Edtimes iconEdtimesSep 28, 2026 ~7 min source read

How Indian Influencers Turned Followers Into Businesses

Creators including Kusha Kapila, Revant Himatsingka, Bhuvan Bam, Gaurav Taneja and Ghazal Gupta used audiences as the first customer layer, moving from one-off brand deals to owner-led consumer businesses across shapewear, nutrition, fragrances, fitness and beauty.

Watch: Influencers Who Turned Their Followers Into Big Businesses

Share this story

Send the public story page.

Useful takeaways from this story.

Creators convert audience trust into repeat revenue by launching products in categories their followers already care about.

Audience interactions—comments, DMs, polls and viral posts—serve as ongoing market research that lowers customer-discovery costs.

Owning a brand changes creator economics: value persists after a post and can compound through repeat purchases and word-of-mouth.

The useful part

ED Times | Youth Media Channel Home Entertainment All Books Movies Music Entertainment Can We Stop Trolling Katrina Kaif And Other Celebs For Looking… Entertainment Ed Sheeran Controversy: Entertainment This Page Is So Frank And Retro, You Will Regret Not… Entertainment Rakhi Sawant's Resurgence: Social Opinions ED Originals A Look At The Best And Funniest Slogans From The Delhi… Social Opinions Why Is 'Rent A Garba Partner' Trend Worrying Mumbai Police?

How it works

  • Every Time I Argue, I Turn Into My Mom Relationships Fast-Track Workplace Friendships "Friend-Bombing" Might Be Unhealthy ED Originals Breakfast Babble:
  • India's Map Is Different For India, China, Pakistan And… More Lifestyle Technology Science Food Automobiles Finance Fashion Sports Travel Home ED Originals Watch:
  • A large following could get creators paid collaborations, event appearances, and brand deals.
  • Their businesses span shapewear, nutrition, fragrances, fitness and beauty, but the underlying strategy is surprisingly similar: use an existing audience as the first layer of a consumer base.
  • Creators spend years receiving an unusually detailed form of market research without necessarily calling it that.

What to take from it

A creator who has repeatedly spoken about a particular problem can enter that category with something a new company usually spends years trying to build, which is context and credibility. Packaging, pricing, quality, customer service, and whether the product actually solves a problem suddenly matter more than how entertaining the founder is. The creator is no longer just the person standing in front of the advertisement.

Example or evidence

  • RELATED ARTICLES ED Originals A Look At The Best And Funniest Slogans From The Delhi Women's Protests ED Originals Breakfast Babble: I Think I Have A Stand-Up Comedy Problem ED Originals In Pics:
  • Social Opinions 120 Accounts Booked For Sharing The Jamui Harassment Video, But Wasn't… Social Opinions.
  • Isn't… Campus Campus Political Goons Catch SRFTI Student Outside Campus To Beat Him Despite… Campus.
  • September 28, 2026 200 0 Facebook X Pinterest WhatsApp Being an influencer used to mean having something brands wanted: eyeballs.

Details worth keeping

Daughter Has Been In The News Too, Recently:… ED Originals In Pics: Crazy Arrangements Made To Pamper BRICS Delegates… ED Originals ED VoxPop: We Asked Gen Z, Can Protests Really Change India?

Related coverage

  • Medium: Why 10,000 Loyal Followers Can Be More Valuable Than 1 Million Passive Ones Continue reading on Medium »
  • Blackamericaweb: The business of being ICONIC!
  • Inc: Four entrepreneurs tell Inc. how they leverage content creators to grow their U.S. brick-and-mortar businesses.
  • Medium: The creator economy has changed the way brands connect with audiences. Gone are the days when businesses relied only on celebrities to… Continue reading on Medium »
  • Medium: Discovery is easy. Knowing which creators actually move product for your category and price point? That's the hard part, and most brands… Continue reading on Medium »

More context around this story.

Loading more related stories...

Keep reading in the app

Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.

Open in app