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Back in 2011, shopping for lingerie in India was an awkward, hushed affair. Women ducked into dimly lit stores, avoided eye contact, and relied on bored salesmen to hand them whatever was available. And in the middle of this underserved, underdiscussed category, walked in Richa Kar, armed with data, determination, and a dream to liberate lingerie shopping from societal taboos.
Kar, an engineering graduate with an MBA from Narsee Monjee, was working with SAP, an enterprise application and business AI company on the Victoria’s Secret account. What struck her was not just the scale of the lingerie industry globally, but how repressed and unexplored it remained in India.
In 2011, she quit her job and launched Zivame from Bengaluru, naming it after the Hebrew word ‘Ziva’, meaning radiant. The idea was to offer women a discreet, convenient online platform to buy intimate wear in the comfort of their homes, with access to the kind of variety and information they'd never gotten before.
But nothing about entering a conservative, gendered, underdeveloped category was simple.
When Zivame launched in 2011, India’s lingerie market was fragmented and male-dominated. Women hesitated to shop in physical stores, sizing knowledge was minimal, and the idea of shopping for lingerie online was unfamiliar and uncomfortable to many.
Understanding that privacy would be a top concern for many first-time users, Zivame built several trust-focused features into its customer experience. Orders were shipped in discreet, unbranded packaging.
The company also offered easy returns, cash-on-delivery options, and access to online fit consultants, all measures aimed at lowering barriers to purchase.
Zivame didn’t just have to market products. It had to market the very right to shop freely and confidently for those products. This made their early marketing strategy less about flamboyant ads and more about behavioural rewiring.
The company invested heavily in building informative content across its platform to help women understand sizing, different lingerie types, and the importance of fit. The website hosted detailed guides on how to measure oneself, how to select bras for different outfits, and even health-related insights about wearing the right innerwear.
This approach was complemented by an interactive bra size calculator, a tool that quickly became a differentiator for the brand. For many first-time buyers, this tool helped reduce uncertainty and offered a sense of control over the purchase.
By 2018, after years of operating purely online, Zivame recognised that in a category as personal as lingerie, touch and trial still played a crucial role, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities where online shopping was met with hesitation. To address this, the brand launched Zivame Studios, offline experiential stores featuring trained female staff, personalised fitting zones, and subtle educational prompts. These stores offered a tangible brand presence and built trust among new consumers. It also allowed Zivame to integrate data from both online and offline journeys, enabling a more unified and personalised consumer experience.
In 2020, Reliance Retail acquired a majority stake in Zivame via Zivame’s parent company. This added capital muscle and retail expertise, helping Zivame expand store networks and consolidate logistics.
But Zivame’s foundation had been rooted in something more fundamental than growth; it was about reimagining how women experienced lingerie. The brand knew early on that to succeed, it needed to do more than just sell bras; it needed to build trust, comfort, and confidence from the ground up. And that meant focusing on what truly mattered to consumers: fit, function, and the freedom to choose.
Building a brand on fit and function
In a country where lingerie shopping was often shrouded in discomfort and taboo, Zivame’s earliest communication efforts were centered around one key promise of having the right fit for every woman.
The brand launched its first TVC in 2014. The film featured Indian women from different age groups, professions and walks of life sharing what they have found at Zivame.
From a middle-aged lady policeman who found a 'Pink Thong' to a pregnant bride who found a 'nursing bra' to a grandmother who found a Tummy Tucker', the ad aimed to break many taboos prevalent in the Indian society, at the same time communicating how Zivame has a huge variety of products available to suit each person's individual needs.
The brand noticed that lingerie as a category has always been showcased either in a utilitarian setting or in an obviously sensuous manner. With this campaign it wanted to negate that aging stereotype by showing women comfortably and confidently exploring various lingerie.
In February 2015, Zivame rolled out a below-the-line (BTL) activity titled ‘Fit is my Right’ in Mumbai, aiming to educate over 5 lakh women across India about the importance of wearing the right bra size. The campaign featured a unique Mobile Fitting Lounge, a customised all-women van equipped with trial rooms and fit experts which visited colleges to conduct workshops and free fitting sessions.
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The campaign was prompted by a Zivame survey revealing that 4 out of 5 Indian women wear the wrong bra size and lack awareness around bra lifespan and fit. Through this activity, Zivame aimed to normalise conversations around innerwear and empower women with knowledge and comfort. The campaign was designed to help women make informed choices, addressing a long-standing gap in lingerie retail and education.
