Emerging consumer technology brand Lumio has had a rapid rise in India. Having recently crossed the ₹100 crore Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) milestone within just 13 months of launching sales, the Gurugram-born brand is now stepping beyond televisions and projectors to disrupt home audio with its newly launched Lumio Aura 5 speakers.
Following the launch event, we caught up with Kailash S, co-founder and chief operating officer (COO) of Lumio, to talk about their fast-paced growth, supply chain management, entering the audio market, and why they chose acoustic-grade bookshelf speakers over conventional soundbars.
Scaling the milestone: ₹100 Crore in 13 Months
FoneArena: During the keynote, it was revealed that Lumio hit the ₹100 crore GMV milestone in just 13 to 14 months. For a young hardware brand, that is a steep ramp. How did you navigate early inventory and fulfillment challenges?
Kailash S: It’s been an incredible journey since we started sales around May 2025. By June 2026, we had crossed the ₹100 crore mark. One of the greatest assets our core team brings is deep domain experience; Raghu (CEO) and I were at Xiaomi earlier, so we came in with a strong understanding of market dynamics, forecasting, and demand planning.
Naturally, there was a learning curve. In the first couple of months, we started with modest production batches, and products quickly sold out. We realized we were under-ordering and rapidly scaled our order volumes to pace ourselves with market demand. While a few SKUs experienced minor forecasting gaps, we corrected them quickly. Today, our customer base stands at well over 35,000 customers across more than 8,000 pin codes nationwide.
FoneArena: Where is this demand concentrated geographically?
Kailash S: Around 35% of our demand comes from the top tier/metro cities, while the remaining 65% is driven by non-metros and smaller cities across India. The breadth of adoption outside the tier-1 hubs has been remarkable.
FoneArena: Beyond Amazon, Flipkart, and the Lumio Store, you have also experimented with quick-commerce platforms like Instamart. What has that experience been like?
Kailash S: We listed our projectors on Swiggy Instamart, and the response has been very promising. We notice sharp spikes in demand, particularly around major sporting events, when people want to set up an impromptu big-screen experience. Younger demographics are living on quick-commerce apps, and it has proven to be an effective channel for impulse and high-convenience purchases.
Rethinking Home Audio: The Aura 5
FoneArena: With the Aura 5, Lumio is officially stepping into audio. Rather than launching a soundbar like most TV-adjacent brands, you chose a dual-cabinet stereo speaker setup. What was the thinking behind this?
Kailash S: Anyone who loves audio knows that traditional soundbars suffer from physical limitations. A soundbar is a slim, confined enclosure. When you squeeze multiple small drivers into a narrow bar, you inherently compromise on true stereo separation, depth, and expansive soundstage. They can produce loudness, but they don’t produce true, immersive, room-filling hi-fi sound.
Consumers usually buy soundbars because they require only a single cable and don’t occupy much space. But they fail at delivering the core acoustic experience. With the Aura 5, our goal was to offer a superior alternative to soundbars without adding friction. By integrating HDMI ARC alongside high-grade components into a compact wooden footprint, you get the simplicity of soundbar connectivity with the superior acoustic separation and soundstage of a proper stereo pair.
FoneArena: You’ve highlighted 100 dB loudness and 35 Hz bass output at 80 dB. How did you optimize the acoustic design to prevent distortion at high output levels?
Kailash S: Acoustic engineering is all about materials and enclosure design. The Aura 5 uses acoustic-grade wooden cabinets, custom waveguides, and a front-facing bass port. A rear bass port causes reflections and boomy distortion if the speaker is placed near a wall. By front-facing the port, the low-end remains tight and controlled even in tight spaces.
For the driver layout, we paired a 1-inch silk dome tweeter for clean, fatigue-free highs with a 4.5-inch aluminium woofer to deliver robust mids and punchy low-end. The combination of the rigid enclosure, waveguide baffles, and driver tuning ensures the audio remains distortion-free even at peak volume levels.
Tuning, Testing, and Controls
FoneArena: During the launch, you showed data from over 70 hours of blind tests against soundbars from legacy brands like JBL and LG. Did those tests impact the final sound tuning?
Kailash S: Absolutely. We didn’t just rely on simulated frequency response graphs; real-world listening tests were fundamental. In the earliest blind tests, listeners gave us constructive feedback regarding vocal clarity and instrument separation.
We went back to the DSP and spent extensive time fine-tuning our three dedicated EQ profiles:
- Studio: A flat, reference-grade tuning designed for purity and accurate reproduction.
- Cinema: Optimized for wider soundstage, dialogue intelligibility, and cinematic dynamics.
- Groove: Tuned with deeper bass response for casual music and party sessions.
Subsequent blind tests confirmed the improvements, and the reception from audiophiles and casual listeners alike has been validating.
FoneArena: You’ve included tactile physical knobs on the speaker and a dedicated ‘Minion’ OLED remote, while many brands are moving strictly to app-based interfaces. Why keep physical controls?
Kailash S: There’s a certain tactile joy and nostalgia in turning a physical dial to adjust volume, treble, or bass—that’s classic audio heritage. You can adjust ±5dB on the hardware knobs directly.
At the same time, we wanted modern convenience, which is why we built the Minion OLED remote. It runs on AAA batteries, uses Bluetooth so you don’t need line-of-sight, and features a built-in OLED display showing real-time volume levels, active inputs, and EQ presets. You get both worlds: old-school tactile control and sleek digital feedback.
FoneArena: Will there be companion software or app support as well?
Kailash S: Yes, we are actively working on a standalone Lumio Aura mobile app for Android and iOS that will unlock deeper EQ customization and firmware updates, giving users granular control over their sound profile.
Versatility & The Road Ahead
FoneArena: With seven input options—including HDMI ARC, Optical, Coaxial, Bluetooth 5.4, USB, and RCA—the Aura 5 seems positioned as more than just a companion for TVs.
Kailash S: Exactly. It’s an all-in-one entertainment hub. You can run your TV through HDMI ARC, plug in a turntable or record player via analog RCA, connect your laptop via USB, or stream high-res audio (up to 24-bit/48kHz lossless) from your phone over Bluetooth 5.4. Whether you mount them on a wall, put them on a desk, or frame them beside your television, they adapt to the space.
FoneArena: What can consumers expect regarding price and availability during the upcoming festive sales?
Kailash S: We spent around seven to eight months in active engineering and prototyping to get the product right. While we will reveal the official retail price closer to the festive launch window, it will sit under the ₹30,000 mark, complete with competitive festive introductory offers.
Lumio has confirmed that the Aura 5 will retail at ₹24,999 on Amazon India. The product will launch during the Amazon Great Indian Festival with an introductory early-bird price of ₹19,999, starting October 15, alongside applicable partner bank discounts.
FoneArena: Looking ahead, what is next for Lumio’s audio portfolio and the company’s business?
Kailash S: This is just the beginning of our audio journey. Having proven the concept with active stereo monitors, we see significant room to grow in home theater and multi-channel surround setups. As a business, we’re currently compounding at roughly 3x year-on-year, and we intend to sustain that pace across categories in the coming year.