India's answer to Shein? This fast-fashion startup uses tech to design Gen Z styles
Bengaluru-based NEWME has taken a tech-style hybrid approach to cater exclusively to Gen Z without falling into the industry’s biggest trap: overproduction.
Fashion moves in cycles, but technologist Sumit Jasoria believes the early signs of that cycle turning—signalling the onset of emerging trends—are found not on the runway but in popular culture, particularly in the content people engage with.
“From 2021, Korean dramas started dominating major OTT platforms. And as content consumption evolves, fashion and beauty trends change accordingly,” says Jasoria.
Spotting this shift, Jasoria (Co-founder and CEO), along with Himanshu Chaudhary (Co-founder), Vinod Naik (Co-founder) and Shivam Tripathi (Co-founder and CTO), founded NEWME in 2022 as a data-driven fast fashion brand.
“Most new designs were not data-led; they were based on gut instincts of a few creative people. We decided to flip that model by putting data and technology before aspirations,” the CEO tells YourStory.
Today, the Bengaluru-based consumer tech startup employs about 200 people across offices in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Guangzhou, China. With a focus on Gen Z, aims to predict “emerging trends before global leaders like Zara” while keeping overproduction at bay.
A tech(x)tile hybrid approach
Before launching any new apparel line, NEWME implements a tech-trend hybrid approach. Jasoria says its trend team scans through multiple resources—from fashion magazines to social media accounts—and creates weekly mood boards.
The tech and manufacturing team then analyses these mood boards to identify styles that can be quickly produced.
“That is where the data-led tech team takes over, using AI tools from global giants like Adobe to smaller startups, to ensure our supply chain stays agile and nimble,” he says.
The startup prides itself on its “zero-inventory” approach, which helps it avoid overproducing products, instead clearing out its inventory through sales. The CEO says his startup achieves this through its “demand prediction model”.
“We launch new designs every Friday, which aren’t real products but images of new ideas. Based on how customers engage with these ideas, we predict demand and only then start production,” the CEO explains, adding that if signals point to higher or continued demand, production follows suit.
Currently, NEWME has around 13,000 styles live on its website and app, priced between Rs 199 and Rs 2,199. Jasoria says new styles are added every week and old styles are killed.
“In fashion, relevance is everything. Most brands lose out because they don’t change their inventory. Customers move on. We innovate constantly to avoid that trap,” he says.
Gen Z, fast fashion, and scale
In just three years, NEWME has served almost 1.7 million customers with a 50% retention rate—all Gen Zs. Comparatively, a global fast fashion brand like Shein, founded in 2008, recorded about 88 million customers in 2024. The CEO, however, believes NEWME’s “hyperlocal designs, community engagements, college ambassador programmes, and various content creation workshops” give them an edge in India.
“It’s a fast generation that wears fast fashion. We are investing heavily in enhancing our technology and supply chain to solve their needs. This generation is expressive, aspirational, and soon to be 400 million strong in India’s workforce,” he says, adding that NEWME currently creates products for Gen Z women but will launch menswear of that generation in the next two years.
Initially, the startup manufactured products from its office in China. Today, 40% of the production is in India, with plans to raise it to 50% by the end of FY26, Jasoria says.
Outside of its website and app, NEWME operates 14 physical stores across India, including four in Bengaluru, three in Delhi, and others in Mumbai, Indore, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat, and Dehradun.
Jasoria says that the startup’s expansion plans include opening 12 more stores by the end of the year, starting with the Northeast. It also plans to take its business to Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets. Notably, NEWME doesn’t sell its products on marketplaces like Amazon India and Flipkart.
Growth and competition
NEWME has raised about $29 million so far, most recently in a Series A funding round in 2024.
“We have steadily increased our revenue each year in our three years of operations, growing more than 20X in just two years. The first year we made about Rs 8 crore, somewhere between Rs 65-70 crore in the second year, and Rs 180 crore in the third. We hope to double the business this year,” Jasoria says.
In terms of competition, NEWME squares off against Bengaluru-based KOOVS as well as unbranded players. But the startup says its consumer-centric approach and “focused distribution channel” make it stand out.
“The idea is to always remain an aspirational brand for Gen Z without being expensive. We have to keep inventory at the industry’s lowest levels. This helps us continually innovate whilst protecting business risks,” he signs off.