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Go back a decade and think how you would buy a plant; mostly by visiting a local nursery. Now think back if you can remember a brand in this space, locally or nationally… Chances are that you will draw up a blank here. It was in this backdrop, that the gardening solutions company, Ugaoo was launched in December 2015, in the midst of the D2C boom and disrupted the gardening category.
Since then, Ugaoo has built a strong omnichannel presence, and retails via its own website ugaoo.com, 10 offline stores in Pune, Mumbai and Bangalore, and across marketplaces and quick commerce platforms with all channels playing a role in its expansion.
Commenting on the year gone by Siddhant Bhalinge, Founder, Ugaoo says, “The past year has been incredible for Ugaoo. As category creators for selling houseplants online, from day one we’ve been all about making gardening easy and accessible. Online sales have been at the heart of our growth, and we’ve been fortunate to gain strong traction across multiple channels.” He continues, “40% of our revenue comes from marketplaces while 15% each comes from our website, q-comm and offline stores. 45% from plants, 32% from plant care, 9% from seeds, 6% from planters and stands and 8% from accessories and others. This multi-channel approach has helped us stay connected with customers across the country, making plants a part of more and more homes.” In the past year, Ugaoo has sold over 12 lakh plants in the past year, with Bengaluru and Mumbai leading the demand with NCR also seeing a surge.
Bhalinge states, “From a business standpoint, we’ve crossed ?100 crore in ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue), expanded across India, completed over 1 million orders in the last three years, expanded both online and offline (70% online, 30% offline) and expect this to even out to 50/50 over the next three years. We don’t see the need to raise more funds in the near future, which gives us the freedom to focus on building a stronger brand, delivering a better customer experience, and going deeper on regional expansion.”
Since its start, Ugaoo has grown beyond selling plants and now offers everything from gardening tools, fertilizers, sustainable gifting options and plant-based air purifiers (co-developed with uBreathe). He says, “The idea is to be a one-stop-shop for all things gardening, keeping our customers engaged and coming back for more.”
Insight Driven Strategy
Over the years, Ugaoo has gathered some invaluable insights that have shaped both its products and marketing strategy. A big shift has been the rise of “plant parenting”—millennials and Gen Z buying plants as a décor and also seeing plants as an extension of their lives and lifestyle. Another big trend seen is the link between plants and wellness with people realizing the difference a few indoor plants can make by purifying the air. Bhalinge says, “For us, plants are so much more than just a product. They’re a gateway to mindfulness, sustainability, wellbeing, and personal transformations. We’re not just selling plants; we’re offering an experience that helps people feel more connected to nature in their everyday lives.”
Ugaoo was started with ambition to bring nature into Indian homes, and make urban gardening more accessible. However, the gardening category in India never had a national brand per se, and the lack of a playbook, saw team Ugaoo “figuring things out from scratch.”
The first big challenge was selling seeds and the impatience of people, who didn’t want to wait weeks to see something grow. This led the company to pivot and start selling planters, which flew off the shelves. Bhalinge says, “That’s when it clicked: people wanted plants, not just seeds. They wanted something they could enjoy right away.”
The other apprehension was shipping of a live plant. Ugaoo designed special packaging to protect the plants, created soil mixtures to keep them healthy during transit, and focused on low-maintenance plants that fit into busy urban lifestyles. However, selling plants online is expensive with fragile care being paramount for a plant.
To have a full control over quality and pricing, the firm set up a production hub with a 25-acre farm at Talegaon near Pune. In addition, regional hubs were built in cities Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore to speed up deliveries with consumers now receiving healthy high-quality plants within 2 to 3 days. The other focus areas were innovation, optimization, strong growth, improving the supply chain and rethinking customer experience.
Authentic Storytelling
In a bid to be authentic, Ugaoo has focused on creating in-house content that feels real, personal, builds trust and shows consumers that the brand is just as passionate about plants as they are. For its day-to-day storytelling, the brand looks at Gen Z talent and this strategy Bhalinge believes helps stay ahead of the curve and create content that feels relatable, personal, engaging, and fresh. This led to moving beyond traditional marketing.
