Acquiring a customer may take a marketing campaign, but retaining one requires a product that becomes indispensable. At YourStory's Techsparks 2026, Sangeeth Krishna, founder, BRÜK and Nikhil Rajpal, founder of Qubo explained why design, reliability and an obsession with consumer behaviour are key to building lasting brands.

A security camera that lets parents check on their children, or an air purifier that quietly becomes part of a household routine. These products may serve very different needs, but they have one thing in common: their success depends on becoming part of consumers' everyday lives.

For consumer brands, getting customers to try a product is only the first hurdle. The bigger challenge is getting them to return, particularly in a market where choices are abundant, competing products are easily accessible and new brands are constantly emerging.

For Nikhil Rajpal, Co-founder of smart devices maker Qubo, the transition from a product being used regularly to becoming a habit is not necessarily reflected in usage metrics alone. "Real product-market fit happens once you've hit those hygiene usage metrics. If you speak to consumers, are they using superlatives? Are they saying things like, 'I can't live without this now'? That is when you realise you have probably hit product-market fit," he said.

The absence of a product, he believes, is often the best indicator of whether it has become a habit.

"A habit is not defined by usage metrics. A habit is defined by how much anxiety it causes you in its absence," said Rajpal, drawing a parallel with quick-commerce and food-delivery platforms that consumers increasingly depend on.

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