How To Build India’s Next ₹100 Cr Kids Skincare Brand | Kapil Thirani x Tuco Kids | One in a Billion | Ep 18

India's kids' personal care market sits in a strange gap. For school-going children aged 3 to 13, almost nobody built anything. Why?

In this podcast of One in a Billion, Kapil Thirani sits down with Chanakya Gupta (Co-Founder, Tuco Kids) to break down how a former Flipkart VP and Unilever veteran built India's first dedicated kids' personal care brand, now racing toward a ₹100 Cr run rate. From being part of Flipkart's first Big Billion Day team in 2014 to co-building Tuco Kids alongside his wife Aishwarya Murali, Chanakya shares the highs, failures, and hard-earned lessons behind creating a category from scratch.

This is not just a conversation about shampoo, sunscreen or body lotion, It's about category creation, winning parents' trust, surviving a market that didn't exist, and building a D2C brand the right way in India.

Inside the episode:

• How Tuco Kids started as The Unbottle Company, a sustainability mission against plastic waste • Why they sell to parents first and let kids have fun second

• The 4-stage testing process behind every product launch

• The ₹4500 sunscreen filter that defines the brand's DNA

• Why their quick commerce launch failed, and what they learned

• How Farah Khan became a no-filter brand voice for parents

• Why baby care and adult care do not fully solve for 3 to 13-year-olds

Whether you're a founder, D2C operator, marketplace seller, FMCG enthusiast, or simply someone curious about how real consumer brands are built in India, this episode offers an honest look at the grit behind the numbers.

Plug in your earphones, hit play, and listen to the story behind building a brand in a category most people thought didn't exist.

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Chapters

00:00 Coming Up

01.12 Introduction

03:27 From Corporate to Startup: The Learnings from Unilever, Flipkart & Cult

08:40 The Backstory: Goa, Plastic Waste & The Unbottled Company

12:58 Hero Products, the 4-Step Testing Process & Dadi-Nani Ke Nuskhe

21:34 Parents vs Kids: The Tripartite Strategy & Conscious Marketing

26:18 Joining Aishwarya: The Husband-Wife Co-Founder Decision

40:51 Bootstrap vs Funding: Choosing the Right Partners

51:04 Farah Khan: The Face of the Brand

01:00:00 The Flipkart Story: Big Billion Days, Empowerment & ESOPs

01:03:49 Closing Thoughts