Inside Hopscotch’s strategy to scale a fashion-led kidswear brand online

Children’s clothing in India, for the longest time, has been largely utilitarian – school uniforms, hand-me-downs, and a handful of “outside” outfits reserved for special occasions. That idea now feels distinctly dated. From birthday parties to bedtime routines, kidswear today is expressive, visual and increasingly aspirational.

Driven as much by social media as by parental pride, fashion has firmly entered children’s wardrobes.

This shift has been building steadily. As millennial parents grew comfortable shopping online and every moment in a child’s life has become ‘for the gram’, children’s fashion stopped being an afterthought. 

It became shareable, stylised and influenced by what other parents were buying, wearing and recommending. Hopscotch, a digital-first kidswear platform, has deliberately leaned into this cultural change.

Launched in 2012, Hopscotch has carved out a distinct space in a largely unorganised category. 

The Indian kidswear market is estimated at close to $20 billion, with nearly 70–80% still dominated by mom-and-pop stores. As a 100% digital-first brand with no offline retail presence today, Hopscotch primarily competes within the organised 20% of the market.

Differentiation is clear across competitors. Hopscotch's assortment is wider and deeper than niche D2C brands. Unlike value-led retailer private labels, it prioritises fashion. Hopscotch's strength lies in the 0–8 age group, where parents still have the most influence over fashion decisions, unlike Zara and H&M, which target teens and tweens.  

The brand has prioritised special-occasion wear, differentiated drops, and a strong visual identity over price and assortment. 

“The biggest priority for us is to take our current positioning to a much wider audience,” says Harsh Mishra, senior director and head of marketing. “That means dialling up awareness, while ensuring we remain the most differentiated and aspirational kids’ fashion brand out there.”

It sells mostly occasionwear because it markets itself as a destination for special occasions and “step-out” moments rather than everyday basics. It targets urban, working, nuclear families, with 99% of shoppers being mothers.

Metros and tier-2/3 towns share business evenly, with seasonal variation. Social media and cultural exposure have unified Indian aspiration, according to Mishra. Access differs, not intent.

“Parents everywhere want fashionable clothing for their children and are willing to spend when social stakes are high,” he says.

“Where Hopscotch comes in is bridging the gap between aspiration and execution through curated fashion and styling guidance. In markets with fewer branded stores and limited exposure, this role becomes even more valuable.”

Logo Refresh

The brand updated its logo in October 2025 due to a growing mismatch between its identity and the consumer and category. The original pink, lowercase, cutesy logo was created over a decade ago. Today's kids are more confident and fashion-savvy, and parents involve them in buying decisions. Hopscotch's old identity no longer reflected its fashion-first, special-occasion brand mission.

About a third of its customers already fall into Gen Z, and over the next decade, they are expected to form the bulk of its consumer base. The previous identity had been created at a time when Gen Z wasn’t even part of the target audience.

“What made the decision clearer was consumer insight,” Mishra says. “Despite never investing meaningfully in brand-building for over 10 years, a strong perception had already formed organically. Almost every mom told us the same thing: that they turn to Hopscotch for birthdays, festivals, holidays, school events and other special moments. That told us we already owned a distinct position in the consumer’s mind. The opportunity was to double down on it.”

The outcome was a visual identity rooted firmly in fashion and styling. The new logo is bolder, more confident and future-facing.

“At its core, this change is about relevance,” he adds. “Staying relevant is one of the hardest challenges for any brand. Larger brands often evolve incrementally; as a younger brand, we had the freedom to make a more decisive shift. The new identity reflects who Hopscotch is today and where we want to be over the next five to ten years.”

Growth targets

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Hopscotch is targeting growth in the 25–30% range in a category expected to grow at 10–15% annually. “It’s ambitious, but not in a way that compromises the long-term business,” Mishra says.

The goal is to increase share without diluting brand identity in an under-penetrated category with significant headroom. Since it is well-funded and not in need of capital, the company prioritises topline growth over valuation.

In an interview with Businessline, CBO Vishal Gahlaut said that the company is currently growing at a rate of 20–25% and expects to close the next financial year with Rs 350–400 crore in revenue.

“When it comes to scaling, two things matter most: how sharp your execution and market fit are, and whether you have the capital to scale them,” he says. “We’re in a strong position on both fronts.”

That clarity has also influenced Hopscotch's current non-playing position.

The brand isn't going offline despite retail's renewed interest in omnichannel strategies. “At some point in the journey we probably will,” Mishra acknowledges. 

“But it’s not a short-term priority. There’s enough headroom to grow and win in the online world, especially with more of the country coming online.”

Media strategy

The online-first conviction extends to media strategy. Mishra believes that television and print no longer appeal to Hopscotch's urban, e-commerce-native households. Instead, the brand has increased its use of Meta and other fashion-sharing platforms.

“Fashion is a highly visual category, and Meta serves us well,” Mishra explains. Performance marketing, influencer collaborations, video ads, static formats, and brand storytelling enrich this ecosystem. Hopscotch's Instagram has organically grown to 1.5 million followers, becoming a storefront and community hub.

“Platforms like Meta are increasingly creative-led,” he says. “With algorithms and AI handling much of the targeting, the real lever today is the quality of creative assets.”

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Hopscotch's in-house studio supports cross-format experimentation. Influencer marketing is a cornerstone, driven by parent community credibility, not scale.

The brand collaborates with trusted voices rather than high-reach personalities to create content that feels like advice rather than advertising.

The brand has long worked with micro- and nano-influencers who closely mirror its consumer base and, more recently, with select mega-influencers to drive scale. Mega influencers raise awareness, while micro creators build trust, relevance, and conversion. All influencer marketing is done in-house, improving collaboration and results.

What’s next

In 2026, Hopscotch’s top priority is scaling awareness. It also seeks to differentiate itself so that it remains the most desirable kids' fashion brand. A third goal is to make daily wear relevant through smaller collections, frequent drops, and brand collaborations. 

It will tie these to differentiated experiences through influencer and brand partnerships or selective offline events. About 20% of its efforts will go to this. The remaining 80% will fund mass awareness.  

The past year has seen marketing investments gradually increase, with a significant portion going to influencer partnerships and quarterly campaign bursts for new launches. 80% of the budget goes to proven channels, while 20% is used for platform, creative, audience, and offline pilot experimentation.

Hopscotch is a B2C, app-first business, with around 90% of sales coming through its app. That makes driving digital footfall critical and sustained investment in performance marketing unavoidable.

Looking ahead, its top media channels for 2026 will be influencer marketing, small-scale events across multiple cities, and Meta platforms—not just for performance, but for brand-building as well.

The brand views brand-building as a way to improve overall funnel efficiency. “Brand versus performance is a false binary,” Mishra says. “Sustainable growth comes from how the entire funnel works together.”