No longer just a collab! Mustang emerges as a growth lever for GOBOULT ahead of IPO

New Delhi: As GOBOULT prepares for a potential public listing in the next two years, the homegrown audio and wearables brand is recalibrating its growth strategy around premiumisation, global brand partnerships and category expansion.

Central to this pivot is its multi-year collaboration with Ford’s Mustang, which the company now sees as a meaningful revenue engine rather than a limited-edition marketing play.

“This year, Mustang will contribute around 13% of our top line. We are closing this year at close to Rs 1,000 crore in revenue, and in 2026–27 we expect to grow by another 10–15%,” said Varun Gupta, Co-founder, GOBOULT, outlining the scale the company has reached as it moves closer to the IPO runway.

Reinforcing the strategic value of the partnership from the licensor’s side, Tyler Hill, Ford Global Brand Licensing Manager, said, “Rooted in American performance and celebrated around the world, Mustang remains one of the most iconic automotive brands on the planet. This new line draws inspiration from Mustang’s iconic design, giving fans new ways to share the spirit of Mustang. It’s a fun extension of the Mustang story as we continue to grow its role as a global lifestyle brand that extends beyond the vehicle itself.”

FromGOBOULT’s side, the Mustang collaboration is being scaled beyond a one-off brand exercise into a portfolio strategy. “This is a category expansion. Earlier, the collaboration was limited to earphones and earbuds. The numbers were stellar, with over 25,000 reviews. Because of that performance, we decided to expand across categories under the Mustang brand. This is not a one-off collection; more categories will follow in the coming months,” said Shivi Srivastava, Marketing Head at GOBOULT, and Sonali Srivastava, Brand Manager at GOBOULT, who are spearheading the marketing strategy.

Why Mustang fits GOBOULT’s premium ambitions

Gupta said Mustang offered GOBOULT a rare brand gap in India’s premium imagination. “We wanted a partnership that was aspirational, emotional, and premium. Mustang stands out because, unlike Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche, it has not ventured into India. There is a sense of mystery and desire around the brand, and we saw an opportunity to bring that aspiration to Indian consumers through this collaboration.”

Hill said the licensing partnership allows Mustang to engage fans “beyond the vehicle itself,” positioning the brand as a lifestyle proposition rather than a purely automotive badge.

Backing Gupta’s point, GOBOULT’s marketing team added strategic context on how the partnership is structured. “This is a profit-sharing collaboration. Everything we make, from design to technology, is approved by Ford. That is why the products carry the official licensing label. The collaboration is renewed annually. As volumes have increased, the profit-sharing percentage has reduced.”

Notably, this time GOBOULT and Mustang have entered into a three-year partnership. 

Why Mustang leads the narrative

At first glance, the product feels unmistakably Mustang, with GOBOULT playing a quieter, almost supporting role. When BestMediaInfo asked why, Gupta was clear that this was intentional. Gupta said GOBOULT deliberately avoided surface-level brand associations. “We did not want a superficial logo placement. We wanted to go deep and co-build products with Mustang, and that is what we have done with these launches.”

Gupta added that the collaboration has already delivered meaningful commercial outcomes. “With Mustang, we did about Rs 100 crore in revenue last year across the collection.”

Echoing this philosophy, Hill explained that Mustang’s design-led expansion into lifestyle categories gives fans a way to carry the brand’s ethos into their daily lives. The extension, Hill said, allows fans to “share the spirit of Mustang” in everyday contexts.

GOBOULT’s marketing team reiterated that Mustang is now embedded in the company’s growth plans. “This is not a one-off collection; more categories will follow in the coming months,” it said.

Will Gen Z pay extra for GOBOULT’s premium push?

Gupta said GOBOULT’s challenge is to layer aspiration onto a mass-market base. “The idea is to build a luxury product while retaining a sense of aspiration. We do market research and surveys before every launch. With collaborations, we do not want to speak only to the top 1% of the country and ignore the remaining 99%.”

The brand’s core audience remains unchanged, even as positioning evolves. “Gen Z has always been our target audience. What has changed is the intent; earlier, we were positioned for everyday tech needs. Now, post rebranding, we are consciously positioning ourselves as more premium. The target group remains the same, but the reason to buy is different,” the marketing team said.

Gupta acknowledged the competitive pricing pressure. “There are several brands offering smartwatches in the Rs 1,000–Rs 1,300 range. We have to make a compelling case for a customer to invest Rs 3,000–Rs 5,000 in our products. We are positioned as a value-for-money brand, and we want to be reasonable with pricing.”

Cushioning the premium push, GOBOULT’s marketing team said, “We want consumers to experience luxury at an affordable price. This is an entry-level way to access premium collaboration products.”

Manufacturing optics and India push

Gupta addressed the company’s China-linked sourcing at a time when ‘Make in India’ narratives are gaining political traction. “We assemble our products in India. Raw materials come from China because India currently does not have the capability to produce them. More than 99% of our products are assembled in India, and the supply chain is stable.”

He also thanked the Indian government for policy moves aimed at strengthening domestic electronics manufacturing. “We are positive about the government’s push towards semiconductor manufacturing and local corridors. The budget announcements give us confidence that India’s component ecosystem will strengthen over time,” Gupta said.

GOBOULT’s marketing leadership said global compliance remains central to its brand credibility. “Everything we make, from design to technology, is approved by Ford. That is why the products carry the official licensing label.” 

GOBOULT bets on feeds, not front pages

Gupta said GOBOULT’s go-to-market strategy is increasingly digital-led. The focus is on PR, social media, influencers, and digital performance marketing rather than ATL.

“We are a digital-heavy brand because our target audience is on digital. Most of our sales contribution comes from e-commerce and quick commerce platforms,” GOBOULT’s marketing team added. Quick commerce is emerging as a meaningful growth channel. “Quick commerce contributes around 10% of our sales, and this has grown by 3–4% year-on-year,” the marketing team said.