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What started in 2015 as Fashnear, a hyperlocal platform for fashion, quickly evolved through trial and error. When Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, two IIT Delhi alumni, launched Fashnear, they envisioned an on-demand fashion delivery service sourced from local shops.
The duo began by cataloguing products and delivering orders themselves, only to realise that their initial model wasn’t meeting the needs of the market. A chance interaction with a local shopkeeper opened their eyes to a new possibility: small business owners using social platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook to connect with customers.
They started working on a prototype to let offline retailers sell through social media platforms. Thus, Meesho (Meri-Shop) was born in December 2015. The new vision aimed to empower individuals to become micro-entrepreneurs by curating and selling products from suppliers within their social networks. It transformed into a platform designed to bridge the gaps small businesses faced, connecting suppliers and resellers across India.
A pivotal moment arrived in August 2016 when Meesho was selected for Y-Combinator’s summer program, securing $120,000 in seed funding. By October 2017, Meesho had raised $3.4 million in funding led by SAIF Partners. The momentum didn’t stop there; in November 2018, the company secured an additional $50 million from Shunwei Capital, DST Partners, and others. However, it was in June 2019 that Meesho achieved a landmark milestone, becoming India’s first startup to receive investment from Facebook of $25 million.
The brand has been establishing itself as a one-stop shop for all the user's needs at an affordable price.
Empowering micro-entrepreneurs
As a young brand in its foundation days, Meesho heavily targeted the sellers first. By sharing user experience on how the platform helped grow their business and sharing tips for budding users, the brand made a community of resellers through their campaigns.
These campaigns in their early days also talked about being the best platform to earn profits as a reseller and gaining more users.
Meesho’s initial objective of empowering resellers also focused on empowering women to start their own businesses and so on. This ideology was reflected in many of their campaigns through the years.
As a platform that is run by women and caters to women, it started focusing on women in its advertising campaigns too. One of its campaigns, #MyStoreMystory focused on Indian women who overcome all social and economic barriers to claim what they rightfully deserve. It showcased a woman as a homemaker and a Meesho Entrepreneur.
Their campaigns were also dedicated to women-led businesses in India, shedding light on the stereotypes of people’s idea of working women and celebrating women in business from all walks of life.
Regional strategies
Meesho focused on the needs of Tier II and III markets that often buy loose, unbranded and local products as per their daily needs.
To further make it more user-friendly, Meesho added 8 new regional languages to the app with an eye on 377 million potential users across different regions. Apart from its app, the regional focus is also evident in the brand’s communication. Their video campaigns are often made in multiple languages, aimed targeting diverse audiences.
This regional approach has proven beneficial for the brand. After tweaking their in-app design taking into consideration that most of their sellers were not digitally native, the platform saw their ad revenue shoot up by 30%.
From everyday Indians to celebrity endorsements
As a young brand, Meesho focused on conversing with the everyday Indian without any celebrity endorsement. But as the platform grew out of its social commerce era to becoming a larger e-commerce platform, the brand started associating with multiple celebrities as they brought in their credibility factor that resonates well with the audiences and thus the brand leveraged that in a big way.
The celebrity-led campaign featured nine celebrities including Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Rohit Sharma, Rashmika Mandana, Kapil Sharma, Trisha Krishnan, Karthi Sivakumar, Ram Charan and Sourav Ganguly.
The strategy was to release a Blockbuster poster with these celebrities to create intrigue and speculation whether it is a movie or ad campaign which led to conversation and buzz.
This campaign took an unexpected turn when Sourav Ganguly’s social media team mistakenly shared a post with a caption error which gave away that it was just a promotional stunt, and not a film.
Meesho handled the situation with humour, tweeting, “When Dada hits, it’s a 6. When Dada mishits, it’s still a 6.”
When Dada hits, it's a 6.
— Meesho (@Meesho_Official) September 2, 2022
When Dada mishits, it's still a 6. @SGanguly99 #MegaBlockbuster pic.twitter.com/JPHtvjpYYm
Later in 2024, Meesho introduced #Trendz, a curated collection of latest fashion trends. To promote this collection, the brand launched a campaign featuring the brand ambassadors Ranveer Singh and Rashmika Mandanna. By putting the spotlight on affordability and contemporary styles the brand aimed to connect with young customers who seek trendy fashion without compromising their budget.
Digital-heavy approach
As a digital-first brand, the digital marketing space has played an integral part in Meesho’s growth. In the initial days, digital marketing took a good share of the pie. As time went by, the brand started exploring other mediums.
Despite this, the brand’s digital presence continues to be one of the biggest factors that drive the audience to the brand. Their Instagram handle has collected 4.8 million followers and similarly, it has a YouTube following of 1.25 million subscribers.
The brand uses its digital space to better communicate with the users and has made itself an affordable pit-stop for every Indian’s digital needs. Additionally, because of Meesho, the digital space has seen a rise in affordable fashion creators acting as an organic reach for the brand.
Very frequently, reels are posted on Meesho’s page that feature tutorials of the products on the platform. These are informative in nature and contain suggestions for the viewers. Some videos also feature interesting DIYs that people can try on their own and involve useful recommendations.
Reels of products available on Meesho are posted from time to time. These are either in collaboration with influencers or Meesho’s own hosts, wherein they talk about the best buys or the cheapest items that can be bought.
To ensure maximum reach across the country, efforts are made to feature languages that the majority of the population speaks. Reels often feature characters speaking in Hindi and limited use of English.
Influencers with large followings create Reels featuring Meesho products, showcasing their own experiences with the products, and potentially offering discounts or promotions. This has helped expand Meesho's reach and credibility. It has collaborated with popular influencers like Abhinav Singh, Garima Chaurasia, Khushi Chaudhary, Anisha Dixit, Kishen Das, and Kabita Singh, among others, repurposing viral social media trends with a unique twist in their reels. Influencer marketing has turned out to be really beneficial for Meesho as people are more likely to buy products when their favorite influencers review and try the products themselves.
As the election season was at its peak in India, Meesho aimed to mobilise and empower India's youth to exercise their fundamental right to vote through its #WaitNahiVoteKaro campaign. By collaborating with influencers, changing its brand logo and more, the brand garnered 120+ crore impressions.
This content helps Meesho reach a larger and more diverse audience on Instagram, increasing brand awareness, engaging the audience, educating, informing, driving traffic, building trust, and staying relevant.
New brand identity
In June 2023, the brand unveiled a new brand identity aiming to reflect aspiration and inclusivity. The color palette features hues of 'Jamuni' and 'Aam'. According to color theory, Jamuni has an association with aspiration while Aam is seen as inviting and welcoming. The refreshed color palette aims to evoke personality traits of confidence and approachability among Meesho consumers and sellers. However, the logo retains Meesho's iconic M', albeit in a more colorful and interconnected avatar - which has been strongly associated with the brand since its inception in 2015.
By pivoting its business model and focusing on empowering individuals to become micro-entrepreneurs, the platform has evolved to meet the diverse needs of the market. Its emphasis on regional markets, user-friendly digital strategies, and influencer collaborations has significantly contributed to its development.