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For most of us, dreams are brewed over chai and gupshup in the office canteen, right? They’d often begin with: “Guys, let’s do something big!” But the idea would fizzle out by the weekend.
But for four young professionals who bonded over their love for superheroes, anime, Hogwarts, and everything fandom, the spark didn’t die out. What started as banter about overpriced merchandise and a lack of cool collectibles soon turned into a mission: to build India’s ultimate pop culture destination.
Read on to know how a conversation led to creating a brand and not just a platform, but a community that garnered ₹360 crore in business in 2024-25.
In A Canteen and a Dream
In 2013, Vedang Patel, Rohin Samtaney, Aditya Sharma, and Harsh Lal were busy and doing well with their 9-to-5 jobs. But only on paper, as they dreaded every Monday with one thought creeping in: ‘Kuch achha karna hai!’
It was during one such canteen chat in Tres Vista, where a dream began as a joke when they talked about work, life, and their love for Star Wars and pop culture.
Binding Four Lives – Pop Culture
One question that popped up louder than the rest in every conversation: Why is it so hard to find cool, affordable, original fan merchandise in India?
The solution? Building a brand that connected with sci-fi nerds, comic book geeks, or superhero junkies on a deeper, more personal level. That’s how the Souled Store was born with ₹5 lakh and a shared vision.
First, with ₹25,000, they launched the website. Aditya bought the first batch of T-shirts himself and stored them in his cupboard. The Souled Store was launched in 2013.
The Fantastic Four
The Souled Store sold 100 T-shirts in the first week, but just five in the second. The team doubled down, running ads, improving SEO, and creating content that fans could relate to.
They cold-emailed everyone, from Disney and Warner Bros. to AIB.
Their first breakthrough came when Tanmay Bhat from AIB responded and partnered with them for brand promotions.
Bit by bit, the buzz grew—fueled by word of mouth—until it finally reached Warner Bros., and The Souled Store landed its first official license: F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and The Big Bang Theory merchandise.
A Different League In A Big Market
The Souled Store wasn’t aiming to be just another brand—they wanted to be the brand. The first step? Design.
Instead of following preset design templates like most licensed brands,
The Souled Store created original, quirky, and expressive designs from scratch, injecting personality into every T-shirt.
This creative edge opened doors to bigger licenses, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Disney, WWE, and more from Warner Bros.
The Soul Of The Brand
The Souled Store was never just about selling merchandise; it was about creating an unforgettable customer experience. Every detail spoke volumes.
A Star Wars tee wasn’t just a product; it came with a Jedi-style message, and a Hogwarts tee included a personalized acceptance letter.
The Souled Store didn’t compete by slashing prices; it stood out. Its website conversion rate far surpassed the industry average.
Customers came for the fandom but stayed for the quality. By 2018, without a rupee of external funding, The Souled Store had crossed ₹30 crore in revenue.
When Funds Poured In – Expansion
Although the company was profitable, it needed external funding to expand. They hired a banker to help them raise money and plan an approach.
As the brand was among the few businesses that profited from an online model, proposals for funding started pouring in soon after.
Out of the three received, the company joined hands with RPSG for a funding of ₹10 crore in 2018, the first external funding for Souled Store.
The Speed Breaker – Pandemic
2020 arrived with a long-standing lockdown, uncertainty, and a halt in progress. With just ₹50-70 lakh in reserve, the business paused for 45-60 days as the lockdown stretched on.
But when it lifted, demand surged.
As many shifted to work-from-home, people favored comfortable casuals over formal wear.
The Souled Store became one of the few businesses to profit during the pandemic, not through deep discounts or burning cash, but with great products loved by fans.
Investors’ Confidence
After getting its first funding in 2018, The Souled Store grew and caught more investor attention. In 2021, they raised around ₹70–75 crore from Elevation.
This helped them go big on marketing—with TV ads, influencer campaigns, and fun, quirky videos, which boosted their growth by another 60–70%.
In 2023, they raised ₹135 crore from Xponentia Capital, pushing their run rate to ₹300+ crore and reaching ₹380 crore in revenue for FY24.
By then, repeat customers accounted for 75% of sales, with a 200% annual repeat purchase rate. But the standout statistic is that 90% of all sales happened directly on their online platform.
Screamed Strength
From its first physical store in Bandra to 27 locations today, from ₹30 crore in revenue to ₹360.2 crore in 2023-24, and from no external funding to a valuation of ₹817 crore in the September 2024 funding round, The Souled Store has come a long way.
What started with one funding source is now planning for an IPO, and what began as a niche brand in the Indian market has grown to stand firm in a sea of over 700 competitors.
From clothes to quirky shoes, perfumes, kidswear, and even undergarments, every product carries The Souled Store’s signature style and commitment to local. It follows the ‘Make in India’ principle.
Culture, Community & Conscious Growth
For The Souled Store, scale has never meant losing soul.
Alongside its expansion, the brand embraces sustainability, partnering with WFA and Goonj to weave eco-consciousness into every drop.
And for the fans? The merch drops just keep coming. From Naruto and Captain America to Gossip Girl and Gilmore Girls, every launch taps into a pop culture pulse that runs deep.
Because this isn’t just fashion, it’s a feeling. A community. A movement where the soul of a fan finds their home.
Entering Beast Mode – The Next Chapter:
After over a decade of redefining fan fashion, The Souled Store is gearing up for its next big leap. With the recent acquisition of Redwolf, the brand plans to raise ₹150-200 crore by July to triple its store sizes and enter the Gulf market.
They aim to dramatically scale their offline presence in the next 12 months, expanding into new geographies and larger formats.
But their ambitions don’t stop at retail. The Souled Store is eyeing a ₹2,000 crore IPO in the next 18 months. Bankers are being recruited, strategies refined, and the goal is clear: scale up, elevate brand equity, and take their fandom-first philosophy global.
I’m Archana R. Chettiar, an experienced content creator with
an affinity for writing on personal finance and other financial content. I
love to write on equity investing, retirement, managing money, and more.
