New retail brands and store launches in India: October 2026

October 2026 in numbers

We tracked 32 launches in October 2026, each from a different company, so 32 companies appear in the month's list. By type, 12 were new-category moves, 7 were market entries, 7 were store openings, 4 were product launches and 2 were new brands. No company appears twice, which makes October a month of single moves rather than repeat expansion by the same names.

Which categories saw the most new-category moves?

New-category entries were the largest group at 12. Food and beverage firms moved into adjacent shelves: PepsiCo India expanded with zero-sugar beverages and millet-based snacks, Baskin Robbins entered the waffle category, Happy Cultures entered protein bars and Patel Retail launched a whole spices range under Indian Chaska. Personal care and home drew entries too: BIRKENSTOCK entered personal care in India with Care Essentials, Simpolo added faucets to its surface and bathware portfolio, and SNITCH entered men's innerwear with UNDERPLAY. Reliance Consumer Products entered ready-to-drink dairy with Joyland in Tamil Nadu, and Antila Lifesciences launched HydraSure ORS in ready-to-drink packs and sachets.

Where did store openings and market entries land?

Store openings were concentrated in Delhi NCR and Mumbai. Mayavé Jewellery opened five stores across Delhi NCR within 45 days, Jaipur Kurti opened four stores in a single day, and AAPE opened its first standalone India store in Delhi. In Mumbai, Lenskart opened a concept flagship under its evolv format and Italian retailer OVS opened its largest India store at R City Mall. Casio India opened its first G-SHOCK Exclusive Store in Indore.

Market entries numbered 7. CJ Foods entered India with Bibigo Bapsang through GTGO, Lucky Brand entered through a partnership with Confluxe Retail, and Only Good entered through Kiwiyāna. boAt entered Sri Lanka and Bhutan with audio products, smartwatches and charging solutions. NBA said it will open its first India store in 2027 and expand its Suditi merchandising range.

Notable launches

• Nykaa Fashion expanded its Hidden Gems programme with an accelerator for home-grown brands, adding support for smaller labels to an existing platform.
• Mafatlal Industries launched its own home fashion D2C platform with 400-plus products, taking a 100-year-old textile name direct to consumers.
• Foundry, launched by former Dyson India MD Ankit Jain, is one of the month's two new brands and puts an appliance specialist into the founder-led brand group.
• Contraband by Ananya Birla launched a new fragrance and plans to double retail presence to 200 outlets.
• Amazon expanded Amazon Now ultra-fast delivery to over 120 cities, and Swiggy launched multi-restaurant ordering across 720-plus cities, both widening delivery reach.
• PhonePe rebranded Indus Appstore as PhonePe Appstore and expanded into a digital goods marketplace.

What it means for retail operators

Three things stand out for founders and operators. First, category adjacency is the default growth route: 12 of 32 moves were new-category entries, often by brands adding a shelf rather than a store. Second, store expansion is being done in clusters and bursts, as with five stores in 45 days and four stores in a day, which suits operators who can staff and supply a city quickly. Third, India entry is increasingly partner-led, with GTGO, Confluxe Retail and Kiwiyāna named as routes for outside brands. For investors, the month shows a spread across stages and formats rather than a single theme, and the mix of D2C platforms, quick delivery and physical retail suggests operators should watch channel costs as closely as launch counts.

All 32 launches in October 2026

• 1 Oct: Yes Madam expanded its Sokora range across D2C and e-commerce channels.
• 1 Oct: BIRKENSTOCK entered the personal care category in India with Care Essentials.
• 1 Oct: Nykaa Fashion expanded its Hidden Gems programme with an accelerator for home-grown brands.
• 1 Oct: Amazon expanded its Amazon Now ultra-fast delivery service to over 120 cities.
• 5 Oct: Simpolo entered the faucets segment, adding it to its surface and bathware portfolio.
• 6 Oct: Patel Retail launched a whole spices range under its in-house brand Indian Chaska.
• 6 Oct: Mayavé Jewellery opened five stores across Delhi NCR within 45 days.
• 7 Oct: CJ Foods entered India with its Bibigo Bapsang brand through GTGO.
• 12 Oct: Jaipur Kurti opened four stores in a single day.
• 12 Oct: Adie Broswon expanded MOOOZ Jamun Vodka into Punjab, Chandigarh and Uttarakhand.
• 13 Oct: PepsiCo India expanded its portfolio with zero-sugar beverages and millet-based snacks.
• 13 Oct: Mafatlal Industries launched its own home fashion D2C platform with 400-plus products.
• 13 Oct: Happy Cultures entered the protein bars category.
• 14 Oct: Antila Lifesciences launched HydraSure ORS products in ready-to-drink packs and sachets.
• 14 Oct: Reliance Consumer Products entered ready-to-drink dairy with Joyland, launched in Tamil Nadu.
• 14 Oct: Former Dyson India MD Ankit Jain launched appliance brand Foundry.
• 15 Oct: Swiggy launched a multi-restaurant ordering feature across 720-plus cities.
• 15 Oct: boAt entered Sri Lanka and Bhutan with audio products, smartwatches and charging solutions.
• 19 Oct: Eternz launched a zero-commission selling programme for women-led jewellery brands.
• 21 Oct: Contraband by Ananya Birla launched a new fragrance and plans to double retail presence to 200 outlets.
• 22 Oct: NBA said it will open its first India store in 2027 and expand its Suditi merchandising range.
• 23 Oct: Lenskart opened a concept flagship store under its new evolv format in Mumbai.
• 24 Oct: Fossil launched its Swiss-made Signature watch collection in India.
• 26 Oct: Baskin Robbins entered the waffle category with a new dessert range.
• 26 Oct: Italian retailer OVS opened its largest India store at R City Mall in Mumbai.
• 27 Oct: Poetrique expanded its movement philosophy to Delhi NCR with Verse No. 2 and launched The Q Edit.
• 27 Oct: SNITCH entered the men's innerwear market with the launch of UNDERPLAY.
• 27 Oct: Lucky Brand entered India through a partnership with Confluxe Retail.
• 28 Oct: PhonePe rebranded Indus Appstore as PhonePe Appstore and expanded into a digital goods marketplace.
• 28 Oct: Casio India opened its first G-SHOCK Exclusive Store in Indore.
• 29 Oct: Only Good entered India through Kiwiyāna.
• 30 Oct: AAPE opened its first standalone store in India, in Delhi.

Every entry is from our launches tracker, which records only events a published report states as new and checks every name and figure against that report.