India's pencil market has been quietly controlled by 4 families for decades:
🟥 Hindustan Pencils (Natraj & Apsara) – 8 million pencils/day
🟧 Kokuyo Camlin – Legacy Dandekars
🟨 OEM Giants – Dhankanis
🟩 Doms – Led by Santosh Raveshia, the underdog
But today, it’s DOMS leading the race with ₹700 Cr+ revenue and soon crossing ₹1,000 Cr, quietly becoming the largest pencil brand globally.
Meanwhile:
Hindustan Pencils: ~₹500 Cr revenue
Camlin: ₹9.8 Cr profit (up from ₹4.9 Cr in 3 years)
DOMS? Grew profits from ₹13 Cr (2014) to ₹26 Cr (2017) — and CAGR > 20% since 2013 🔥
DOMS reported strong financial results for fiscal year 2025, with consolidated revenue increasing 24.4 per cent year-over-year to ₹1,912.6 crore.
So how did DOMS break the monopoly?
1. They reinvented the pencil.
Triangular design = better grip + no strain
Own wood, own lead, own plant = full in-house control
Erasers that smell sweet, sharpeners that look cool — kids loved it
It wasn't just stationery — it became aspirational
DOMS didn't copy. It engineered joy.
🎯 2. They studied their real customers.
In the ’90s, parents were buyers. Today? Kids are the influencers.
No other brand read this shift better than DOMS.
They made stationery feel like collectibles.
You didn’t use a DOMS pencil — you showed it off.
🔁 3. No ads. Only obsession.
No celebrity campaigns.
No “back to school” jingles.
Just raw, product-led word-of-mouth.
🚚 4. Distribution like a war strategy
Santosh Raveshia spent 2 years in rural India working with Kirana stores — not in boardrooms, but in the market.
They now export to 150+ countries.
While Camlin & Natraj fought over metros, DOMS conquered tier-2 & 3 India silently.
Case Study Lesson:
Legacy is not a moat. Distribution, product obsession, and cultural intuition are.
DOMS turned the most boring commodity — a pencil — into an aspirational brand loved by 5-year-olds and CEOs alike.
No VC money. No influencer gimmicks. Just real insight.
Think you need ads to build a brand?
DOMS did it with erasers that smell like candy.
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