After the UK, India’s Boult plans to expand to North America and Europe soon

By Ankita ChakravartiBoult, founded in 2017 by brothers Varun and Tarun Gupta, found itself in a battle of ‘B’s when Fire Boltt, another similarly named consumer tech brand, launched in India. While Boult continued to focus on the TWS (True Wireless Stereo) or wireless earphones category, Fire Boltt emerged as the second leading brand in the global smartwatch market, according to IDC research. Although Boult entered the smartwatch segment later than its competitors, it was not entirely unfamiliar with the category. Despite this, Boult has established a strong market position, ranking fifth in the smartwatch category and second in the TWS category, surpassing competitors like Noise and others.

Boult is scaling great heights in India. And to talk about the company, we at India Today Tech sat down with the co-founder Varun Gupta, who discussed the company’s expansion into countries, other product categories, their upcoming lineup of products, their focus for the year, and more. Gupta explained that despite entering the smartwatch market just a year ago, they are pleased with the results and performance of this product category. Highlighting the company’s ambitious plans, Gupta also revealed that Boult has already launched in the UK and is preparing to enter North America and Europe, aiming to become a global brand in the near future.

On expanding to other countries

Boult has already expanded its wings to the UK and Gupta further revealed that the company is looking to expand into North America and Europe as well. “Yes, we have already launched in the UK. We will be launching in North America very soon, and we also have plans to expand into Europe, ” he said.

On Boult’s success in the TWS segment

Varun Gupta, an audiophile himself, chuckled at Boult’s success in the audio segment. Gupta explained that despite entering the smartwatch market just a year ago, they are pleased with the results and performance of this product category.

“While most of our competitors, both Indian and international, have been selling smartwatch products for around four to five years, we only entered the market in the second half of last year. Therefore, we are still a relatively new brand in this category. Nevertheless, we are extremely proud of our rapid progress and the significant strides we have made in a short span of time,” he said.

On refreshing the product catalogue frequently

That being said, Gupta does not subscribe to the philosophy of launching a multitude of products within a short timeframe. While some consumer tech brands like Fire Boltt have adopted an aggressive approach to their product launches, releasing numerous products in quick succession, Gupta stated that Boult does not believe in flooding the market with an excess of products. Instead, the company’s strategy revolves around focusing on variants, designs, straps, colors, and various product categories.

“The real magic lies within the features, software functionality, and product quality. This is true for smartwatches as well. For example, in the case of smartwatches, what sets them apart are the sensors and the quality of data they can collect through hardware features. It’s also important to consider how these data points are processed to provide insights on calories burned, sleep quality, and more. The software within the watch plays a crucial role in ensuring smooth communication with the smartphone app, delivering the right notifications and data to the users,” he said.

When asked if Boult would cater to the needs of female buyers, in terms of launching smartwatches with smaller, slimmer dials. Gupta answered in the affirmative.

On launching women-centric smartwatches

Women buyers, for the longest time, have faced issues with choosing the right dial size. Either the watch bears a masculine design or is often too big for the wrist size of a woman. In order to address these issues, Gupta said that they are working to bridge the gap by developing watches tailored specifically for women.These watches will incorporate sleeker designs, a variety of colors, and materials that cater to women’s preferences.

“While men often prefer bulky and thicker dials in their watches, women have a preference for sleek designs. They appreciate colors such as gold and rose gold, which give a touch of elegance. Materials and metals used are typically softer, but not necessarily real gold unless it’s a luxury watch. Additionally, women tend to prefer smaller and sleeker watch sizes. Therefore, we are actively working on developing product categories that cater to these preferences. Furthermore, we acknowledge that women may have different technical requirements than men, considering factors like wrist length. As a result, we aim to incorporate these considerations into our smartwatch designs for women,” he explained.

On moving beyond smartwatches and TWS earbuds

Even though Varun did not divulge exact details about its new line-up of products, it has a lot of fun and interesting product launches in the pipeline. He said that even though smartwatches and audio products remain their primary focus, Boult has plans to venture into other product categories. The company aims to scale up their smartwatch offerings.

However, they are also working on launching commodity products and exploring new subcategories in the wireless IoT and smart wearable space. Their upcoming smart product, which promises to deliver an abundance of data points, showcases Boult’s commitment to expanding their technological prowess. In fact, he said that a fitness product is being developed which can be worn. From what it appears, the product could be different from that of a smartwatch, but Gupta remains tight-lipped about it.

That being said, nothing stops us from running wild with imaginations about what Boult’s next smart wearable product can be all about.

On keeping up with the competition

Boult not only faces competition from the wearable brands like boAt and Fire Boltt, the smartphone companies too have jumped into the fray of TWS and smartwatches. However, Gupta remains unfazed by the entry of the smartphone companies in the TWS and smartwatch categories.

Gupta says that there are notable differences in the focus and success of these companies in various accessory categories. With the exception of Apple, most brands generate less than 5 per cent of their revenue from accessories such as audio devices and smartwatches. According to him, Boult provides its customers with a wide range of options, including different colors, sizes, form factors, gender choices, and technical specifications. It is committed to continuous innovation and consistently launches new variants with upgraded technology.

“While smartphone companies may only have one or two annual launches, we move at a faster pace to meet consumer demands for the latest technology. Moreover, despite our focus on product variety, we prioritize product quality and invest significant research and development efforts to ensure excellence,” Gupta said.

“One of our key strengths is offering value at various price points. Premium smartphone companies often provide lower-tech or comparable products at much higher prices, sometimes 2, 3, 4, or even 5 times the cost. In contrast, we deeply penetrate the market with competitive pricing, providing excellent value to our customers,” he added.

On getting the metrics right

In the world of fitness products, there are many claiming to have all the correct metrics. But, to be honest, some of them are just plain ridiculous. I mean, who would have thought a smartwatch could give life to a lifeless object with a fake heartbeat? It’s like magic, but without any real magic involved. But Boult wants to steer clear of these gimmicks.

“We strive to stay away from such misleading gimmicks and scams. Our team works tirelessly to source and use the best quality sensors that collect accurate data points. We are fully aware that the data we provide is related to our customers’ health, which is of utmost importance. We cannot afford to give incorrect information about their vitals or heartbeat,” he said.

However, Boult for now has not partnered with any health tech companies to get the correct sensors to monitor the vitals.

On roping in big names as brand ambassadors

Endorsing the brand by roping in celebrities and other notable figures as brand ambassadors can be a good strategy to make the brand known to the public. It certainly does not boost the sale of the products. At least that is what has happened in Boult’s case. The company recently roped in Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan and cricketer Surya Kumar Yadav as the brand ambassadors of the company.

“Firstly, it’s important to note that celebrity endorsements typically don’t result in an overnight surge in sales. It’s a long-term process. The primary objective of such associations or partnerships with Bollywood or similar personalities is to enhance brand awareness and recall. In marketing terms, we refer to it as the top, middle, and bottom of the sales funnel.

He added that activities like celebrity endorsements contribute to the top of the sales funnel, creating initial awareness and interest for the brand. However, the actual conversions and revenue generation take place at the bottom of the funnel. Collaborating with celebrities such as Saif Ali Khan and Surya Kumar Yadav enables the company to create compelling content in the form of ads, videos, and images. These resources are utilized in targeted advertising campaigns to enhance brand awareness and recall among the audience.

“But do these ads immediately translate into a significant increase in sales? The answer is usually no. However, consistent marketing efforts over an extended period led to improved brand awareness and recall among consumers. This, in turn, positively impacts conversion rates. Customers become more familiar with the brand and start trusting it more when they see Bollywood or cricket stars endorsing it,” he said.