How often do we see startups pouring money into marketing right from day one? And yet, despite the spend, the results often fall short of expectations. Why? Because many chase flashy gimmicks instead of nailing the basics—like truly understanding who their customers are and what they need. Enter Kusha Kapila and Vimarsh Razdan’s UnderNeat, the latest shapewear brand taking the nation by storm even before revealing it was a brand! With Kusha’s deep understanding of the audience and her effortless content game, UnderNeat skipped the hard sell and focused on building real connections. Riding on Kusha’s cult following and her sharp understanding of the audience, UnderNeat gave its heart (and funny bone) to strike a chord with the audience and create an organic community that would love, trust and be loyal to the brand.

Kusha spun up a separate Instagram profile, dishing out hilariously insightful “gyan” on intimate wear—keeping the story fun, functional and refreshingly real. Curiosity soared as followers wondered why a sudden spotlight on shapewear. The result? Just 8 videos, around 4 months and a whopping 123K organic followers! Kusha got the people talking! And then, boom, came the big reveal: her very own shapewear brand was on the way! With buzz in the bag and a founder who clearly knows the game well, it’s no shocker that the brand has already closed an investment deal with Fireside Ventures, with Mamaearth co-founder Ghazal Alagh also jumping in as a mentor and investor.

The secret behind UnderNeat’s viral buzz goes way beyond just scroll-pausing content. Customers are kings and UnderNeat hit the ball out of the park in understanding customers’ pulse and crafting every strategy around it. Here are some power-packed takeaways every new D2C startup must bookmark from UnderNeat’s viral success.

 

1. Aligning with the trending vibe: Before getting into Kusha’s viral content marketing strategy, the first striking thing to take note of is the segment selection. ‘Fashion-loves-body-positivity’ is the sweet song that Gen Z and millennial women love to chorus along. UnderNeat tapped on this trending vibe to come up with a product line that would let women of all shapes and sizes flaunt their dream outfits without discomfort or hesitation. Kusha, an unapologetic millennial woman and the face of the brand, has a follower base mainly comprising Gen Zs and millennials. Connecting the ‘influencing’ dots?

2. Knowing customer mindset before the ride: Rather than jumping straight into launching a marketing campaign, it’s important to understand the customer mindset and the possible challenges that could come with it. In India, conversations on intimate wear are largely tabooed, and customers mostly remain hesitant, often ending up unacknowledging their own needs. Before bringing the product to the market, UnderNeat decided to address this mindset by calling out the elephant in the room. That’s exactly the thought that shaped their pre-launch marketing campaign as well.

3. A quirky, honest and inclusive positioning: While the market is flooded with choices, brands need to find a voice and positioning that stands out. UnderNeat has nailed it with bold transparency and a wink of quirk! Carving a niche in the shapewear segment, the brand has positioned itself as that honest, no-judgement friend who speaks to women of all ages and shapes, solving real wardrobe woes with premium quality minus the premium price tag. All served with a dash of sass and quirk—never bland, nor solemn. This transparency and quirkiness were deliciously communicated in their pre-launch campaign.

4. A campaign to spark conversations: Who better than Kusha Kapila to lead a campaign whose very core was to spark candid conversations on innerwear challenges? Kusha’s cheeky video series, “What are you wearing under?” ditched the awkwardness and served up straight talk peppered generously with humour. Here are a few reasons why this campaign is considered a masterclass:

a) Hyped the headache before pitching the cure: The campaign didn’t just spark conversations; it gave women the confidence to acknowledge the gaps and recognise the need. Just what the brand wanted!

b) Conversational marketing done right to validate the need: No regular AMAs. No tediously long podcasts. No boring surveys. UnderNeat used short videos as tools to compel people to share their woes and request similar video tutorials addressing those woes. This not only validated the need, but the brand also gathered real insights on what consumers really wanted–the data that shaped the product range.

c) Focussed on building trust, not hyping the brand: Instead of dropping flashy ‘Coming Soon’ promos, UnderNeat focussed on earning trust through useful content. Kusha’s content offered much-needed hacks for women who hesitate to wear their dream outfits simply because they aren’t sure about the right innerwear. Never for once did she reveal that she was building a brand, all while seamlessly showcasing her products in her tutorials.

d) Built an organic community to establish connections that last: No paid promotion, no PR. Why shell out a fortune when real potential customers could be won over with relatable, no-frills-attached storytelling? Kusha’s narrative was honest and refreshing, making her audience feel the gaps, laugh at their own struggles and trust her solutions. And thus, the community started growing—proof that great stories sell better than ads! Think the impact was possible only because it was Kusha, the influencer? How about crediting Kusha, the content creator?

 

UnderNeat’s success corroborates that understanding consumer pulse is still the key to crafting viral products. By doing the basics right and putting trust and engagement above those gusty marketing gimmicks, the brand has proven that research, relevance and relatability are keys to winning over customers. In an era where consumers crave transparency, UnderNeat’s success underscores a vital lesson—when brands focus on solving real problems with real conversations, they don’t just sell; they stay.