DTC Podcast Ep 568: How Kulfi Beauty Grew from a $5K Launch to 720 Sephora Stores with Zero Paid Ads

Date: December 15, 2025
Host: Eric Dick (DTC Newsletter and Podcast)
Guest: Priyanka Ganjoo (Founder, Kulfi Beauty)

Episode Overview

This episode explores the remarkable rise of Kulfi Beauty—a South Asian-inspired beauty brand—from a $5,000 bootstrapped launch to nationwide retail presence in 720 Sephora stores, all achieved without any paid ads. Priyanka Ganjoo shares her founder journey, outlining the power of community, the unique market opportunity for South Asian beauty, grassroots go-to-market strategies, product development, and scaling through retail partnerships. The discussion provides actionable insights for DTC founders, especially those in beauty and CPG spaces.

Key Discussion Points

1. Origins & Mission of Kulfi Beauty

• Inspiration & Brand Purpose

  • Priyanka founded Kulfi Beauty to fill both "product and emotional" gaps in the beauty industry for South Asian consumers.
  • Faced lack of representation and suitable products in mainstream beauty growing up and in her career at Estée Lauder.
  • Sought to showcase the “joy, self-expression, and South Asian heritage” missing from established beauty brands.

    “Your story is your superpower and it's special to you. No one can take that away from you.” – Priyanka (00:00, 37:51)

• Market Opportunity

  • South Asia is a fast-growing beauty market (over 1 billion people), with growth also among the global diaspora (US, UK).
  • Demand for products and representation is high but remains underserved.

    “It's a massive consumer base that is relatively untapped.” – Priyanka (05:10)

2. Product Development & Community-Driven Launch

• Customer Research & First Product

  • Priyanka went “all in," quitting her job to interview South Asians via Facebook groups for real user feedback (06:41).
  • Discovered high demand for “Kajal,” a culturally significant eyeliner, leading to its modernized reformulation as Kulfi’s first product, launched in five shades.

    “Kajal has that storytelling, it has that emotional resonance. Everyone knows what it is, but nobody has reimagined it for our generation.” – Priyanka (07:27)

• Brand Naming & Cultural Roots

  • "Kulfi" means a traditional South Asian dessert, chosen to evoke joy, play, and nostalgia (08:45).

3. Go-To-Market Strategy: Community & Content over Paid Ads

• Early Marketing Moves

  • Built an initial community through direct one-on-one relationships, a blog for emerging South Asian writers, and Instagram outreach (09:17).
  • Hired a PR firm to amplify storytelling, landing front-page features in major beauty publications at launch.

    “We were on the front page of Vogue, Allure, all these beauty publications the day we launched.” – Priyanka (11:13)

• Bootstrapping by Necessity and by Choice

  • With only $5,000, paid ads were impossible; focus was on organic growth and authentic community-building.
  • Community continues to play a role via feedback, UGC, and even campaign modeling.

    “I love Ko Fi, I just feel so proud because how many brands do you love?” – Priyanka (12:41)

4. Accelerating Growth: Sephora & Product Expansion

• Sephora Accelerate Program (14:09)

  • Selected before even launching the brand, received mentorship (not funding), and step-wise preparation for retail.
  • Launched DTC in 2021, Sephora.com in 2022, and now in 720+ Sephora stores across US/Canada.

• Critical Retail Lessons

  • Gradual expansion is essential; "velocity" (how fast the product sells off-shelf) is the main retail success metric.

    “If someone’s not buying your product, you’re not going to succeed.” – Priyanka (18:55)

  • Early sales in Sephora driven more by community than traditional sampling/events.

• Product Success Stories

  • "Kajal" eyeliner is still a bestseller (one sold every five minutes).
  • New "Lassi" lip oils developed based on direct customer feedback; sold even faster than original products.

