Startups

Cosmic Byte caters to the needs of every Indian gamer with its wide range of gaming accessories

• ByStartupStory     |    September 7, 2022

One of the top manufacturers of gaming accessories in India, Cosmic Byte offers the highest quality goods to its customers. With a vast selection of products, including gaming headphones, keyboards, gamepads, chairs, and workstations, it offers equipment for all types of gamers. Its top-notch goods are precisely crafted with gamers’ needs in mind to improve their gaming experience.

Ronak Gupta, the founder of Cosmic Byte, completed his Masters in Business Administration as well as his CFA. After that, he started working with a firm but eventually realised that there is no platform in India that is completely dedicated to the gaming industry and its needs. Eventually, he started Cosmic Byte in 2013, as a distributor of gaming products but not directly as a gaming platform. In 2017, it was registered as a brand, following which it started selling and getting gaming products.

Ronak said that he was always fascinated by the universe and the stuff around it and used to wonder what was out there. And talking about bytes, he said, it is everything about gaming, storage, and computers. So, Cosmic Byte is a merger of things, which is also reflected in its products. A lot of their products have been named after different objects in space, like Nebula, Interstellar, and so on. 

The idea behind the startup

Ronak mentioned that he has been a fascinating gamer since childhood. And while growing up, he saw that the gaming industry is quite nascent in India and is not developed enough. Around 2012 or 2013, he decided that he had to cater to this industry. Initially, the idea was only to get into the distribution channel and understand the dynamics of the gaming sector by comparing it with developed countries in terms of gaming. That’s how the idea of getting products that aren’t available in India and what gamers are missing in India arose.

Need for the product and its launch

In 2014, Amazon stepped into India and started selling products online. At this time, a wide variety of products were sold in India, except the gaming products, which were quite unpopular. And so, he realised that he had to do something for the gamers in India wanting to take gaming as their profession.

Did Cosmic Byte face any losses during the pandemic?

The founder said that the brand had received an enticing response during the lockdown, which implied it’s good growth catering to the huge demand for some of its products, including headsets, keyboards, mouse. As there was a shift of work to an online medium at home, a lot of people who weren’t gaming earlier took up gaming as their hobby during the lockdown. The brand, on the other hand, was quite successful in delivering the products and saw a huge increase in sales in the past two years, which led to zero monetary loss.

What makes Cosmic Byte unique among its competitors? 

The gaming industry in India is dominated by foreign brands, with very few Indian brands competing. One of the most significant advantages which makes it unique is the pricing, as foreign brand products are somewhat in a higher price category. It is also a fully dedicated platform to the gaming sector, unlike some brands that have a small section for gaming accessories.

While talking about the competitors in this field, Gupta said that in the international scenario, Logitech gaming, and Razer are some of the gaming brands, while in India, brands like Redgear and BOAT might not have the entire range as Cosmic Byte does, but they still have a segment of products related to gaming.

The team members of Cosmic Byte:

He stated that his wife is a partner in the company and also looks after the company’s marketing aspect. She takes care of the offline as well as online marketing of the brand. He also said that Mr Aditya Joshi is the national sales manager and looks after the offline part of the business since the brands’ 20-25% of sales come from distributors and retailers all over India, and even from large format retailers like Vijay Sales, Croma, and so on.

The work environment in the company:

The entire team of Cosmic Byte is quite active and loves gaming. Ronak said that his wife also enjoys gaming and has played games like Call of Duty and PUBG in the past two years. She understands the product requirements for the gaming industry. He said that the team focuses on playing games and enjoying themselves while working, as he believes that the more they play and enjoy, the better they get to know the requirements from a gamer’s perspective, which can also be used to enhance their products over time. 

How far has the brand come since its launch?

Initially, in 2017, it started with gaming headphones in the price range of 1K. And over the last 5 years, it has improved its catalogue. Especially in 2022, they have been focusing on products that can help professional gamers in India, taking into account online gaming tournaments. Also, if the customers want to improve their skills, they don’t need to spend a massive chunk of their money on accessories when they can get similar products in the range of 3-4K. He thinks that this is the main criterion for getting better and premium products as well as helping in developing the e-sports culture in India.

Future prospects of the company:

Cosmic Byte recently tied up with Velocity Gaming, which comes under the top 3 Valorant gaming teams in India. Gupta said that the firm is looking for such gaming partners where it can establish itself as a brand equivalent to any international brand in terms of products and quality. It has also launched headsets this year in the range of 3-7K, partnering with Dolby Atmos.  

Recently, the brand has been shifting its focus from mid-budget to premium category products. And for this, it is planning to partner with streamers, YouTubers, and gaming teams, and get on par with some international brands.

Current investment status and future funding possibilities:

The brand, as mentioned by the founder, is completely home-funded with zero external investment. However, he said that it is further planning to get some investors to expand its scope of business and improve its operations.

Customer experience and challenges for the brand:

In India, one of the major challenges faced by the company is accessibility. Since India is varied in terms of the languages spoken by its people, it becomes difficult to find the right partners and distributors as well as reach the customers. So, this year they have decided to target the Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities by making some tie-ups with certain regional gamers and streamers.

It also faces the challenge of managing its finances, as it is entirely home-funded which limits its growth. So, by getting investors on board this year, it will attain a new level by providing better services to its customers.

A message to young entrepreneurs:

Ronak Gupta, the founder, said, “There are millions of gamers in India, but they are hesitant to take up gaming as their profession. The esports industry is rising, and so I want to make a name for Indian gamers on an international level. This is something that Cosmic Byte aims at an Indian gamer reaching the international level of competition and competing with the best out there.” 

 

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