Most skincare brands make promises. Niconi wanted to show results.
Niconi started in May 2025 with a simple idea. People were selling promises, but nobody was delivering results. So, the brand created a tan removal product that showed an instant result in 20 minutes. Customers could see the before and after for themselves.
Then something unexpected happened. Negative videos about the brand started appearing online.
The problem was, Niconi didn’t know why.
What Happens When Growth Forces a Pivot?
At first, the negative videos felt personal. Niconi had a great product and was getting good reviews. So why were these videos appearing?
Then they found out. It was a paid campaign run by competitors.
Instead of letting the negative content define the brand, Niconi decided to respond differently. The founder went to the market and shot content there.
That content had 225 million views.
Niconi got around ₹20 crore in revenue from that one video in just 7 days.
The brand turned a negative campaign into an opportunity to show customers what its product could actually do.
Powering Niconi’s Payments with PayU
The viral content brought customers to Niconi’s own website. With 80% of its revenue coming through its own website, Niconi needed a checkout that could keep up with that demand.
PayU helps brands like Niconi accept seamless payments and increase conversions with:
Payment Gateway – Accept 150+ payment modes with industry-leading success rates, 99.98% up-time & seamless integration across web and app platforms.
The Impact of Partnering with PayU & GoKwik
- Higher prepaid orders from below 55% to 70-75%
- Improved conversion rate despite the increase in prepaid orders
- 80% of revenue now comes through Niconi’s own website
“In past, I’ve been working with all the other checkouts and my prepaid percentage was not going above 55. Now with GoKwik, it’s above 70-75 and the conversion rate has not dropped. In fact, it has improved.”
— Shail Tolia, Founder, Niconi
What’s the Real Lesson from Niconi’s Pivot?
Niconi’s pivot story shows that a setback can become a growth opportunity.
When negative videos started appearing, the brand could have spent its energy fighting them. Instead, it created content that showed the product in action.
One video reached 225 million views and brought in around ₹20 crore in revenue.
The lesson is simple. Listen to your customer and let the product speak for itself.
As Shail Tolia, the founder, puts it, “Whatever the customer says, keep listening, that’s about it. There’s nothing more in D2C than that.”
PayU powers brands like Niconi, so they can focus on growing their business.
