How Nasher Miles carved its niche in a competitive luggage market

When Shruti Kedia Daga, along with her husband Lokesh Daga and cousin Abhishek Daga, co-founded Nasher Miles in 2017, the Indian luggage market was far from ready for a burst of colour. Dominated for decades by established names, it was a category built on utility, durability and little else. Yet, the trio saw an untapped opportunity to infuse style and self-expression into a product that had long been seen as purely functional.

“Back then, our clothes had changed, our shoes had changed, but our luggage hadn’t,” recalls Daga. “Everyone was still carrying the same blacks, blues, and greys at airports. It was an oligopolistic market, and brands weren’t creating anything new for the younger, online-savvy consumer who wanted to look good.” That observation became the seed for Nasher Miles. 

But the idea didn’t emerge in isolation. Before starting the brand, the founders had spent years working at the intersection of retail and e-commerce, helping global and Indian labels sell online. It was during this time that they noticed a glaring white space: while categories like fashion and footwear had evolved with the rise of online shopping, luggage had largely stayed the same.

From distributors to disruptors

Before Nasher Miles took flight, the founders ran an online distribution company, helping over 100 brands sell on Amazon and Flipkart. Lokesh, who had led online sales for Philips India, had seen firsthand how e-commerce was changing consumption behaviour. However, the team realised they needed to pivot to survive as larger distributors with deeper pockets entered the market.

“Like many distributors, we knew it was time to create our own label,” says Daga. “We had the right experience, the right insight, and we saw a real gap.”

In 2017, the brand launched with a simple but powerful proposition: colourful, design-forward luggage that made people stop and notice.

The goal was to make Nasher Miles stand out on the conveyor belt and in a consumer’s mind.

Now, the Rs 120 crore brand competes directly with both established legacy players and a new wave of innovative homegrown brands in the luggage market. Its main competitors include VIP, Samsonite, Safari, American Tourister, Skybags, and Aristocrat on the legacy side. Among the new-age disruptors, Mokobara, Assembly, Uppercase, and EUME are its most notable challengers, all targeting younger, style-conscious consumers through digital-first strategies. 

Finding the right fit

Positioned firmly in the mass premium segment, Nasher Miles targeted upwardly mobile consumers looking to upgrade from entry-level brands. It was a decision that paid off early. 

The brand found strong product-market fit, selling out of its first few small lots and recording triple-digit growth in its first few years.

Then came COVID-19 — a severe test for any travel brand. With mobility grounded, the luggage category suffered, but Nasher Miles’ digital-first model helped it weather the storm. “Being entirely online at that point helped us survive,” Daga notes. “We didn’t suffer as much as many of the larger players.”

By 2023, the brand was back on a growth trajectory, clocking over 60% year-on-year growth post-pandemic.

The Shark Tank boost and beyond

A major milestone came when Nasher Miles appeared on Shark Tank India Season 3, securing an all-shark deal, a feat achieved by only a handful of brands that season. “It validated our concept,” says Daga. The visibility from the show, combined with a Rs 35 crore bridge round that followed, enabled the brand to scale further and expand offline.

Today, Nasher Miles is an omnichannel player. It sells through marketplaces like Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra, Nykaa and FirstCry; quick commerce platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart; and modern and general trade stores.

It also operates five exclusive brand outlets and is stocked in over 1,300 general trade stores across India. “Offline contributes around 25% of our overall sales now,” Daga shares. “It’s a patient channel, but it’s growing steadily.”

Flipkart remains its largest partner, contributing over 20% of annual sales and, interestingly, its most profitable channel. That relationship was recently spotlighted through the brand’s latest festive campaign for The Big Billion Days 2025.

Nasher Miles teamed up with Flipkart and creative agency itch to launch a playful campaign featuring digital creators Sakshi Shivdasani and Ayush Mehra. The films, built around the tagline “Why so boring, bro?”, urged young travellers to ditch dull luggage and embrace colour, style and individuality.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Flipkart Fashion (@flipkartfashionofficial)

The brand’s approach this festive season is multi-pronged. While Flipkart is the hero channel, Nasher Miles is amplifying the campaign across Google and Meta, along with callouts on its own D2C website.

“The deals on Flipkart this season were unprecedented,” says Daga. “We want to make sure customers get the best value and experience.”

While influencer marketing has been part of Nasher Miles’ toolkit, Daga admits the brand has shifted gears. “When you’re a brand with limited budgets, you can’t always compete with the bigger players using the same playbook,” she explains. “So instead of chasing large influencers, we’re focusing on building engaged communities and creating our own humorous, relatable content.”

For her, that’s where brand love is built. “Influencers may promote you one week and your competitor the next. But communities stay loyal.”

Made in India, for the world

Another turning point for the brand came with its decision to localise production. “Around 70% of our production is now based in India,” Daga says. 

“All our backpacks are already made here, and we’re looking to increase local manufacturing to 80–90%, keeping only our premium ranges from China.”

This shift not only strengthens Nasher Miles’ margins and supply resilience but also positions it well for global expansion. The brand already caters to customers in the UAE and is exploring further export opportunities.

A category in motion

As Nasher Miles charts its next phase of growth, Daga is confident about the market’s evolution. The once-soft-luggage-dominated category has moved almost entirely to hard luggage, driven by aesthetics and practicality. Consumers are also replacing suitcases every three to five years instead of once a decade, as per Daga.

Another promising trend is the rising appetite for stylish, high-quality backpacks.

“People are willing to spend more on backpacks now,” says Daga. “They’re replaced every year, unlike suitcases, which means a faster replacement cycle and more engagement.”

Quick commerce, too, is reshaping buying behaviour even for bulky items like luggage. “It’s our fastest-growing channel, already at 19% of our annual sales,” she adds. “Like e-commerce did in 2012–13, quick commerce is changing how India shops all over again.”

Looking ahead

Nasher Miles’ next frontier lies in expanding its exclusive brand outlets, both owned and franchise-led, while deepening its play in quick commerce and international markets. As Daga puts it, “There’s enough demand in India for many of us to co-exist. Competition keeps us sharp, and every brand has its own story to tell.”