In 2016, Zivame launched the “Still Force Fitting Into The Wrong Bra?” campaign, reinforcing its core proposition of helping women find the right fit. The digital-first film took a cheeky yet impactful route, using everyday analogies to show how women often adjust themselves to ill-fitting bras rather than the other way around. With this campaign, Zivame aimed to challenge the normalisation of discomfort in lingerie and sparked conversations around proper sizing—something rarely addressed in mainstream advertising at the time.
By 2017, Zivame expanded its messaging from just finding the right fit to showcasing that its lingerie was truly fit for all—across sizes, life stages, and occasions. Without explicitly labelling the campaign as size-inclusive, the brand naturally cast women of diverse body types and backgrounds, reinforcing inclusivity through representation rather than declaration.
The campaign highlighted that lingerie shouldn’t require women to conform—it should be designed to suit them. Drawing on consumer data and insights from varied body types, Zivame curated a wide range of sizes, from 28A to 46H, and reflected this diversity in its storytelling and casting choices. The idea was simple: every woman should find her perfect fit—without having to fit in.
In 2023, Zivame launched an OOH campaign #MeetYourRightFit to encourage women to discover their right fit by highlighting the struggles that come from wearing ill-fitting lingerie. The campaign vividly depicted the adverse effects and discomfort caused by poorly fitting bras with billboards positioned in Mumbai, Delhi, and Pune.
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The campaign was an extension of Zivame’s brand belief that every woman should be able to wear intimate wear that fits flawlessly, without sacrificing comfort, all the while fostering body positivity.
Going all out on social media
Zivame uses its social media platforms to educate women about lingerie and create an open conversation around a category that is often considered sensitive. Its content has been about destigmatising conversations around lingerie and body confidence. Moving beyond transactional product selling, the brand has adopted a storytelling-led approach to build emotional connect and cultural relevance.
With 488K followers on Instagram and 204K subscribers on YouTube, it shares clear and simple information to help women better understand their intimate wear needs.
It addresses common misconceptions about bra sizing, support, fabrics, and body image. These posts break down confusing topics into easy-to-understand facts, helping women make better choices.
Zivame also shares practical tips and videos on how to measure, fit, and select the right lingerie for different body types. This content acts as a helpful guide for women who may be unsure about what suits them best.
To increase engagement, the brand runs contests and giveaways, encouraging followers to participate in creative challenges and promotions. This approach helps build a community and keeps the audience connected to the brand.
Additionally, Zivame works with influencers who talk openly about intimate wear and body positivity. These partnerships help normalise conversations about lingerie and encourage women to feel comfortable discussing their needs.
In its early content efforts, Zivame partnered with stand-up comedians to create a branded content series that humorously addressed topics typically considered embarrassing for women. The idea was to package this content in a relatable and humorous manner.
The brand has also introduced an IP called ‘Unhooked’, an 8-episode series, where women share their experiences by showcasing how the right intimate wear could boost confidence and enhance external appearance. This brand IP revolved around creating engaging content that resonated with consumers.
The next step in normalising lingerie conversations
Zivame has long focused on breaking down discomfort around lingerie through education, fit-focused communication, and inclusive messaging. But even as awareness grew, certain aspects of the conversation like different types of breasts, remained unspoken or misunderstood. That’s where their next step came in.
In a category where conversations are often veiled in euphemisms or discomfort, Zivame’s ‘Museum of Boobs’ campaign felt like a necessary intervention. The campaign was conceptualised to challenge deep-rooted taboos around women's bodies, breast shapes, and the idea of what ‘normal’ looks like.
The ad film showcased a diverse range of breast shapes—pear-shaped, bell-shaped, round, teardrop, and more through stylised exhibits, installations, and visuals. The core message was that no one shape is the ‘ideal’ shape, and every body is valid. Each exhibit highlighted the uniqueness of these profiles and emphasised the importance of wearing bras tailored to one’s specific shape, not just size.
What made the campaign impactful was its creative approach. It used the familiar format of a museum to reframe how women perceive and talk about their own bodies. Instead of objectifying, it informed; instead of instructing, it included. The tone was cheeky yet respectful. It balanced education and entertainment to drive home the importance of finding the right fit without shame or judgment.
Over the years,
has stayed rooted in a simple idea: comfort comes from understanding, not just fabric. By easing women into conversations around fit, function, and body confidence, the brand didn’t just sell lingerie, it shifted a mindset. From discreet packaging to bold storytelling, Zivame’s journey shows what steady, thoughtful marketing can achieve in a space that once thrived on silence.