    “We listen to our customers… all that feedback was basically how we created the lip oil stain.” – Priyanka (30:39)

5. DTC vs. Retail: Building a Balanced Engine

• 50/50 DTC and Retail Split

  • Organic content and community-driven creator partnerships remain key.
  • UGC and nano/micro-influencer content outperform traditional product shots and larger influencers.

    “UGC is driving 95% of what works for us.” – Priyanka (23:08)

• Content as the Growth Lever

  • No scripts for creators: authentic voices amplify reach and resonance, especially in the age of dynamic ad algorithms (Meta's Andromeda).

    “We never even do script. We pick the people and the people then go and speak about the product how they want to.” – Priyanka (26:42)

6. Scaling, Expansion & Hard Lessons

• International Launch (UK)

  • Mistakenly followed traditional retail playbook at first—now focuses on grassroots community events instead of high-profile influencer parties.

    “The most EMV we generated was a $500 picnic in Central Park.” – Priyanka (27:38)

  • Grassroots works best for them, even though it’s slower and more manual.

• Lean Team & Delegation

  • Only six employees; as they scale, Priyanka is delegating more operations and staying focused on product and marketing.

    “My team is always like, get out of our Instagram, get out of the meta account…” – Priyanka (33:26)

• Physical & Emotional Challenges

  • Building community in new markets requires starting over, but this grassroots DNA is non-negotiable—and their competitive moat.

    “What works for us is time consuming and grassroots…that is our competitive moat.” – Priyanka (36:06)

7. Advice for Culturally-Driven Founders

• Embrace the Naysayers
  • Early on, faced discouragement—industry execs doubted a South Asian lifestyle brand’s appeal.
  • Being told your idea is “not going to work” may be a signal you have an untapped opportunity.

    “The more people are like, this is not going to work, the more excited you should be, because nobody else has thought of it.” – Priyanka (37:26)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Relentless Community Focus:
  “The community has been such a big part of giving us feedback, but also then giving us the voice and the platform because they speak about our brand to their friends and family and their community.” – Priyanka (00:00, 13:13)

• On Product-Market Fit and Expansion:
  “If you commit upfront that in like 300 stores…that’s the shortcut to failure. Because you haven’t really tested anything.” – Priyanka (16:11)

• On DTC and Ad Creative:
  “We never even do script. We pick the people and the people then go and speak about the product how they want to.” – Priyanka (26:42)

• On Standing Out:
  “What works for you is going to be very different from what works for someone else. There’s best practices, but then there is best practices for your brand, and that’s not necessarily 100% overlap.” – Priyanka (27:37)

• On Founder Advice:
  “Your story is your superpower and it's special to you. No one can take that away from you.” – Priyanka (00:00, 37:51)

Useful Timestamps

• Origin Story & Mission: 02:23 – 06:41
• Product Development & Naming: 06:41 – 09:17
• Go-to-Market, PR, and Launch: 09:17 – 12:06
• Sephora Accelerate & National Retail: 14:09 – 19:56
• Retail Velocity & Challenges: 18:55 – 21:27
• DTC Growth & Content Engine: 21:27 – 26:42
• Ad Creative Philosophy: 25:34 – 26:42
• International Expansion Lessons: 27:27 – 29:08
• Holiday Promo & Bundling: 29:08 – 30:39
• Product Line Expansion: 30:39 – 32:01
• Team & Delegation: 33:12 – 34:11
• Vision & Global Ambition: 34:11 – 36:06
• Advice for Culturally-Specific Startups: 37:12 – 38:25

Closing Thoughts

This episode is a masterclass in community-first brand building, authentic marketing, and the power of personal story—especially for founders addressing representation gaps in CPGs. Kulfi Beauty's trajectory proves that with a motivated, engaged community and relentless authenticity, it is possible to break through in crowded, competitive industries—even on a shoestring budget.

To Follow Priyanka:
Find her on Instagram: @PriyankaGunju (38:30)

Listen for a blueprint on grassroots growth, retail scaling, and building a mission-driven brand—without chasing trends or burning cash on ads.