It’s Tuesday, and today we’re focusing on Divine Hindu, a spiritual lifestyle brand. Founded in 2023 by two brothers, Aniruddha Singhai and Anurodh Singhai, the company recently raised a seed round from BeyondSeed, D2C Insider Super Angels, and Signal Ventures.

There are over 1.1 billion Hindus globally, making Hinduism the third-largest religion in the world — even though the vast majority of its followers live in a single country. Three features stand out about Hinduism that make it especially unique.

First is personalization. Hinduism is deeply personal. It doesn’t have a single holy book like the Bible or Quran, nor a central religious authority. Instead, it encompasses a vast and varied collection of texts — the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Mahabharata, Ramayana, and countless regional scriptures — allowing for diverse interpretations and practices. Worshippers choose which deity or deities to follow: Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Ganesha, Krishna, Rama, and many more. Spiritual practices are often guided by astrology and personal horoscopes, influencing not just rituals and mantras, but also choices about what to wear, when to wear it, and how to time certain ceremonies.

Second is ritual life, which is busy. No one knows the exact number of Hindu festivals, but there are 30–40 major ones each year. These go beyond national holidays — regional celebrations like Onam in Kerala or Durga Puja in West Bengal are just as central to religious life. Many customs require physical goods — lamps, incense, fresh flowers, or certified beads.

Third is demography. While most Hindus live in India, the diaspora is massive — around 35 million people. That’s roughly the population of Malaysia, living outside India in places where Hinduism isn’t the dominant religion. This creates an opening: religious products and services that are abundant in India are scarce abroad. In these countries, spiritual needs aren’t served by local infrastructure, creating space for exports. (And yes, not all Indians are Hindu).

Divine Hindu is trying to tap into India’s deeply spiritual culture by offering high-quality devotional products. And instead of me explaining what the brand is all about, I’ll just let the founders do it:

Their product range includes rudraksha, sandalwood, sacred jewelry, Karungali, gemstones, brass idols, agarbatti, tulsi, and puja kits. If you’re not Hindu or not deeply immersed in Indian traditions, most of those words probably don’t mean much.

So let’s unpack why authenticity matters so much — and why Divine Hindu leans on it as a central pillar — using rudraksha as an example.

Rudraksha are dried seeds from the Elaeocarpus ganitrus tree, traditionally strung into prayer beads. Each bead has a number of natural divisions or “faces” (mukhi), separated by lines running from top to bottom. Each mukhi is believed to carry distinct spiritual properties and is associated with different deities and planets. Based on your rashi (zodiac sign), a specific type of rudraksha is recommended.

For instance, if you’re a Scorpio (Vrishchik Rashi), a 9-mukhi rudraksha — linked to Goddess Durga and the planet Ketu — is often suggested. It’s said to bring strength, protection, and prosperity. Though each mukhi has unique associations, general benefits like improved focus, protection, and spiritual growth are commonly attributed to all rudraksha beads. You can choose any rudraksha, however for maximum spiritual benefit you can choose the one aligning with your rashi.

So what all that has to do with authenticity?

Because if the bead is actually fake — made of plastic or wood — it’s not just a cheap knockoff. It’s spiritually meaningless. The buyer won’t get the benefits they’re seeking. That’s where Divine Hindu stakes its claim: every product comes with a certificate of authenticity stating the number of faces, material, and country of origin. And if the product turns out to be fake, they’ll refund your money.

Authenticity and craftsmanship are central, but Divine Hindu tries to go beyond that. The company puts effort into educating customers — explaining how the products work, which ones are appropriate for different rituals, and how to wear or use them. They’ve even put out an ebook on rudraksha beads that dives into the differences and spiritual meanings.

They also talk about community as a core part of their brand. But let’s be honest — almost every D2C brand says that. In practice, it often stops at Instagram. Whether Divine Hindu can turn that into something deeper remains to be seen.

Divine Hindu’s edge is the way it combines verified, artisan-made spiritual goods with the friction-free basics shoppers expect from modern e-commerce — free shipping, payment on delivery, and responsive customer service. At its core, the brand sells trust-as-a-feature: every product is certified, letting the company (in theory) charge a premium. Layered onto that trust is convenience.

And convenience is now being boosted by the latest financing round. The startup is widening its reach through Amazon, Flipkart, and quick-commerce apps like Zepto, so those who need to reach the divine can do it in minutes. Simultaneously, launching on Amazon Global puts Divine Hindu in front of the Indian diaspora in the U.S., U.K., UAE, and Canada, unlocking entirely new customer segments.

On the monetization front Divine Hindu works as a typical e-commerce store. With marketplaces it’ll pay fees for incremental discovery.

Several sources mention Divine Hindu’s strong differentiation from what they call “generic e-commerce.” They point to things like product certification, artisan sourcing, community, and so on.

And while I’m not saying there’s no such thing as generic spiritual products online, I am saying Divine Hindu isn’t alone in trying to position itself as a certified, trustworthy provider of divine goods made by Indian artisans.

Plus, D2C in India is tough. Not only do you face the same issues as in the West — where basically two ad platforms matter — you’re also dealing with a far more price-sensitive consumer and weaker brand loyalty. Expanding into quick-commerce solves some issues, like customer acquisition, but creates others: lower margins, and a broken link to the end customer.

The same low barriers that helped Divine Hindu get started — from setting up a storefront and outsourcing certification to finding delivery partners — also make it easy for a dozen lookalikes to pop up overnight.

To stay ahead, Divine Hindu will need to outrun them.

To me, there are to parts to the bull case.

The first is execution. If you’re bullish, you believe Divine Hindu will simply execute better — they’ll squeeze more value out of ad spend, build deeper customer loyalty, and achieve healthier unit economics. A lot has to align for that to all happen at once — but still, it’s possible.

The second is more interesting — expansion. There are plenty of ways the company could grow:

They don’t need to win on fronts. Hitting two or three could be enough.

When you think about it, religion probably has the biggest total addressable market after food, water, and shelter. But it’s been monetized surprisingly poorly compared to those essentials. Which is why it feels like a safe bet that we’ll see more religion-focused startups emerge in the years ahead.