Can Comet Stir Up A Sneaker Revolution With Its Storytelling Playbook?

The sneaker craze, once dominated by iconic drops from brands like Nike, Adidas, and Puma, is no longer just about comfort or sports, it has become a statement, a status symbol for many, if you will. What started as a trend driven by basketball, hip-hop, and streetwear has now become a full-fledged global obsession. 

From high-heat collaborations like Travis Scott X Jordan and Yeezy by Kanye West to innovations such as Nike’s Air Zoom and Adidas’ Ultraboost, global sneaker trends have shaped consumer preferences worldwide, and India is no exception. 

The country is experiencing a sneaker revolution, and witnessing global brands capitalising on the trend, a brigade of homegrown shoemakers has formed a beeline to claim their share.

While newbies like Neeman’s, Yoho, Rare Rabbit and Solethreads, just to count a few, are tip-toeing their way with ultra-cool sneakers to get a place on Indian shoe racks, traditional players like Campus, Bata, and Liberty are not far behind. Many have even revamped their inventory to align with the latest trends, think Red Tape. 

In this much-cluttered space, there is a shoe brand, Comet, that claims to have captured the interest of sneakerheads with shoes that have a tale to be told. With this playbook, Comet has scaled to over 12,000 customers monthly and boasts a sneaker community of 1.6 Lakh+ followers on Instagram. The startup claims that its current monthly revenue is around INR 4-5 Cr.

Founded in July 2023, by Utkarsh Gupta and Dishant Daryani, Comet is a D2C sneaker brand, which sells products for both men and women primarily through its website. 

“No one is telling stories through sneakers in India. Most brands rely on celebrities and traditional marketing, but we didn’t have the budget for that. What we did have is a deep understanding of emotions and culture,” said Gupta cofounder of D2C sneaker brand Comet.

While the brand currently offers over 15 SKUs, all of them are colourful variations of a single model. However, as per the founder, what truly sets the brand apart is its limited-edition sneaker drops every 1-2 months, designed to bring storytelling and culture into sneaker fashion. 

According to the founder, these limited-edition designs sell out in just 15 minutes. Some of their standout releases include Mango, Pataka, Skribble, and Jugnu.

The brand recently started expanding its physical presence and is now available in multi-brand outlets like Broadway in Delhi’s Ambience Mall and select sneaker stores such as Dawntown in Mumbai and Streat Junkies in Bengaluru.

The startup has so far raised over $7 Mn and counts Elevation Capital and Nexus Venture Partners as its key investors.

The Making Of Comet

Comet was born out of Gupta’s admiration for sneakers. While he always had the ambition to build something of his own, the journey of making a sneaker brand began around 2019, during his MBA days at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Chicago.

It is imperative to mention here that Gupta has worked closely with the CEO of Hotstar for two years as the chief of staff. He was a key member of the core leadership team. 

During his time at Hotstar, Gupta successfully launched Hotstar VIP. After Hotstar was acquired by Disney, Gupta decided to pursue what he had been cradling inside of him for a long time — building a sneaker brand. 

After spending a few years observing the culture of the West, Gupta said he developed a deep admiration for how emotions were intricately tied to sneakers in the US. 

However, unlike the US, where basketball, skateboarding, and sneaker culture had deep roots, India didn’t have any emotional connection with sneakers. He knew that he was looking at a white space, but the question was how to fill it. 

“First, India lacked local sneaker brands. Most options were either expensive global brands or basic local ones. Second, the global sneaker brands were priced much higher in India — often in the range north of INR 10,000,” the founder said.

Deeper market research revealed that India had a dearth of brands that were experimenting with colours. “Most of the brands were reluctant to experiment and stuck with colours like black, white, grey, and navy blue, even though the demand was for more vibrant and fun designs. Besides, most of them used universal narratives rather than something that felt local and personal.” Gupta said. 

Another insight that nudged Gupta one step closer to launching his own sneaker brand was Indians’ willingness to own a pair of sneakers that provided value for money. 

“It is a myth that Indians look for cheap products. We want value for the price we pay,” he added. This epiphany led to the genesis of an Indian sneaker brand, Comet, in 2023. 

