Why Korean Brands Are Obsessed With India | BTS EP. 11 ft. Manasa Garemella

In Episode 11 of Beyond The Script, I sit down with Manasa Garemella, Co-founder of kindlife, to unpack what it really takes to build a modern consumer brand in India. This is not just a conversation about beauty or wellness. It’s a deep dive into community, creator-led commerce, content strategy, startup resilience, and the psychology of building for Gen Z. Manasa breaks down how kindlife built a brand young consumers actually relate to, why micro and nano creators are outperforming bigger names, how “education + entertainment” is becoming the new growth engine, and why most brands still don’t truly understand digital. We also go much deeper into her personal story from growing up in a strict but deeply supportive South Indian household in Delhi, to finding confidence through debating and drama, to building a company that now sits at the intersection of culture, beauty, wellness, and content. What you’ll learn in this episode: How Manasa’s childhood shaped her confidence, communication, and founder mindset Why supportive parents and siblings matter more than people realize How a gluten intolerance diagnosis changed the way she thought about wellness and ultimately helped shape kindlife What kindlife actually is, and why it clicked with young India Why startup experience teaches differently than traditional corporate experience Why India talks less about failure than the US, even though founders fail every day Whether legacy brands really understand digital marketing The problem with spending millions on “views” without real engagement The 4 pillars of a brand: sales, marketing, positioning, and branding How kindlife thinks about influencer marketing and creator ROI Why micro, nano, and UGC creators are so powerful right now Why authentic storytelling is beating polished ads The shift from TV ads → performance marketing → organic content How kindlife built one of the strongest content engines in its category Why “edutainment” is the future of consumer brand content How kindlife is using IPs, creators, reports, and micro-dramas to stay top-of-mind What Manasa would build if she were 20 again Her advice for young founders starting out today The best advice she’s ever received What a real founder’s day looks like Why her final message to the world is: be kind to yourself Who should watch this: Founders building a D2C or consumer brand Marketers trying to understand where brand-building is heading Creators who want to understand the future of creator commerce Students thinking about startups, marketing, or entrepreneurship Anyone curious how modern Indian brands are being built About the guest Manasa Garemella is the Co-founder of kindlife, a multi-brand beauty and wellness platform built for young India. kindlife sits at the intersection of commerce, culture, creators, and community, and has become one of the most interesting consumer brands to watch in the Indian beauty space. About Beyond The Script Beyond The Script is a long-form conversation show where we go beyond polished founder stories and talk about the real decisions, frameworks, struggles, and mindsets behind building. If you enjoy raw conversations on startups, creators, culture, and growth, subscribe and follow the journey. Follow Manasa Garemella: Instagram:   / manasag   LinkedIn:   / manasa-garemella-25a05520   Email: [email protected] Follow Beyond The Script: YouTube: @anshvashistha #BeyondTheScript #ManasaGaremella #kindlife #Podcast #StartupPodcast #IndianStartups #D2C #BrandBuilding #CreatorEconomy #InfluencerMarketing #BeautyBusiness #GenZMarketing #ContentStrategy #Entrepreneurship #FounderStory