GoBoult keeps marketing at 7-8% of revenue; bets on Mustang collab

As wearables brands compete aggressively on visibility, GoBoult says it keeps advertising and marketing spends at 7–8% of revenue while launching its latest collaboration with Mustang.

In an interaction with exchange4media, Varun Gupta, co-founder of GoBoult, spoke about positioning the company as a bootstrapped and profitable player in the wearables and affordable gadgets segment.

After closing FY25 with revenues of roughly Rs 800 crore, the company is now targeting Rs 3,000 crore by FY27–FY28, according to Gupta.

They believe a strong product is the best method of marketing

Marketing stays lean at 7–8% of revenue

Gupta said GoBoult’s advertising and marketing spends are 7–8% of revenue. However, he added that marketing accounts for around 35% of total expenditures, with a significant portion attributed to e-commerce marketplaces.

The disclosure is notable in a segment where scale is often driven through aggressive influencer spending, performance marketing bursts, and platform-led discounting. Gupta’s framing suggests GoBoult is attempting to build a more measured growth model, leaning on product performance and repeat consumer behaviour built over its 8.5-year presence in the market.

He also emphasised that the company is “very cognizant” about spends and tracks performance closely, using CTRs, conversions and ROI to evaluate marketing outcomes.

Collab with Mustang

While GoBoult operates in the affordable segment, Mustang is a premium automobile brand with strong aspirational value. Gupta described the partnership as part of GoBoult’s effort to “premiumise” its portfolio and build products that can command a premium.

“The idea for us as a company was to premiumise and thus build products that we are able to command a premium for,” he said, adding that this required the product to deliver on design, software experience, tech specifications and performance.

The brand’s category mix also indicates where this premiumisation push is headed. GoBoult currently derives approximately 70% of its revenue from audio and 30% from wearables. Going forward, Gupta indicated wearables are likely to account for a significantly larger share as the company expands into the mid-premium and premium segments.

He added that premium and mid-premium items are planned to contribute around 70% by FY26, a shift the company expects will directly support profitability and strengthen premium positioning.

95% of campaign spends go digital, influencer mix turns lifestyle-led

GoBoult’s approach to the campaign reflects its broader digital-first strategy. Gupta said more than 95% of the company’s business is online, and the Mustang collaboration is being marketed in the same direction.

“About 95% of our spends are going to be digital for this campaign,” he said.

The brand’s plan includes influencer partnerships and multiple brand films, including humorous content. Gupta also said GoBoult does not want to “spray and pray” when it comes to influencers, and instead studies audience cohorts. According to him, the influencer mix varies by product.

For the Mustang collaboration specifically, GoBoult is leaning more towards lifestyle creators rather than the tech influencer ecosystem the brand typically uses.

“Tech influencers are more hygiene. But the real magic in communication is going to be driven by lifestyle influencers,” Gupta said.

The shift is telling. In wearables, feature-led communication often struggles to build differentiation. Lifestyle-led creators, on the other hand, can translate aspiration, design and identity, which is central to a brand like Mustang.

Tier 2 and 3 drive 50% demand; Tier 4 adds another 10%

Beyond marketing strategy, Gupta’s data points also indicate how demand is shifting geographically for the brand.

According to him, Tier 1 cities contribute around 40–45% of the business. Tier 2 and Tier 3 contribute about 50%, while Tier 4 contributes another 10%.

This effectively means 60% of GoBoult’s demand, as per its internal view, is now coming from outside Tier 1 India.

Gupta attributed the shift to rising digital access, e-commerce penetration, and the growth of quick commerce and D2C channels. He also pointed to the gap in offline access in smaller towns, noting that large-format electronics retail is still concentrated in Tier 1 markets.

In line with this shift, GoBoult is also planning to scale offline distribution. Offline revenue contribution is expected to rise from 20% to 40%, driven by deeper presence and demand in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets.

Beyond tech to lifestyle and design

Wearables are moving from tech to lifestyle, says Gupta

Gupta also linked the Mustang collaboration to what he sees as a broader shift in the wearables category itself. According to him, as wearable technology matures, incremental upgrades are becoming harder for consumers to notice or value.

He said the category is moving away from pure tech differentiation and towards lifestyle positioning, where design, build and brand experience will matter more than small spec upgrades.

“Tech will be more hygiene and the wow and the differentiator will be the design or the brand itself,” he said, adding that this is the direction GoBoult is working towards.

Industry forecasts also indicate the scale of the opportunity. According to IMARC Group, India’s smart wearables market is projected to reach $10.1 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 17.8% during 2025–2033.

For GoBoult, the Mustang collaboration appears to be a calibrated branding bet. The company is trying to premiumise perception through a globally recognised name, while maintaining a marketing model that it claims remains lean at 7–8% of revenue, and overwhelmingly digital in execution.