Imagine a platform where Made in India products – from herbal wellness tonics to handcrafted textiles – reach your doorstep anywhere in the world, as easily and affordably as that phone case you bought on Temu. In China, Temu’s meteoric rise has proven the power of a factory-to-door model: cut out middlemen, ship directly from factories, and pass extreme cost savings to consumers. Temu flooded global markets with ultra-cheap goods, expanding to 90+ countries within three years (here). By late 2024 it was the second most-visited shopping site in the world, even briefly surpassing Amazon in app usage. This ultra-competitive playbook – offering goods in 600+ categories at rock-bottom prices – has made Temu a global phenomenon. Now, as a founder in this space, I often ask: Why can’t the next Temu come from India? The world needs a TEMU from India – a global direct-to-consumer platform that unlocks India’s vast supply of products and cultural treasures for everyone, not just the diaspora. Here’s why this vision is not only plausible, but timely.

Temu’s Playbook: Factory-to-Door Disruption

Temu has shown how transformative a factory-to-door supply chain can be. Launched in 2022 by PDD Holdings (the parent of Pinduoduo), Temu set out to connect Chinese manufacturers directly with international consumers. The result? An app where you can buy a smartphone case for under $1 with free international shipping – deals so cheap they seem unreal. Temu aggressively pushed vendors to slash prices (even at a loss) to attract users. By eliminating importers and local distributors, Temu’s model squeezed out inefficiencies, delivering Chinese factory goods straight to consumers’ doors at ultra-competitive prices.

The impact has been staggering. Temu became the most downloaded shopping app in the U.S. within months, outpacing even giants like Amazon. It expanded across North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond at breakneck speed. As of 2024, Temu was attracting hundreds of millions of visits monthly and challenging Amazon’s user numbers globally. In an inflation-weary world, Temu’s “mind-blowingly cheap” goods struck a chord with consumers. Categories span everything from clothing and electronics to home decor – all delivered from factory to doorstep with surprising ease. Temu’s rise signals a broader shift: consumers worldwide are open to buying directly from overseas factories if the value proposition is strong enough. It’s a wake-up call that the global e-commerce playing field is flattening. And it poses a question: if China can do this, why not others? This is where India comes in.

Why India Can Build the Next Global D2C Platform

India is uniquely positioned to build a Temu-style platform that serves the world. Consider the strategic advantages India brings:

Manufacturing Depth: India is already among the world’s top manufacturing economies (4th largest globally) with strengths in areas like pharmaceuticals, textiles, chemicals, and engineering goods. The country produces everything from generic medicines to cutting-edge textiles at scale. With government initiatives like “Make in India” bolstering production, India’s manufacturing output has been climbing – Indian exports even surpassed a $400 billion annual target recently.

English-Speaking Edge: Unlike in China, English is widely spoken in India – over 228 million Indians can speak English, the second-largest English-speaking population after the US.

Tech & IT Infrastructure: India’s prowess in IT and software is world-renowned, and its e-commerce know-how is robust. From leading IT services firms to a thriving startup ecosystem, India has the talent to build scalable platforms and leverage AI, fintech, and data analytics to optimize a global marketplace.

Logistics on the Rise: Historically, logistics was a sticking point for India, but this is changing fast. Emerging logistics players and infrastructure investments are dramatically improving both domestic and international delivery networks. India now boasts multiple private courier giants and warehouse networks, and it is forging new international shipping partnerships. The government is also stepping in – for example, it’s piloting e-commerce export hubs via India Post (Dak Niryat Kendra) to streamline small parcel exports. With each passing year, it’s becoming easier, faster, and cheaper to ship Indian products abroad, whether through postal channels or global couriers. In short, the supply chain pipes are being laid for a factory-to-door system from India.

From Ayurveda to Fashion: Global Appetite for Indian Products

Crucially, it’s not just about India’s capacity to supply – global demand is ready and waiting. Indian products already enjoy enthusiastic reception around the world, well beyond the Indian diaspora niche:

Wellness and Ayurveda: The world’s interest in natural health remedies has skyrocketed, and Ayurveda’s 5,000-year-old wisdom is now a hot global trend. From turmeric-infused lattes to ashwagandha supplements, Indian herbal products have garnered immense interest worldwide. The global Ayurveda market was estimated at $14.4 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow an astonishing 27.2% annually through 2030 – an indicator of surging mainstream demand. India’s exports of Ayurvedic and herbal products reached $5 billion in 2023, a 45% jump from 2019. Clearly, holistic wellness from India is having its moment on the world stage.

Yoga and Lifestyle: Alongside Ayurveda, yoga has become a global way of life – a cultural export from India embraced by ~300 million practitioners worldwide.

Food and Spices: The flavors of India have conquered kitchens globally. From London to Los Angeles, turmeric, cumin, and garam masala are pantry staples. Indian packaged foods (ready-to-eat curries, snacks, spice blends) have a growing fan base beyond diaspora shoppers.

