Little Black Book

What Little Black Book does

Little Black Book (legal entity: Iluminar Media Private Limited, operating since 2012/2013 from New Delhi, India) is a lifestyle discovery platform serving urban Indian millennials and Gen Z (18-35) in 8+ metros — Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Goa and Kochi. The platform is accessible via iOS/Android apps (2.5M+ downloads) and website, presenting curated recommendations, expert Trusted Reviews, City Guides and shoppable product categories spanning women's fashion, beauty & bodycare, home & kitchen, and travel & stays, alongside a premium membership called LBB Access offering exclusive deals, stays and giveaways.

The technology stack is a content-and-commerce platform supporting user-generated and editorial reviews, a creator/influencer network of 10,000+, and location-based discovery. AI features include a recommendation engine (browser/location/saved-item personalisation) and NLP for review sentiment and content classification; the platform processes text, image, video and structured commerce data. There is no evidence of proprietary foundation models; integration with Facebook SSO is the only documented external integration, and no public API is exposed.

Revenue is generated through three streams: (i) Brand Solutions & Advertising — bespoke campaigns spanning influencer collaborations, content marketing, banner ads, live events, lead generation and video series/IPs (B2B, multi-year enterprise contracts); (ii) E-commerce & Affiliate — commissions on transactions routed through product recommendations and reviews; (iii) LBB Access subscriptions. Brand partnerships anchor the model with marquee logos including LEGO (multi-year), Pernod Ricard India, Singapore Tourism Board, Coca-Cola, Dyson, MamaEarth and Tata Tea Gold, complemented by signature offline Bazaar events (Dessert Bazaar at 75,000+ footfall). The company was acquired by Nykaa in 2022 and continues to operate independently under Nykaa's strategic ownership, employing 101-250 people.

Name

Little Black Book

Legal name

Iluminar Media Private Limited

Website

https://lbb.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Little Black Book (Iluminar Media Private Limited) is a New Delhi-based lifestyle discovery platform connecting 30M+ annual users across 8+ Indian metros with curated local fashion, beauty, home and travel brands via mobile app, website, and signature Bazaar events, monetized through brand advertising, e-commerce affiliate and LBB Access subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Brand Solutions & Advertising: Comprehensive advertising solutions including influencer collaborations with 10,000+ creators, content marketing (integrated content, SEO posts, interactive videos), banner ads (static, video, interactive), live events, lead generation, and video series/IPs for consumer brands
2. E-commerce & Affiliate: Platform facilitating transactions between consumers and lifestyle brands, earning commissions on sales through product recommendations and reviews
3. LBB Access Subscription: Premium membership offering exclusive deals, giveaways on stays, travel experiences, and wellness retreats

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Little Black Book (LBB) is a lifestyle discovery platform and e-commerce marketplace that curates and connects India's millennials and Gen Z with emerging local lifestyle brands across fashion, beauty, home decor, dining, and travel categories. The platform offers curated expert reviews, city-specific guides covering 8+ Indian cities, an integrated shopping experience, and a premium membership (LBB Access) for exclusive deals. LBB also provides brand solutions including influencer collaborations, content marketing, and live events for consumer brands.

Product overview

Little Black Book (LBB) is a lifestyle discovery platform and e-commerce marketplace that connects India's millennials and Gen Z with emerging local lifestyle brands. The core LBB Platform serves as the primary discovery and commerce interface, complemented by the LBB Access subscription membership offering exclusive deals and rewards. The platform features curated content through Trusted Reviews (expert brand recommendations), City Guides (location-based discovery for 8+ Indian cities), and specialized product categories spanning Women's Fashion, Beauty & Bodycare, Home & Kitchen, and Travel & Stays. Additional content verticals include Brand Alternatives, Home Tours, Weekend Getaways, and Beauty Videos. For brand partners, LBB offers advertising solutions including Influencer Collaborations (10,000+ creators), Content Marketing, Live Events, Lead Generation, and Video Series/IPs. The platform operates a mobile app (iOS/Android) with over 2.5 million downloads and was acquired by Nykaa in 2022.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• LBB Platform (Core Discovery & Commerce)

Quantifiable outcome

• 80+ million monthly pan-platform reach
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability6 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Singapore Tourism BoardminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuccessful first retail collaboration managing both Indian and Singapore brands; created Singapore-inspired collections
• Pernod Ricard IndiaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCreated innovative HP8 house party campaigns with event logistics, coordination, production, and post-production support
• LEGO GroupcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMulti-year partnership; LEGO DOTS campaign created 3X increase in theme share with desk organizer becoming bestseller on Amazon
• Coke (Coca-Cola)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPaired Coke with Haleem for HYD Food Walk during Ramadan campaign
• DysonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCampaign activities in 2023
• MamaEarthminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBuilding brand story through content and marketing campaigns
• Tata Tea GoldminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDrove 300+ stories of goodness for Tata Tea Gold campaign
• Charlotte Tilbury (via Nykaa)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCharlotte Tilbury boutiques operated in partnership with Nykaa at Select Citywalk (Saket) and DLF Mall of India (Noida); featured on LBB platform for brand discovery

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Purplle: Indian beauty and personal care e-commerce marketplace — comparable commerce-side overlap with LBB's beauty category, though without LBB's content/events dimension.
• Nykaa: Parent company since 2022 and India's leading beauty/lifestyle commerce platform — broader incumbent whose commerce engine complements and competes with parts of LBB's marketplace.
• Myntra: Large Indian fashion and lifestyle e-commerce platform owned by Flipkart — overlaps with LBB's fashion/lifestyle shopping categories for the same urban Indian millennial demographic.

Emerging players

• Winkl: Influencer marketing platform for Indian consumer brands — comparable to LBB's creator/influencer partnership offering but operates as a self-serve SaaS rather than integrated content-plus-media model.
• Plixxo (POPxo): Indian influencer marketing platform with a creator marketplace — competes for the same brand-influencer campaign budgets as LBB, though without LBB's owned content/event assets.
• ScoopWhoop: Indian digital media platform serving millennials with editorial content, branded stories, and video IPs — overlaps with LBB's content marketing, video series, and branded IP solutions for consumer brands.

Direct peers

• POPxo: India's largest digital community for women, combining content, social, influencer marketing, and commerce — directly overlapping with LBB's content + influencer + e-commerce stack and target millennial/Gen Z female audience.
• MissMalini Entertainment: Mumbai-based lifestyle content and influencer media brand covering fashion, beauty, and pop culture for urban Indian women — highly comparable discovery-and-recommendation model to LBB's trusted reviews and city guides.
• Pinkvilla: Indian lifestyle, entertainment, and fashion content platform monetized via advertising and brand collaborations — competes with LBB for the same brand-advertiser wallet targeting urban millennials.
• Influencer.in (by Influencer.com): India-focused influencer marketing platform connecting brands with creators — directly competes with LBB's Influencer Collaborations product serving the same brand-partnership use case.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lbb---little-black-book
• Instagraminstagram.com/lbb
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/lbb
• Xx.com/lbbindia
• Facebookfacebook.com/LBBDelhiNCR

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors12 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Little Black Book