boAt Lifestyle began with the sale of simple yet durable charging cables. In 2016, the company entered the consumer electronics market with a mission to provide high-quality, affordable products tailored to the specific needs of Indian consumers.
Founders Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta noticed a significant gap between the offerings in markets like the US and the UK and what Indian consumers desired in terms of price and quality. This insight led to the creation of robust charging cables that quickly gained popularity. Since then, boAt’s product line has expanded to include headphones, wireless earphones, earbuds, smartwatches, speakers, and more.
boAt’s functional product designs have propelled them from a niche accessory provider to a major player in the audio segment. According to IDC, boAt is the number one audio wearable and truly wireless stereo brand in India, with revenue growth from 90 crore INR ($11 million USD) in 2019 to 4000 crore INR ($479 million USD) last year.
Developing In-house Designs with Autodesk Fusion
In 2019, boAt started using Autodesk Fusion for their in-house designs. Initially, they made small tweaks to existing products (OEM), but soon moved on to creating their own designs (ODM).
When industrial designer Ayush Patel joined, his focus was on color, material, and finish (CMF), as well as creating visualizations in Fusion for marketing and sales to understand new designs’ potential.
Initially, the company relied heavily on outsourcing, particularly from manufacturers in China. As boAt grew, so did its focus on original designs. Today, they have significantly increased their in-house design projects. By next year, Ayush expects 30-40 new products to be designed in-house using Fusion.
Ayush learned Fusion in university, and it has grown alongside his career. Fusion enables him to rapidly design and manufacture with precision and speed, resulting in a more agile development process that quickly responds to market trends and consumer feedback.
“Some members of the team were still using SolidWorks and Rhino. It would take them two to three days to complete a design, but I would already be done with a design in one day. With Fusion’s ease of use, they started learning things and eventually switched to the software.”
—Ayush Patel, Industrial Designer, boAt Lifestyle
Making a Business Impact with In-house Designs
One of boAt’s significant in-house accomplishments is the Nirvana Ion earbuds. Over a year and a half, the team moved from concept to a market-ready product with key features to meet consumer demand. The project balanced aesthetics and functionality, fitting a long-lasting battery into a compact, stylish form.
Fusion allowed rapid iteration, incorporating feedback and making real-time adjustments. The result was a standout product for its look, performance, and lower price, evolving into subsequent products like Nirvana Zenith and Nirvana Nebula.
Superhero Style
Another key strategy boAt employs is brand partnerships, including with Marvel and Netflix. Designing Marvel-themed earbud cases, for example, involved rethinking designs with to incorporate key characteristics of popular characters.
“We were able to incorporate new ideas for the cases inspired by Marvel characters, such as Deadpool and Hulk,” Ayush says. “Within three months, we executed the entire project from scratch and launched it into the market.”
Taking a Collaborative Approach with Fusion
According to Ayush, Fusion has transformed boAt’s design process. “We’ve transitioned from a bunch of people sitting at a table sketching ideas on paper and tweaking each other’s sections. That workflow really limited the understanding of what we were trying to create,” he says.
“Being able to collaborate as a team directly in 3D has led to a much better and much more efficient brainstorming process,” he continues. “If I create something raw in terms of aesthetics, other team members can easily come in and try to make it much closer to reality or fine-tune an important element.”
Bringing Manufacturing Closer to Home
As boAt has brought product design in-house, they also envision producing the majority of their products in India, expanding local manufacturing. Two years ago, none of their products were made in India. Now, 70% of their production is local.
Utilizing Fusion for in-house designs has been pivotal, allowing precise customization and innovation tailored to the Indian market. This strategy supports the Indian economy, reduces dependency on imports, enhances design and manufacturing capabilities, and strengthens boAt’s position as a leading Indian brand in the global market.
Learn more about and try Autodesk Fusion for product design here.
