Nuto Activewear is an emerging Indian activewear startup redefining performance sportswear through sustainability, innovation, and responsible design. The brand develops high-performance apparel that seamlessly blends functionality, comfort, and sustainability to meet the evolving needs of modern consumers. As a Made-in-India venture, Nuto remains committed to delivering products that align with India’s rapidly expanding fitness and lifestyle ecosystem. At the same time, it actively engages with startup and innovation platforms to showcase its offerings, gather consumer insights, and strengthen its connection with the broader fitness community. By combining performance-driven design with sustainable practices, Nuto Activewear is steadily carving out a distinctive position in India’s growing activewear market.
In an exclusive conversation with The Interview World at the Sports, Fitness & Infrastructure Expo, organized by The Times of India, Paras Aggarwal, Co-founder of Nuto Activewear, discusses the brand’s value-driven activewear portfolio and its role in shaping India’s emerging sportswear movement. He explains how Nuto’s bamboo-based activewear stands apart from conventional alternatives, shares his insights on the evolving dynamics of the Indian activewear market, outlines the company’s strategy for expanding its footprint across the country, and highlights its approach to delivering premium products at competitive prices. Here are the key takeaways from this insightful conversation.
Q: Which new activewear products are driving value and shaping the emerging sportswear movement across the country?
A: The Indian market is witnessing a surge of brands offering sportswear, activewear, and outdoor apparel. However, many of these products fall short when it comes to technical performance. That gap inspired us to build Nuto Activewear differently.
As a mountaineer, I understand that performance apparel must do more than look good; it must withstand demanding environments. Our adventure collection reflects that philosophy. We carefully engineer every product with technical specifications that suit the challenging conditions of the Indian Himalayas. From abrasion-resistant materials to high-performance fabrics, every element is designed to deliver durability, comfort, and functionality in extreme conditions.
At the same time, we recognized another critical gap in the market: Indian body types remain largely underserved. Most brands continue to rely on global sizing standards that do not accurately reflect Indian physiques. We have addressed this by developing products specifically for Indian consumers. Our sizing follows Indian body proportions, ensuring a better fit and enhanced comfort. For instance, our lowers offer a more accommodating fit around the thighs and taper appropriately toward the bottom, delivering both ease of movement and a refined silhouette.
Further, we have made bamboo fabric a cornerstone of our product philosophy. Bamboo is a naturally sustainable and highly functional material that offers exceptional comfort and breathability. While a few brands in India offer bamboo-blended products, they typically combine bamboo with cotton or other fibres. We have chosen to focus on 100 percent bamboo-based offerings, which remain rare in the Indian market. This commitment to sustainability and performance represents one of our key differentiators.
Finally, we are raising the benchmark for everyday performance wear such as windcheaters and tracksuits. Although these categories are widely available, many products fail to meet consumers’ expectations in terms of fabric quality, durability, and performance. At Nuto Activewear, we prioritize superior materials, thoughtful construction, and uncompromising quality to deliver products that not only perform better but also offer lasting value.
Our goal is simple: to create technically advanced, sustainably crafted activewear designed for Indian consumers and built for Indian conditions.
Q: How will bamboo-based activewear differentiate itself from existing products in the segment in terms of performance, comfort, sustainability, and consumer value?
A: Let me illustrate this with an example from the adventure segment. Today, leading brands offer a wide range of mountaineering and trekking apparel. However, true differentiation lies in technical performance rather than product variety alone.
Take our trekking pants, for instance. If you compare them with similar products available in the market, you will notice significant differences in fabric technology and functionality. We design our products to perform in demanding outdoor conditions. Our water-repellent trekking pants can resist moisture penetration for extended periods, helping users stay dry and comfortable even during prolonged exposure to wet environments. By contrast, many conventional alternatives tend to absorb moisture much sooner, which can compromise both comfort and performance.
More importantly, we do not make performance claims without validation. We have spent over nineteen months rigorously testing our products across different conditions to ensure they deliver on their intended purpose. This extensive testing process has enabled us to refine our fabrics, enhance durability, and optimize functionality for real-world use.
Our findings have consistently reaffirmed one thing: the Indian market needs technically superior products that go beyond aesthetics and basic functionality. Consumers increasingly seek performance-driven apparel that offers tangible value, and that is precisely the gap we aim to address. Every product we develop reflects our commitment to delivering capabilities that remain underserved in the market. Rather than merely competing on design or price, we focus on creating activewear that performs exceptionally when it matters most.
