Komal Agarwal, Co-founder of Pebble, discusses the brand’s evolution from power banks to smart wearables, why it has resisted the race to deep discounting, its global ambitions, AI-powered health devices and the growing importance of D2C, design and community-led innovation
Pebble has evolved from a power bank brand into a diversified consumer technology company. What have been the defining milestones in this journey?
We started Pebble in 2013 with a single product category—power banks. At the time, smartphones were becoming mainstream and battery backup was a genuine consumer need, particularly for travellers.
One of our earliest milestones came within the first year when we partnered with domestic airlines, airports and a few international airlines for in-flight shopping. Back then, airline retail was dominated by luxury brands, so having Pebble featured alongside premium international products gave us tremendous brand visibility and credibility.
From there, we expanded into audio products, smart wearables, home audio and several other consumer technology categories. While our portfolio has evolved considerably, our focus has always remained on delivering well-designed, value-driven technology.
What strategic decisions have been instrumental in shaping Pebble’s growth over the past decade?
Two decisions have been particularly important.
The first was building Pebble as an omnichannel brand with a strong offline-first strategy. General trade became our biggest strength. Developing relationships across thousands of retailers takes years, but those partnerships have given us a stable market presence and continue to be a significant competitive advantage.
The second was maintaining our positioning as a mass-premium brand. We’ve consciously avoided participating in the deep-discounting race that became common in categories such as smartwatches. Selling products at unsustainably low prices often compromises quality, which is something we’ve never wanted to do.
We’ve always believed consumers appreciate products that strike the right balance between quality, design and affordability.
India’s wearables market has become intensely competitive. How does Pebble differentiate itself through innovation and design?
Innovation remains central to our strategy.
In categories that have become highly commoditised, design becomes a major differentiator. For example, our Royal Series smartwatches were among the first ultra-slim smartwatches introduced in India, measuring just five to six millimetres thick. That series quickly became one of our best-selling products.
Even when we introduced power banks years ago, we focused on compact, ergonomic designs at a time when most products were bulky.
Innovation isn’t only about technology—it’s also about creating products people genuinely enjoy using while maintaining accessible pricing and uncompromising quality.
Consumer preferences are changing rapidly. How do you identify emerging trends and decide where to invest?
We spend a great deal of time understanding broader consumer behaviour rather than simply tracking technology trends.
Health and wellness have become major lifestyle priorities. Consumers are investing more in fitness, nutrition and preventive healthcare, making health wearables a long-term opportunity rather than a short-term trend.
Similarly, we’re seeing changing social habits among younger consumers. More people now prefer hosting gatherings at home instead of going out, which has increased demand for home audio systems, soundbars and party speakers.
We invest in categories where we believe consumer behaviour is undergoing structural rather than temporary change.
As the business has scaled, how have you maintained operational agility across manufacturing and supply chains?
Pebble was founded by my father, Ajay Agarwal, and me. He brings over three decades of experience in the electronics industry, particularly in manufacturing, sourcing and supply chain management.
We work with manufacturing partners both in India and internationally, and his expertise has been invaluable in helping us navigate changing supply chains and global sourcing dynamics.
Our partnership works well because it combines operational experience with a strong focus on product innovation and brand building.
Pebble initially gained visibility through airline and airport retail. How relevant is that channel today?
In-flight shopping was an important channel for us during our early years, but the pandemic fundamentally changed that business.
Today, while we’re still present in select airport stores, we’ve significantly reduced our focus on airport retail because it has become commercially less attractive.
Fortunately, by the time COVID arrived, we had already established a strong presence across offline retail and ecommerce, so the transition was relatively smooth.
Which channels will drive the next phase of Pebble’s growth?
General trade remains extremely important, alongside modern retail partners such as Croma and Reliance Digital.
Ecommerce continues to be one of our strongest channels, but we’re particularly excited about two emerging opportunities.
The first is quick commerce, which is becoming increasingly relevant for consumer electronics.
The second is our direct-to-consumer (D2C) business. Until a couple of years ago, we hadn’t focused heavily on our own website. Over the past year, we’ve invested significantly in that channel and have seen exponential growth. We expect D2C to contribute around 20–30 per cent of our overall sales in the coming year.
What is your long-term vision for Pebble over the next three to five years?
Our ambition is to build Pebble into a global consumer technology brand.
We’re entering the Middle East shortly and are also preparing to expand into Western markets.
From a product perspective, we’re moving beyond hardware. The future lies in creating an integrated ecosystem where devices, companion applications and AI work together to deliver meaningful health and lifestyle insights.
We’re investing heavily in research and development to build that ecosystem.
Alongside product innovation, international expansion, D2C growth and community building will become our biggest growth drivers. We’re already collaborating with fitness clubs, running communities and wellness organisations to create stronger consumer engagement around the brand.
Which Pebble product best represents the brand today?
At the moment, I’d say it’s our health bands.
We’re investing more research and development into this category than ever before because we see enormous potential in health-focused wearables. The QORE range reflects where Pebble is headed—combining thoughtful design, intelligent technology and a deeper wellness ecosystem.
We’re also excited about expanding into newer categories such as AI-powered smart glasses, which we believe represent the next phase of wearable technology.
