Founders Yash Goyal and Anant Bhardwaj discuss building Krvvy from scratch, creating India-centric shapewear, scaling across quick commerce and marketplaces, and why comfort—not fashion—is at the heart of the brand
India’s shapewear market is becoming increasingly crowded, with legacy innerwear brands, celebrity-backed ventures and new-age D2C players all competing for consumer attention. Amid this growing competition, Krvvy is positioning itself differently—by focusing on comfort, functionality and products designed specifically for Indian women.
Founded by Yash Goyal and Anant Bhardwaj, the brand launched in 2024 after nearly a year of research and product development. Since then, it has expanded across major e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms, secured investment from Titan Capital and gained national visibility through Shark Tank India Season 5.
In this conversation with BW Retail World, the founders discuss Krvvy’s journey, growth strategy, competitive positioning and future plans. Edited excerpts.
Take us through the journey of building Krvvy. What were some of the defining milestones?
The idea for Krvvy originated nearly three years ago when both Anant and I were still working in our full-time jobs. We were exploring categories where we could build a large and meaningful business. Women’s innerwear and shapewear stood out because, while the market was largely fashion-led, we felt there was room for a function-first approach inspired by global brands such as SKIMS and SPANX.
We spent considerable time understanding the market, consumer behaviour and the gaps that existed in the category. While shapewear was already present in India, it lacked a strong identity and positioning. We believed there was an opportunity to build a brand around comfort and functionality.
In August 2023, we decided to pursue the venture full-time. The next ten months were spent understanding the supply chain, developing products, working on fabrics and refining our differentiation strategy. We officially launched the brand in May 2024.
Some of the major milestones include expanding from our own website to all leading online platforms, bringing on board Titan Capital as an investor in December 2024, and appearing on Shark Tank India Season 5 earlier this year, where we secured a deal from Namita Thapar. Building a team has also been significant. We started with four people and have now grown to a team of 21.
How has the company performed since launch, and what have been the key growth drivers?
One of the biggest advantages we built from the outset was having strong control over our supply chain. Most of our manufacturing is based in India, allowing us to work with relatively low minimum order quantities and test products efficiently.
Our initial focus was not on scaling rapidly but on finding product-market fit. We wanted to understand customer feedback, improve products continuously and ensure we were building something consumers genuinely wanted.
Content has been one of our strongest growth drivers. Women’s innerwear has traditionally not been a highly conversational category in India. Consumers often do not have access to educational content about sizing, fit or product selection.
We decided to change that. Through our content strategy, we educate customers about measurements, sizing and product suitability. Combined with the right influencer partnerships and platform-specific strategies, this approach has helped us scale effectively.
Being present across multiple channels—including Myntra, Amazon, Nykaa, AJIO, Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart—has also played an important role in our growth.
The shapewear category is becoming increasingly competitive. How does Krvvy differentiate itself?
We look at competition in different buckets. On one side, there are established players such as Jockey, Clovia, Zivame and Enamor. These brands have built strong businesses over many years, but shapewear is not their core focus.
Then there are newer shapewear-focused brands. Our view is that many of these players have simply adopted Western products and adapted them for India without considering local consumer needs.
Indian women have different body types, climates and clothing preferences. Products designed for Western consumers cannot simply be replicated here.
That is why we focused on developing fabrics, construction techniques and fits specifically for Indian consumers. Our products use low-to-mid compression instead of high compression, allowing women to wear them comfortably for up to 12 hours rather than just a few hours on special occasions.
Our philosophy is simple: shapewear should not be an occasional purchase. It should become part of a consumer’s everyday wardrobe.
Another important validation is that nearly half of our sales come from Tier II and Tier III markets. That tells us consumers are prioritising comfort over fashion. Since shapewear is essentially an invisible garment, comfort becomes the most important factor.
Many consumers associate shapewear primarily with bodysuits. Has that created misconceptions in the category?
Absolutely. One of the biggest misconceptions is that bodysuits represent the entire shapewear category.
A bodysuit is only one type of shapewear. Consumers have different shaping requirements—some may want support around the waist, others around the tummy or thighs. A single high-compression bodysuit cannot solve every problem and, in many cases, it is not comfortable enough for everyday wear.
We have focused on creating products such as our all-day control shapewear, which looks similar to regular underwear but provides gentle shaping and support. The idea is to make shapewear feel natural and comfortable enough to become a habit rather than an occasional solution.
What are your expansion plans over the next few years?
Quick commerce represents a significant opportunity for us. Platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart are increasingly moving beyond groceries and FMCG products into lifestyle and utility categories.
Innerwear is fundamentally a utility category, making it well suited to quick commerce.
From a product perspective, we currently operate across four categories—bras, shapewear, underwear and accessories—with around 20 styles. Our goal is to expand this portfolio to around 50 styles over the next year.
We are also exploring offline retail opportunities. While there is no concrete plan at this stage, we recognise that building a successful consumer brand ultimately requires an omnichannel presence.
Do you see an opportunity in men’s shapewear?
We certainly believe the category will evolve over time. Internationally, men’s shapewear is already a recognised segment, and changing fashion preferences could drive adoption in India as well.
However, Krvvy is a brand built specifically for women. The name, positioning and brand identity are deeply rooted in addressing women’s needs, and we believe there is still enormous depth within this market.
While we may evaluate opportunities in the future, men’s shapewear is not part of our near-term roadmap.
How do you envision Krvvy’s future growth story?
Our long-term vision is very clear. We want Krvvy to become synonymous with comfort. It is tempting in this category to chase fashion trends, but we have consciously chosen a different path. We want to build depth within our existing categories and offer solutions for women across different life stages—from teenagers to maternity consumers.
Over time, we may expand into adjacent categories, but the core brand promise will remain unchanged. We want consumers to associate Krvvy with comfort, quality fabrics and products they can trust every day.