He comments, “At Ugaoo, storytelling is at the heart of everything we do. Moving our creative efforts in-house was a natural decision as it allows us to be more agile, tap into fresh trends, and create content that feels truly authentic. We know our audience best and by keeping things in-house we can craft founder-led narratives that genuinely connect with millennials and Gen Z rather than following a cookie-cutter agency approach.”
The cornerstone of its marketing strategy is education and community building, providing plant care guides to interactive workshops. This approach has helped build a loyal, engaged community of plant lovers and not just a customer base, with Ugaoo’s content-driven approach across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube Shorts where people engage, share and become part of the conversation. A game-changer for Ugaoo has been its use of social media that has allowed the brand to build a community of plant lovers and not just a customer base. However, Ugaoo does collaborate with creative agencies for its big campaigns. Bhalinge says that the company’s our biggest strength has been the ability to blend education with entertainment. Ugaoo’s campaign, #SajaooWithUgaoo, which focused on sustainable gifting and mindful celebrations, garnered over 30 million views. Collaborating with lifestyle and gardening influencers, eco-conscious brands, and artisans has also helped reach a wider audience and showcase how plants can transform spaces.
He says, “It’s not just about selling, we're creating an ecosystem where plant lovers can learn, engage, and share their experiences. That’s what truly sets Ugaoo apart. Looking ahead, we’re doubling down on content, community and commerce creating an even stronger connection with our customers while expanding our footprint in new cities and marketplaces. The goal is simple: to make urban gardening a way of life and continue leading India’s green revolution.” He continues, “We also understand that our customers, especially urban women aged 25-50 aren’t just buying plants, they’re investing in quality, aesthetics, and a greener lifestyle. By owning our storytelling, we can highlight what makes Ugaoo unique and why our products justify the premium pricing.”
For example, to announce its funding, Ugaoo didn’t go down the traditional, corporate route. Instead, a fun, quirky film was made that turned plants into real-life buddies going on video calls, trending on Instagram, and even “going to space”. Bhalinge says, “The response was phenomenal. We saw a 452.9% jump in Instagram and Facebook engagement, reaching 60 million unique accounts. We achieved a 5.5 Return on Ad Spends (ROAS). Over the past year, our YouTube Shorts has really taken off, racking up 7.2 million views and over 123.8k hours of watch time.”
Catering to the young, urban and the sustainable consciousness, has helped Ugaoo tap into a cultural shift. He says, “We’ve positioned Ugaoo as a category creator in a US$11 billion market, growing at a 30% YoY CAGR. And the impact isn’t just digital. Since uplevelling out marketing in mid-2024, we’ve seen a direct lift in brand awareness and conversions. It’s proof that great storytelling doesn’t just entertain, it drives real business results”
In addition to engaging with consumers through content, Ugaoo looks at immersive brand experiences such as being part of Sula Fest, innovative product offerings, workshops, potting classes, garden tours, collaborating with schools, partnering with local gardening clubs and interactive sessions bring people together and keep the community engaged.
Over the next year, Ugaoo is expanding its presence beyond the top metros into Tier II and III cities. Cities like Hyderabad, Gurgaon, and Kolkata are high on the list, along with Nashik, Kolhapur, Indore, and Bhopal and scaling up regional warehouses in Kolkata, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow. To cater to the consumers’ evolving needs, Ugaoo is looking at bringing in more unique and exotic plant varieties, introduce statement plant species that are rare in India but growing in popularity.
On a final note, Bhalinge says, “We’ve doubled our revenue from ?24 crore in FY23 to ?63 crore in FY24, and we’ve remained profitable throughout. Looking ahead, we’re seeing strong demand, especially in newer regions like NCR, and we have a lot of innovative products in the pipeline. Our focus will continue to be on quality, innovation, and sustainability, and helping people create greener, healthier spaces. The goal now is to expand to the top 10 cities and open 100 retail stores by 2030…..The future of home gardening in India is brighter than ever, and we’re excited to lead the way one plant at a time.”
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