Combonation Revolutionizes eCommerce with Unique Combo-Deal Model and Pricing Parity Protection
In the world of modern retail, every brand owner faces a persistent nightmare: maintaining pricing parity. When an online portal slashes the price of a single lipstick or a bottle of shampoo, the offline retailer across the street feels the sting instantly. This conflict often forces brands to choose between high-volume online sales and the loyalty of their physical distribution networks. But what if there was a way to offer deep online discounts without ever disclosing the individual price of a product?
Enter Saurabh Nanda, a veteran beauty entrepreneur who sold his brand, Nature's Essence, for $50 million and now promoters Color Essence. His newest venture, Combonation, is India's first "combo-only" destination. By bundling products from over 1,000 brands into curated sets, Combonation allows brands to move inventory at deep discounts while protecting their offline pricing integrity. It's a win-win-win for the brand, the retailer, and the deal-seeking consumer.
"The biggest worry for any CEO or promoter today is maintaining pricing parity," Saurabh explains. "When we sell in combos, we are not disclosing the individual SKU price. That ambiguity is a boon for the brand."
The "One-Stop" Combo Hypothesis
Saurabh identifies two primary types of shoppers: those who want convenience and those who want a "bang for their buck." Combonation caters to both through a dual-format model.
The Combonation Formats
- Predefined Combos: Tailor-made bundles created by the platform based on market intelligence. The selling point here is extreme, deep discounting.
- Make Your Own Combo: Total flexibility for the consumer to choose 2, 3, or 4 units of their choice. Depending on the bill value, users get a "bonus" combo margin of 10% to 100% extra.
By forcing the sale into a bundle, Combonation avoids the "blame game" that usually happens between online and offline players. Since the consumer sees one bill for five items, the individual market price of the product remains "ambiguous," allowing the brand to protect its long-term objectives while still achieving high-volume liquidation.
Innovative Sourcing: The "New SAS"
Saurabh’s edge doesn't just come from eCommerce strategy; it comes from his deep roots in the B2B and media industries. He defines his model as "Sales as a Service" (the new SAS). Combonation leverages three innovative sourcing models that traditional platforms cannot easily replicate:
The Combonation Sourcing Engine
- Barter Model: Swapping brand inventory for media services. Saurabh resells media to over 300 brands, allowing him to source inventory at the cost of his own media procurement—enabling deep consumer discounts.
- EMI (Outright Sale): Buying large quantums of inventory (₹1 Cr to ₹100 Cr) from brands with a staggered payout period. This provides brands with an outright sale rather than the traditional "sales or return" model.
- Sales-for-Media: Offering brands 100% media value for their investment, while also guaranteeing 150% of that value in annual sales.
This "hyperloop" of reselling and consumption ensures that Combonation is always ahead of the curve. "The more we resell, the more we can consume," Saurabh says. "Our sourcing is as per B2B, but our selling is as per D2C."
The 1,000 Store Vision: Omni-Channel Domination
While Combonation is thriving as an online portal, Saurabh is already executing a massive physical expansion. He is in the process of opening 100 shopping stores across India, with a long-term goal of 1,000 stores nationally. These aren't just retail outlets; they are mini-warehouses and logistics points designed to serve consumers within a 10-15 km radius efficiently.
"The consumer goes online to hunt for discounts, but they go offline to enjoy the experience and the physical touch and feel," he observes. By maintaining an omni-channel presence, Combonation captures both the convenience of digital and the sensory engagement of physical shopping.
Lessons in Cash Flow and Leadership
With 25 years in the business, Saurabh has a grounded view of startup metrics. He dismisses "book profitability" as a vanity metric if not backed by cash in hand. "If you have cash in hand, your brain works at its optimal best. If your receivables are late and your payables are early, the journey will be short," he warns.
— Saurabh Nanda, Founder, Combonation
His leadership philosophy is equally intense. He believes a leader must lead from the front and create "entrepreneurs inside the organization" rather than mere employees. "There is no amount of motivation that will work better than leadership by example. If your team is happy and convinced of the journey, they will win the world for you."
Future Vision: The 100-Brand Portfolio
Combonation currently serves 300 brands, but Saurabh's target is to onboard 1,000 brands and create 100 of his own house brands. By marrying top talent with private investors through a unique "salary dope" model—where talent gets stakes in the brands they drive while maintaining their lifestyle—he is building a sustainable engine for long-term brand building.
In an era where "dual pricing" is killing many retail brands, Combonation stands as a guardian of pricing parity and a champion of the value-conscious consumer. Saurabh Nanda’s journey from a "soldier in his father's army" to a $50 million exit and now a category disruptor is a blueprint for the modern Indian entrepreneur.
About the Guest
Saurabh Nanda is the Founder of Combonation and a seasoned beauty entrepreneur with 25 years of industry experience. He was the key driver behind Nature's Essence, which achieved a $50 million exit, and is currently the promoter of the popular makeup brand Coloressence. Saurabh is an MBA graduate from the Goa Institute of Management and has traveled to over 25 countries to build and sell brand inventories. He is recognized for his expertise in media reselling, B2B procurement, and building high-growth omni-channel retail platforms.