It took over six years for spiritual tech startup Astrotalk to cross the INR 1,000 Cr revenue mark.
In FY25, its operating revenue more than doubled to INR 1,176 Cr from INR 651 Cr in the previous year.
However, as the startup prepares for its next phase of growth ahead of its planned public listing in 2027, it has found a new revenue engine - ecommerce business.
Launched in November 2024 and scaled commercially from January 2025, its ecommerce venture Astrotalk Store, which sells gemstones, Rudraksha, bracelets, necklaces and more, claims to have clocked more than INR 140 Cr in operating revenue in its first 12 months (2025) of operations.
Explaining the differences between Astrotalk and its ecommerce venture, Astrotalk Store CBO Daman Soni said, "The services business is app-led, while ecommerce is browser-led and website-first."
He added that the systems, processes and operations for ecommerce were built independently from the parent entity.
On the rationale behind the launch of the ecommerce store, he said that spirituality and astrology had strong digital demand, but there was no organised 'spirituality' category on large marketplaces such as Amazon or Flipkart. Most of the products were sold under the jewellery or home decor sections on these marketplaces. Astrotalk Store was launched to fill this gap.
"Today, nearly 85%-90% of Astrotalk Store's sales come directly from its website," Soni claimed.
Currently, Astrotalk Store has a team of 50-60 employees and claims to be operating at a monthly revenue run rate of about INR 20 Cr. It has also expanded to marketplaces, and claims to be among the top sellers on Amazon with multiple high-ranking SKUs. On the quick commerce front, it sells products via Blinkit.
Astrotalk Store sees nearly 50% of its demand come from tier II & III markets, with the remaining split across metros.
Soni said that less than 3% of ecommerce revenue comes directly from astrologer recommendations on the core Astrotalk platform. "The company has deliberately avoided incentivising astrologers to push product sales, preferring a model where users independently research and purchase products after receiving advice - an approach aimed at preserving trust in the core services business," he said.
However, there remains a huge potential for the startup to cross-sell, especially in the absence of authentic products in the market, as Astrotalk claims.
Supply Chain Dynamics
Soni claims that one of Astrotalk Store's core differentiation lies in its supply chain and authentication process, a major pain point in India's largely unorganised spiritual products market.
It sources raw materials and components from across India, including Gujarat, West Bengal, and other regional clusters, with significant in-house assembly. For high-demand categories such as gemstones, Rudraksha, and bracelets, Astrotalk Store conducts batch testing and third-party authentication, including X-ray verification for rudraksha.
This process can take 10-50 days per batch, increasing working capital requirements but enabling the company to price products at a premium.
"I spent a week in Nepal to understand sourcing regions, how to identify a good Rudraksha and how to authenticate it. We even brought in X-ray machines so we can issue certificates," said Soni, highlighting the lengths the company goes to in offering authenticated spiritual products online. The company claims this has helped drive repeat rates of around 24-25%.
While similar-looking products are often available at much lower prices in the offline market, Soni said the comparison is misleading as a lot of offline products are not authentic.
International Expansion Ahead
Astrotalk Store now plans to open offline stores, with its first experiential store likely to open in the Delhi NCR region in the next few months. It is scouting larger-format locations and aims to "reinvent" spiritual retail, mirroring its online approach.
Besides, it is eyeing international expansion. Its international ecommerce website is set to go live shortly, starting with the US to tap the NRI population.
Notably, the ecommerce business operates under a wholly owned subsidiary of Astrotalk. While Soni declined to comment on profitability, he said that the ecommerce vertical has largely scaled through self-sustaining cash flows and disciplined working capital management, rather than aggressive capital deployment. Astrotalk has so far infused about INR 40 Cr in the subsidiary.
As it readies its IPO plans, the ecommerce business has emerged as a key growth narrative for Astrotalk.
Edited by Vinaykumar Rai