Welcome to the second part of our Consumer Unicorn Blueprint series. In part 1, we introduced a framework to reframe the consumer business P&L as strategic questions instead of dry financial metrics.

In part 2, we examine the first slice of this framework: revenue, or, as we like to call it, "Where to Play."

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If you've spent more than five minutes on LinkedIn, you've seen those charts:

“India's GDP per capita climbing from $2.5K to $4K!”
“Population pyramids transforming! Millions entering the middle class by 2047!”

The opportunity is obvious — but the strategic choices around "where to play" are anything but. In our Consumer Blueprint framework, we're pushing beyond "how much money are you making?" to ask the questions that matter:

• Who are you truly building for? 
• Is your market deep or shallow-but-growing-faster-than-your-burn-rate?
• Are you creating markets or capturing share?

Let's answer these questions, armed with insights from founders like Revant Bhate (Mosaic Wellness), Abhiraj Singh Bhal (Urban Company), Varun Alagh (Mamaeath) and Avnish Bajaj (Z47).

Who Are You Building For? The Targeting Trilemma

Conventional wisdom says start with one sharp target group — the sharper, the better. This isn't because of resource constraints; it's because your value proposition likely needs to be uniquely tailored to succeed.

When identifying your audience, three distinct approaches emerge:

1. Category Penetration

This is the art of unlocking new price points for the middle class. It requires reimagining manufacturing (affordable smartphones), supply chains (Jio's telecom disruption), or distribution (Meesho's reseller network).

The burning question: Can products like laptops, refrigerators, and washing machines become as ubiquitous in Indian homes as opinions about cricket? What would that take?

2. Premiumization

For those targeting the "I have disposable income and I'm not afraid to dispose of it" segments. This strategy offers additional value (both real and perceived) that nudges consumers up the price ladder.

Side note: Alcohol brands excel at premiumization tactics. Their positioning architecture often has little to do with what's actually in the bottle and everything to do with launch history and market dynamics. They make for fascinating case studies in brand architecture.

3. Innovation

These typically begin with affluent consumers capturing surplus value, but extraordinary founders sometimes innovate "Bharat backwards" as well, creating entirely new categories or consumption patterns.

TAM Deep? Or Shallow-But-Growing-Fast?

Beyond theoretical frameworks and consultant-speak, market data reveals where opportunity actually hides:

This chart shows per capita consumption multiples across categories in Brazil and China compared to India. The differences aren't just interesting data points — they're treasure maps to future consumer behavior.

Two standout opportunity clusters emerge:

1. Discretionary spending categories with multiples far above the "overall" line — leisure, hotels, durables. These explode when people graduate from "needs" to "wants" spending. Remember when eating out was a special occasion? Soon it'll be every Tuesday.
   
   
2. Already large TAMs getting supersized — housing and healthcare expand dramatically with GDP growth, but with better long-term prospects.

Categories below the "overall" line present opportunities for premiumization (branded vs unbranded) and penetration plays (particularly in FMCG).

Market Creation vs. Market Share: The Founder's Existential Crisis

Perhaps the most soul-searching question is whether you're creating a market or capturing share. Our panel's exchange revealed fascinating perspectives:

Wondering how India’s top founders actually think through a P&L? Watch our latest podcast.

Takeaways

Revenue strategy isn't just about growth targets, it's about making deliberate choices on where to compete and how to win.. It's about making deliberate choices on where to compete and how to win. Whether you're making products affordable for the masses, premium for the classes, or entirely new for the visionaries, these decisions fundamentally shape everything downstream.

In our next article, we'll explore the second component of our Blueprint: Gross Margins, or as we've reframed it, "What to Build vs. What to Buy" those value chain decisions that determine whether you're Zara or yet another fashion brand wondering why your inventory never moves.

Stay tuned as we continue unpacking how to build consumer unicorns in a market where potential is everywhere, but clarity is the true competitive advantage.