launches.
Manufacturing And Skilling Push
Manufacturing was flagged as critical for competitiveness. “Our processes are outdated, and we often fear automation because we want to protect labour,” stated Arune Chellaram, Director, Featherlite. He stressed that India could compete globally only by pairing automation with workforce training.
“But the solution is not resistance, it is upskilling. Germany and Japan showed decades ago that automation does not kill jobs, it transforms them. If we train a carpenter to operate computerised numerical control (CNC) machines or adopt artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted design, India can leapfrog and truly compete with China on both cost and quality,” he mentioned.
Education and skilling were also highlighted as enablers. “Our model is rejection-driven—whether it is Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) or global job applications, most candidates are filtered out. With AI, we can flip the model and create personalised learning at scale, giving iterative feedback and helping people improve instead of just rejecting them. That means a student from tier-2 or tier-3 India can be made job-ready for global roles,” said Debojit Sen, Co-founder, Crack-ED.
He noted that European governments are collaborating with Indian firms for training, underscoring India’s role as a global talent supplier.
Mental Health Mainstreaming
Wellness and mental health, once niche, are now mainstream. “Emotional wellness is not optional anymore. At Coto, we are building a multi-modal platform that brings together therapy, coaching, even culturally rooted practices like tarot or meditation, reflecting India’s diversity,” said Shefali Anurag, Co-founder, Coto. She added that cultural exports such as yoga, Ayurveda and Bollywood can serve as strategic soft power.
Speakers agreed on five priorities converting India’s population into a skilled workforce; scaling traditional knowledge sectors with science and compliance; making products more accessible and affordable; modernising manufacturing through AI and automation; and leveraging cultural heritage for global influence.
The panel also offered candid advice for entrepreneurs. Gupta urged companies to “solve for niches and go deep”. Chellaram said, “fail fast and don’t fear mistakes”. Sen warned that scale-ups can now happen “in two to three years, not decades”.
“Innovation has to be rooted in India’s context but globally relevant,” said Kamaljit Anand, CEO, KiE Square Analytics, while moderating the session.
India’s startups, panellists said, are moving beyond digitisation and market penetration to set new benchmarks in consumer brands, manufacturing and wellness, but whether the country reaches a global inflexion point will depend on execution, scale and global market alignment.
At the BW Disrupt Founder Forum 2025, entrepreneurs and executives said India is at an inflection point where traditional knowledge and global technology standards must converge to build internationally competitive businesses. |