Fashion and Textiles: India’s vibrant fashion, fabric, and jewelry traditions are another untapped goldmine. India is already the world’s 6th largest exporter of textiles & apparel, underscoring its capacity.

Diaspora & Beyond: Yes, the diaspora (now ~35 million strong worldwide) has always craved products from back home. But now we’re seeing mainstream consumers – irrespective of heritage – seek out what India offers: natural wellness alternatives, spice-laden superfoods, indie fashion labels, eco-friendly home decor, and more. The world is falling in love with Indian products for their quality, authenticity, and value.

Beyond India’s Strengths: Expanding Into New Categories

While Ayurveda, yoga, spices, and textiles give us a powerful foundation, I see even greater potential ahead. Temu has proven that global consumers are just as hungry for electronics, home improvement tools, lifestyle gadgets, toys, and fashion accessories — categories where India is steadily building capacity.

As Indian manufacturing scales and diversifies, we can unlock these segments too. Imagine a world where not just Ayurvedic supplements or handcrafted sarees, but also affordable smart home devices, kitchen gadgets, or even children’s toys proudly carry the “Made in India” label — and reach homes across the globe.

This is what excites me most as a founder: the chance to start with categories where India is already world-class, and then expand ambitiously into the same breadth that Temu offers today. It’s a journey of step-by-step category expansion, powered by technology, compliance, and trust.

We’re still early, but the trajectory is clear. India’s story in global commerce won’t be limited to heritage products — it can span the entire spectrum of everyday consumer goods. And with the right execution, it will.

Catalyzing the Movement: Distacart’s Vision

At Dista , we’ve been quietly building towards this future. When my co-founders and I started Distacart.com , our mission was simple: enable anyone, anywhere to shop from India’s best local sellers. We saw how the Indian diaspora in the U.S., Canada, Australia and beyond struggled to find authentic Indian goods or paid exorbitant markups for them. Distacart.com set out to fix that by connecting global customers directly with sellers in India – effectively a cross-border marketplace for Indian products.

Fast forward to today, and the journey so far validates the massive opportunity. Distacart has blossomed into a global platform serving over 700,000 customers across 40 countries. Without much fanfare, this bootstrapped effort now generates millions in annual revenue, shipping thousands of orders of Indian essentials every week. From Ayurvedic supplements and boutique skincare to regional snacks and sarees, our catalog of 300,000+ products is a glimpse of India’s diversity reaching the world. Every day, we see orders not just from NRIs, but from local Americans curious about Ayurvedic nutrition, Europeans trying Indian hair oils, and Australians buying traditional attire.

Most importantly, Distacart’s experience has taught us how to gradually build the infrastructure for this cross-border model – negotiating with logistics partners for affordable international shipping, streamlining customs and compliance, and ensuring product quality from afar. We’ve learned to balance ultra-competitive pricing with sustainability, opting for steady growth over hype. In essence, we’re proving out the “factory-to-door from India” concept on a modest scale, laying groundwork for something much bigger.

Looking Ahead: A Call to Action

Realizing the vision of a Temu from India will take a collective effort. As we stand on the cusp of this new era, here’s a call to action for all stakeholders to help make it happen:

• For India’s Brand Owners and Manufacturers: It’s time to think beyond borders. Your potential market is not just 1.4 billion Indians at home, but 7+ billion people globally. Invest in quality, branding, and certifications that make your products world-ready. Partner with cross-border platforms and embrace direct international shipping.

• For Investors and Enablers: There is an opportunity to back India’s global retail revolution at its inflection point. Support exporters, logistics startups, and marketplace platforms. The prize, as Temu has shown, is multi-billion-dollar scale.

• For Ecosystem and Policy Players: Simplify customs for low-value shipments, expand postal export initiatives (EY), and build digital trade corridors. Public-private partnerships can amplify India’s competitiveness.

• For Consumers Worldwide: Keep an open mind and give Indian platforms a try. Every order fuels India’s global growth story.

India’s moment in global commerce has arrived. Just as China’s factory-to-door platforms transformed online shopping in the past decade, India’s innovators are ready to define the next decade with a new model – one rooted in India’s strengths of culture, creativity, and cost-competitive manufacturing. A Temu from India is not about copying China, but about India asserting its own narrative in global retail: one of inclusive growth, authenticity, and win-win exchange.

At Dista , we are excited to be a small part of this unfolding story. But we cannot do it alone. It will take many hands, many minds, and a shared vision to build the pipelines from India’s factories to the world’s doorsteps. The opportunity is immense – for India to boost exports and jobs, for consumers to gain choice, and for the global economy to become more balanced.

So let’s seize this opportunity together. The world needs a Temu from India – and India is ready to deliver. The next global retail phenomenon could very well carry a tag that reads “Made in India, Delivered to You.” Let’s build it, together.