Palmonas raises $40 million in a Series [round] — the D2C jewelry brand co-founded by Shraddha Kapoor, profitable at all 60 stores, charts a new growth model

In April 2026, Indian demi-fine jewelry D2C brand Palmonas raised $40 million (roughly ₹373 crore, about ¥6 billion in yen terms) in a Series B round led by Xponentia Capital and Vertex Growth Fund. The brand, which counts Bollywood star Shraddha Kapoor as a co-founder, boasts the unusual profile of being profitable at all 60 of its stores, drawing attention as a new benchmark for India's D2C industry.

What kind of brand is Palmonas?

Palmonas is a demi-fine jewelry brand founded in 2022 by Mohadikar and Amol Patwari, using materials such as surgical stainless steel, sterling silver, and 18K gold vermeil. "Demi-fine" refers to the mid-price zone that sits above fashion jewelry but is more accessible than fine jewelry (gold, platinum). In India, demand in this category has surged on the back of rising disposable income and expanding lifestyle consumption among younger generations.

In 2024, Shraddha Kapoor joined as a co-founder, and brand awareness jumped at once. Kapoor is a top Bollywood star with about 90 million Instagram followers, and what sets this apart from an ordinary celebrity tie-up is that she is involved not merely as a brand ambassador but as a co-founder with actual ownership in the business.

A staggering growth trajectory: from ₹97 lakh (970 ten thousand rupees) to ₹39 crore

Palmonas' financial figures are striking. Whereas sales in FY24 (fiscal year 2023-24) were just ₹97 lakh (970 ten thousand rupees, roughly 1,690 ten thousand yen), FY25 (fiscal year 2024-25) reached ₹39 crore. That's growth of more than 40 times in a single year.

What underpins this growth is an omnichannel strategy. By combining online (D2C e-commerce) with offline (directly operated stores), the brand captures both digitally native shoppers and customers seeking a physical experience. Even more notable is the fact that all 60 stores are profitable. There are zero "cash-burn flagship stores" — that is, no stores accepted as loss-making, forward investments. In the usual rapid retail expansion phase, it's common to carry loss-making stores in the name of building brand awareness, but Palmonas has not done that.

The real value of the celebrity co-founder model

Shraddha Kapoor's involvement makes extremely good sense from a marketing-cost standpoint. In India, hiring a celebrity for TV commercials and advertising comes at enormous expense. But with Kapoor herself promoting the brand as a co-founder, it can reach tens of millions of followers at close to zero marketing cost.

This "celebrity co-founder" model is spreading rapidly in India. There is a growing number of cases where actors or cricketers get involved not merely as ambassadors but as equity-holding founders. What matters here is that Kapoor is committed directly to the growth of the business, not just "a face." Her statement that "we will expand even more aggressively over the next 12 months" also functions as a signal to investors.

For the broader trend across India's D2C market, see also the Q1 2026 India D2C fundraising trends. The concentration of investment in celebrity-led brands is also a pronounced trend on a quarterly basis.

How the all-stores-profitable model works — why it's possible

There are several structural factors behind having every store profitable.

• Low inventory risk: demi-fine jewelry has low seasonality and little waste from disposal. Unlike apparel or food, unsold stock doesn't lose its value.
• High gross margins: surgical stainless steel and sterling silver come at a low material cost, allowing the brand to secure high gross margins through its premium. It can project "a sense of quality" while keeping material costs down compared with higher-priced gold jewelry.
• Validate demand online, then open offline stores with confidence: as a D2C brand, it builds up demand data online and opens stores only in trade areas where a winning pattern is visible. This underpins a store-opening strategy where "every store that opens is profitable."
• Community marketing: Kapoor's social media functions as a de facto customer acquisition channel, compressing advertising spend. Stores function as a place for "experience and confirmation."

The $40 million raised this time will mainly go toward offline store expansion, aiming to grow from 60 stores to more than 100 within 12 months. The convergence of quick commerce and retail in India is also analyzed in detail in the latest India quick commerce trends for 2026.

What Japanese companies can learn from India's D2C sector

Palmonas' success model offers many lessons for Japan's brand businesses too.

1. The effectiveness of "demi-fine" as a price-positioning strategy

In Japan too, the middle price band that is neither budget nor luxury is a chronic blind spot. In food terms, it's the zone of "a bit more refined than supermarket prepared food, but more casual than a restaurant." This positioning strategy can be applied across categories, not just jewelry.

2. Validate demand online-first, then harvest reliably offline

The model Palmonas put into practice, e-commerce first, then physical store rollout, is also the lowest-risk scale-up strategy for Japanese D2C brands. In particular, "store-opening decisions grounded in data" has room for application among food and household-goods makers wanting to break free of dependence on major supermarkets and department stores.

3. Bring in a celebrity as a "co-founder," not an influencer

Japan also has plenty of celebrity collaboration products, but most end as a one-off promotion. Bringing in a celebrity as a partner who holds equity and is committed to the business secures long-term, sustained reach. In particular, "co-founding" with an athlete or a well-known cook with a large social media following is a model worth considering even in the food and agriculture sectors.

4. As a reference case when entering the Indian market

India's D2C market is projected to grow explosively toward 2030. The online jewelry market alone is expected to reach $69 billion by 2030. For Japanese companies considering entry into or partnership with the Indian market, a category where demi-fine brands like Palmonas are growing rapidly could be an entry point for OEM work or collaboration.

Conclusion: a new D2C principle of "scaling while staying profitable"

What Palmonas demonstrates is a challenge to the conventional startup wisdom of "build scale at a loss first, and turn profitable later." All 60 stores profitable, 40-fold sales growth, a celebrity co-founder — these are not products of chance, but the inevitable result of combining a data-driven store-opening strategy with an omnichannel approach.

As India's D2C market matures, the model of "maintaining profitability while expanding" is becoming the standard. For Japanese companies looking to tackle the Indian market, or to apply lessons from India to the domestic market, the Palmonas case is essential reading.

For the latest information on the Indian market, India Marketing JP we continue to report on an ongoing basis here.