Investors pile into D2C luggage brands as India’s travel boom accelerates

A surge in domestic and international travel by Indians has turned India’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) luggage sector into a magnet for venture capital investment over the past few years, even as legacy players struggle under their own weight.According to data from the tourism ministry’s India Tourism Data Compendium 2025, Indians recorded 2,948.19 million tourist visits in 2024, a 17.5% increase over the previous year, while overseas trips rose 10.8% to 30.89 million.A host of startups are looking to cash in on this boom. Uppercase, a digital-first luggage and travel gear maker based in Bengaluru, is in talks to raise about $20 million in a Series C round as it sharpens its plans for overseas expansion and accelerates its offline retail rollout, Sudip Ghose, the company's founder, said in an interview with Mint.

The startup has raised close to $20 million in total funding since inception, and the latest round would double this.The five-year-old company, which manufactures entirely in India using recycled materials, expects to turn Ebitda-positive by FY28 as it continues to invest in brand-building and store expansion. Uppercase currently operates about 35 exclusive stores and aims to scale to 50 by the end of the fiscal year, with retail contributing 10-12% of revenue.

Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, is a measure of a company’s core operating profitability before accounting for financing costs, tax expenses and non-cash charges.Uppercase is also evaluating whether to launch its products in select European countries over the next few quarters. Ghose said Europeans’ preference for quality and growing sustainability consciousness make the continent a strategic first step for an