Local brands capture India's TWS top five for the first time in 2022: Report

India’s shipment of wireless earbuds, commonly known as (TWS) true wireless stereo, grew by 85% in CY 2022 on the back of the entry of new vendors, affordable prices, and expansion of local manufacturing, shows a new report by Counterpoint Research, published on Tuesday. 

Homegrown brands accounted for 80% of the India TWS market in 2022. Counterpoint claims that Indian brands captured all top five spots for the first time in the segment. 

Boat Lifestyle led the market with 39.7% of the shipments, followed by Noise and Boult Audio which accounted for 7.7% and 7.2% of the shipments. The other two Indian brands in the top five were Mivi and Ptron which shipped 6.2% and 5.2% of total TWS unit shipments. 

“Four-fifths of the total market was captured by Indian brands, their highest-ever share. For the first time, the top five spots were taken by local brands, which captured two-thirds of the total TWS shipments in India,” said Anshika Jain, Senior Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research. 

Though Boat’s shipments grew 89% annually, the fastest-growing brand was Mivi with a 544% year-on-year (YoY) growth. 

The share of Chinese brands including OnePlus, Oppo, and Realme was 13%, while that of global brands such as Apple, Samsung, and JBL was 8% last year, the report adds. 

“Domestic manufacturing saw rapid growth, contributing 30% of the total shipments in 2022, compared to just 2% in 2021,” said Liz Lee, associate director at Counterpoint Research. 

Last October, local contract manufacturer Optiemus Electronics, which makes TWS for Noise, told Mint that it will open a new factory for wearables in Noida to meet the growing demand for smartwatches and TWS. 

According to Counterpoint, local manufacturing by Indian brands enabled them to offer TWS at more appealing prices. 

“Increase in the shipment share of local production largely led to a drop in the ASP (average selling price) by 20% in 2022. More new launches in the low-price band (₹1,001-2,000) also contributed to the drop,” added Lee.