Gagan Dhawan, Founder, ServDharm

ServDharm, a devotional commerce platform focused on organising India’s fragmented puja essentials market, has scaled its gross merchandise value (GMV) from Rs 21 crore in FY24 to over Rs 100 crore in FY26. The company now serves more than 1.5 million customers annually across India and international markets, driven by its focus on building a structured supply chain, quality standardisation, and reliable access to authentic devotional products.

When building ServDharm, Gagan Dhawan realised that there was a gap, not just in the market, but in the infrastructure as well. India has a religious market economy estimated to be at USD 70.14 billion as per IMARC Group, yet the organised puja essentials segment is expected to grow at approximately 7.6–10% CAGR (forecast from 2023–2028). Despite its size, the category remained fragmented and hyperlocal with few commonly accepted standards.

His idea behind it was simple. If the religious market were approached in an organised fashion similar to any consumer category, he would be able to scale much faster than a traditional approach.

That decision paid off, with GMV scaling nearly fivefold between FY24 and FY26, growing from Rs 21 crore to over Rs 100 crore in that period. The company now serves more than 1.5 million customers annually across India, spanning Tier I, Tier II and Tier III markets. Bringing organisation to devotional retail also had the added benefit of opening up to international markets, with orders coming in from around the world, including Singapore, Dubai, Australia, South Africa, the UK, the US and Canada.

Identifying the Gap

Dhawan viewed it as an opportunity to organise a category that had never been structured, instead of setting up an e-commerce company.

“In many households, devotion is daily,” he says. “But access to authentic, high-quality puja essentials often depends on proximity and availability. That was a gap that was waiting to be filled.”

Rather than reimagining rituals, ServDharm focused on the layers that went into them, from the sourcing to the packaging and delivery.

Building the Supply Chain Behind the Ritual

To begin with, ServDharm partnered with 152 suppliers across religious literature, incense, Rudraksha malas and other pooja samagri. As demand increased, it also introduced operational complexity across sourcing as the need to scale increased.

Over time, the company expanded and refined its supply chain to work with 1000+ suppliers, establishing stronger quality benchmarks, tamper-resistant packaging and stricter compliance checks across high-volume SKUs and the catalogue.

The steps taken paid off with return rates stabilising within the 3–7 per cent range, while order fulfilment accuracy reached 95 per cent. At the same time, it strengthened its margin profile, with gross margins improving from roughly 40–55 per cent in FY25 to 45–65 per cent in FY26. It was a clear sign that offering reliable quality was central to earning long-term trust.

Turning Unit Economics into an Advantage

Puja samagri is traditionally perceived as a low-margin business, but Dhawan believed that was largely the result of the fragmented nature of the market.

As ServDharm improved sourcing consistency and packaging standards, customer behaviour began to shift. More buyers started returning for repeat purchases, particularly for fragrances, incense sticks and devotional essentials.

By focusing on improving reliability across the customer journey, it helped strengthen customer retention while building a more stable revenue base.

“When someone is buying something spiritual, reliability matters more than price,” Dhawan says. “If they get a familiar purchase experience, product and delivery, people come back.”

The Future of Devotional Retail

The growth of ServDharm suggests that even deeply traditional sectors can evolve operationally without losing authenticity.

The spiritual and religious market has long been an unstructured and fragmented domain. ServDharm’s expansion reflects a broader shift toward organised devotional commerce. Rather than commercialising faith, ServDharm’s strategy has centred on filling the gap with strong sourcing, operations and consistent quality.

For Dhawan, the vision remains simple.

“Faith is one of the most powerful forces in India,” he says. “Our role is to ensure that when someone reaches for what they need to pray, it is available, reliable and worthy of the moment.”

In a crowded puja samagri market, that commitment to dignity and consistency may prove to be the most scalable advantage of all.

About ServDharm

ServDharm is a Delhi-based devotional gifting and lifestyle brand reimagining spiritual products for contemporary homes. Founded in 2021, the brand combines authentic interpretations of ancient traditions with contemporary design, working closely with Indian artisans, writers, and illustrators to create high-quality, Made-in-India products ranging from pooja essentials to curated gifting.

“This is a company press release that is not part of editorial content. No journalist of The Hindu businessline was involved in the publication of this release.”

Published on June 18, 2026