Q: How do you see the sportswear and activewear markets evolving in the country?
A: India’s sporting ecosystem is evolving rapidly, with growing ambitions on the global stage and the possibility of hosting the 2036 Olympics. Against this backdrop, we are committed to developing activewear that empowers athletes to perform at their best. Our focus remains on natural, sustainable fabrics that deliver superior comfort, breathability, and performance. When athletes feel more comfortable and unrestricted, they are better positioned to achieve their goals and reach new milestones.
Although we have been in the market for only six to seven months, our ambitions extend far beyond our early beginnings. We are building a brand rooted in continuous innovation, athlete-centric design, and uncompromising product quality.
To that end, we have collaborated closely with athletes from diverse disciplines, including ultra-marathons, parasailing, and other outdoor endurance sports. Their real-world experiences and constructive feedback have played a vital role in shaping our products. The response has been overwhelmingly encouraging, while the insights they have shared have helped us identify opportunities for further refinement.
We view product development as an ongoing process. Wherever improvements are needed, we incorporate them thoughtfully and swiftly to enhance fit, functionality, and overall performance. By listening to athletes and continuously evolving our offerings, we aim to bring better-designed, performance-driven activewear to the market—products that not only meet the demands of today’s consumers but also support the aspirations of India’s next generation of sporting talent.
Q: What is your strategy for tapping the Indian market, and what are your future growth and expansion plans?
A: Our immediate priority is to serve athletes and fitness enthusiasts who remain dissatisfied with the performance, comfort, and functionality of existing products in the market. We believe that consumers who actively pursue sports and outdoor activities understand the difference that thoughtfully designed, high-performance apparel can make. They are, therefore, at the centre of our growth strategy.
Equally important is our commitment to continuous improvement. We actively seek consumer and athlete feedback and use those insights to refine our products and address unmet market needs. For us, innovation is not a one-time exercise; it is an ongoing process of listening, learning, and improving.
Rather than pursuing an expansive product portfolio from the outset, we have adopted a focused approach. While the activewear market comprises numerous product categories, we currently offer only four carefully developed products. We deliberately prioritize categories that are in high demand but underserved in terms of quality, performance, or sustainability. Our objective is not to offer more products than everyone else, but to offer better products where they matter most.
Take running shorts as an example. Long-distance runners often struggle with discomfort and skin chafing during extended runs, a problem that many existing products fail to address adequately. Our running shorts are specifically designed for endurance performance and are well-suited for distances of up to 20 kilometres. By leveraging the natural properties of bamboo fabric, we provide enhanced breathability, softness, and comfort while significantly reducing the risk of chafing. Despite the growing emphasis on sustainable activewear, very few brands currently offer solutions that effectively combine sustainability with performance-oriented features of this kind.
Going forward, we will continue to identify critical gaps in the market and develop products that solve real problems for real users. That approach will remain central to our growth journey.
Q: How have you positioned your products in terms of pricing, and what makes your pricing strategy competitive within the market segment?
A: When it comes to pricing, our philosophy is simple: we price our products based on the value they deliver. Bamboo is a premium and relatively expensive material, which naturally places it in a different category from conventional activewear fabrics. Moreover, there are very few comparable products in the Indian market that combine the performance and sustainability attributes we offer. As a result, we do not position our bamboo-based products solely on price competitiveness but rather on their overall quality, functionality, and long-term value.
Similarly, our polyester windcheaters are competitively positioned within their category, albeit at the higher end of the price spectrum. That premium reflects the superior quality of the materials, the attention to detail in construction, and the durability we build into every product.
Durability, in particular, remains one of our key differentiators. While the lifespan of any garment ultimately depends on its usage patterns and maintenance, many conventional windcheaters are designed for relatively short-term use. In contrast, we engineer our products for sustained performance over an extended period. Under normal usage conditions, they are designed to retain their functionality and quality for several years, offering consumers greater value over time.
Ultimately, we believe that consumers are investing not merely in a piece of apparel but in a product built to deliver comfort, performance, and longevity. That commitment to high build quality lies at the core of our pricing strategy and our broader product philosophy.