Gupta launched the brand with his close friend Daryani with 10 SKUs. While launching Comet, their vision was clear — to offer similar quality and designs as global brands but at competitive prices. Currently, priced at INR 4,299 a pair, Comet sees its closest rival in Puma.

Comet’s Sneaker Journey

Speaking with Inc42, the founders said that while they were very clear on the costing front, they found that marketplaces like Myntra were overloaded with sneakers priced around INR 2K.

This price range, too, did not bode well for the founders. “While we wanted to give global brands tough competition with our strategic pricing, we also refrained from getting lost in the crowd, where most local sneakers are being sold for under INR 2K range,” the founders said.

This is where they decided to make a shoe that looked no less than an INR 10K sneaker and sold it for INR 4K — a strategy that has worked wonders for them so far.   

To test their hypothesis of building an aspirational, value-conscious brand, the founders spent months visiting malls and airports to gather feedback. 

After they got validation, the next stop was to decide how to make the shoe. “One way was to go with an easier option, which was to design the upper part of the shoe and then go to a sole factory and ask them to produce different types of soles. This method was cheaper, quicker, and less time-consuming,” the cofounder said.

However, they decided to take the difficult route of building the entire product from zero, starting with the sole. Gupta said that designing sole moulds requires significant investment and the cost of these moulds is in Lakhs. Therefore, to bring this to reality, the founders raised a round before launching their first product.

The net stop was to find a place to manufacture. According to the cofounders, they couldn’t find anyone in India. 

“This was because the shoe-making industry in India is either focused on low-cost shoes (priced INR 2K to INR 3K) or high-quality formal leather shoes. There is no expertise in sneaker manufacturing,” Gupta said.

Hence, their quest led them to China, where they worked in a sneaker factory to learn how to make one. After learning how to manufacture sneakers, they moved to India. Today, all their production is based in India. While they don’t own a manufacturing unit, they design everything in-house. 

They source the material themselves and provide the designs to contract manufacturers, who then make shoes for them. Currently, they have warehouses in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.

The founders took over 7-8 months to launch the very first product. Next, they started focussing on the storytelling part. For this, they created their first limited edition ‘Mango’, which as per the cofounder is a symbol of joy and nostalgia in the Indian culture.

The shoe’s colour scheme took inspiration from raw and ripe mangoes. The packaging resembled a mango and included grass to add an emotional touch that resonated well with Indian consumers. 

Almost every month the startup launches limited editions ‘drops’, which it never restocks. Each drop comes with a unique story, concept, and design.

“We take the risk of limited-edition drops, producing in small quantities because we’re unsure how they’ll perform. But when the concept clicks, it creates hype — sometimes selling out in 15 minutes. Even if it takes a few hours, it still sells out, showing there’s a growing market in India eager for new and unique designs,” Gupta said.

What’s In Store For Comet?

Given that the strategy of floating limited products has worked well for the brand so far, the founders are now keen on expanding their product portfolio to 45-50 SKUs. They aim to bring in more colours and stories to the market.

Besides, one of the key focus areas this year will be expanding offline. The Bengaluru-based company aims to open 3-4 high street stores starting with Bengaluru in April, followed by Delhi and Mumbai later this year. 

These stores will create a new revenue stream for the brand, with an expected revenue of approximately INR 40-50 Lakh per month per store.

Notably, in the Indian sneaker market, which is expected to generate $3.1 Bn in revenue in 2025 alone, Comet is at loggerheads with brands like Puma. However, it needs to be understood that brands like Red Tape, which offer sneakers in the sub-INR 2K range, have already taken the sneaker market by storm. 

Next, even though the brand boasts an Instagram following of 1.6 Lakh+ individuals, it could feel some heat on the ground, for it has positioned itself outside the ambit of first-time sneaker users, who are either likely to go for something convenient on the pocket or too flashy like Nike and Puma. 

Also, for first-time sneaker users, as the fad is only catching up in India, individuals may steer more towards the latter — flashy and expensive brands.

While we are not saying that the brand won’t find many takers, we feel that Comet may find it difficult to become the go-to shoe for many, especially because it has yet to establish itself as a sneaker-only brand in the Indian market that has only started to explore its sneaker obsession.

This raises a key question — Will the brand blaze in the Indian market or burn out like a comet?

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]