Kusha Kapila did not launch UnderNeat as a vanity project. She built it as a serious consumer brand grounded in audience insight, product discipline, and business execution. Known for her humor and sharp cultural commentary, Kusha understood something many celebrity founders miss: influence alone does not create loyalty. Products do. UnderNeat emerged from real consumer pain points around comfort, confidence, and inclusivity in innerwear and shapewear. Within months of launch, the brand moved from buzz to business, recording rapid revenue growth and attracting major venture backing.
UnderNeat’s rise shows how creator trust, modern D2C strategy, and focused category leadership can shape a power brand in India’s competitive apparel market.
From content to commerce: turning conversation into category insight
Kusha Kapila spent years building a digital relationship with millions of followers through humor rooted in everyday experiences of Indian women. Instead of announcing a product out of nowhere, she used her platforms to spark open conversations about innerwear struggles—poor fits, discomfort, size gaps, and lack of body-positive options.
She treated these conversations as market research. Her audience did not just watch content; they shared stories, frustrations, and expectations. This allowed UnderNeat to start with demand already defined. The brand launched as an answer to a collective problem rather than a celebrity-branded commodity.
This approach created emotional ownership among early customers. People felt they helped shape the brand. That sense of participation transformed followers into buyers and buyers into advocates.
Product-first strategy in a sensitive category
UnderNeat entered shapewear and innerwear, two categories where performance matters more than appearance. Customers judge such products on comfort, breathability, durability, and fit. The brand focused on these fundamentals instead of chasing fashion trends.
UnderNeat emphasized:
- Inclusive sizing across body types
- Fabric engineered for Indian climates
- Seamless construction for daily wear
- Designs that balance function and aesthetics
The company used direct-to-consumer feedback loops to improve products quickly. Reviews, returns, and repeat orders informed product development cycles. This allowed the brand to refine its SKUs in real time and reduce dependence on assumptions.
By concentrating on one category instead of launching multiple verticals at once, UnderNeat built credibility as a shapewear specialist rather than a lifestyle label with diluted focus.
Founder balance: creator vision with operational leadership
Kusha Kapila brought cultural relevance and brand voice. Her cofounder and CEO, Vimarsh Razdan, brought operational discipline and business execution. This division of roles strengthened the company’s foundation.
Kusha shaped brand storytelling, tone, and community engagement. The leadership team handled supply chain management, quality control, and scaling logistics. This structure reassured investors and customers that UnderNeat stood as a real company, not just an influencer extension.
This balance solved a common creator-brand risk: dependence on personality alone. UnderNeat positioned itself as a product-driven enterprise supported by a strong founder identity rather than powered only by fame.
Strategic funding and investor confidence
Within its first year, UnderNeat secured significant pre-Series A funding led by consumer-focused venture capital firms. Industry leaders and experienced founders also joined as strategic backers. Investors responded to three signals:
- Rapid revenue growth
- High brand recall driven by organic engagement
- Clear path to scale in a large, underpenetrated category
The funding enabled UnderNeat to expand manufacturing capacity, strengthen distribution, and invest in marketing beyond organic social media. It also helped build inventory depth and operational resilience, which matter greatly in apparel businesses.
Rather than using capital for aggressive discounting, the company invested in brand-building and product development. This reinforced long-term value over short-term sales spikes.
Marketing through community, not campaigns
UnderNeat built its marketing engine on three pillars:
Owned media: Kusha’s social platforms continued to tell stories about body confidence, everyday wear, and behind-the-scenes development. These posts felt personal, not promotional.
Creator collaborations: The brand partnered with diverse creators who spoke honestly about fit and comfort. This built trust across different audience segments.
Earned media: Business and lifestyle publications covered UnderNeat as a startup success story rather than a celebrity launch, which strengthened credibility.
This approach created a flywheel effect. Content generated curiosity. Curiosity drove trials. Trials produced user reviews and word-of-mouth. That cycle reduced dependency on heavy paid advertising in early stages.
Early traction and financial momentum
UnderNeat moved quickly from launch to measurable business performance. Reports showed strong early sales and a rapid annualised revenue run rate within months. The company also highlighted improving margins and operational efficiency as scale increased.
Unlike many fashion startups that burn capital for visibility, UnderNeat focused on repeat customers and product satisfaction. High reorder rates signaled product-market fit. This financial discipline strengthened its image as a serious D2C brand rather than a hype-driven experiment.
Operations: quality at scale
Scaling innerwear demands tight control over production and consistency. UnderNeat invested early in vendor partnerships, material testing, and size standardization. The company also used customer feedback to adjust cuts and fabrics rather than sticking rigidly to original designs.
By maintaining quality during growth, the brand avoided the reputation risks that destroy apparel startups quickly. Customers trusted that new collections would match the promise of earlier purchases.
Why UnderNeat became a power brand
UnderNeat achieved power-brand status through five key moves:
- Audience-first design: The company built products around real user pain points.
- Founder synergy: Creator influence merged with professional operations.
- Focused category leadership: Shapewear remained the core identity.
- Strong financial signals: Revenue growth and investor trust reinforced legitimacy.
- Community-driven marketing: Customers became storytellers for the brand.
This combination created defensibility beyond social media reach.
The road ahead
The shapewear and innerwear market remains competitive, with global brands and local players racing for share. UnderNeat’s long-term success will depend on:
- Sustaining product quality
- Expanding distribution channels, including offline retail
- Entering new markets carefully
- Protecting brand trust through consistency
If the company continues to innovate on fit, comfort, and inclusivity while scaling responsibly, it can evolve from a creator-led startup into a national apparel leader.
Conclusion
Kusha Kapila built UnderNeat by translating trust into trade. She listened to her audience, invested in product excellence, partnered with operational leaders, and used capital strategically. The brand’s rise proves that modern consumer businesses no longer need traditional celebrity endorsements or massive ad budgets to win. They need relevance, authenticity, and execution.
UnderNeat stands as a blueprint for how creators can build durable brands in India’s D2C economy—by putting product and people at the center of growth.
Also Read – What Is a Startup Flywheel?