- Studds Accessories is the company that puts a helmet on roughly one in every four Indian two-wheeler riders - it is India’s largest helmet maker, built over four decades from a single factory in Faridabad into a vertically integrated manufacturer selling in more than 70 countries. What began as a domestic mass-market brand transformed decisively from 2016 onward, when the company launched its SMK premium line to meet European safety standards and began climbing into the global racing and touring ecosystem. The recurring approach that explains everything else is a playbook of premiumisation and vertical control: make everything in-house, sell across every price point from Rs 875 to over Rs 12,800, and use the cash and scale of the domestic STUDDS brand to fund a global premium brand and a growing private-label export business.
Business segments
One integrated helmet-and-accessories business, run through three distinct go-to-market engines - a domestic mass-market brand, a global premium brand, and a private-label export line - all fed by the same four factories and in-house design team.
1. STUDDS brand: the domestic volume engine that pays the bills
A mass-market helmet brand selling 7.3 million units a year through over 360 distributors, with brand recognition so strong that dealers pay in seven days while competitors wait 30 to 60.
- Scale that few can match - the brand sold 72.6 lakh units in FY26 across more than 240 styles and 19,000-plus SKUs, covering an MRP range from INR875 to INR4,000, which means a customer walking into any kind of two-wheeler showroom or accessories shop in India can find a Studds helmet at their price point.
- A distribution network no competitor can easily replicate - the brand reaches customers through over 360 active distributors, exclusive brand outlets, large-format retail chains, OEM partnerships with Honda, Royal Enfield, Yamaha, Hero and Suzuki, government channels, and online platforms including quick commerce, with no single Indian zone contributing less than 20% of total sales.
- The OEM channel is a separate moat - about 13% of revenues come from two-wheeler manufacturers who supply helmets to their dealers, and Studds holds about 23% of that OEM segment, with 99% of those sales under the STUDDS brand.
- Credit terms that prove the brand’s pull - the company sells to distributors on just seven days of credit, while competitors offer 30 to 60 days, a gap that management points to as direct evidence of higher brand recognition and retailer demand.
- An oligopoly tilting toward organised players - the Indian helmet industry is dominated by three large companies, and the market is gradually shifting from unorganised, price-driven sales toward branded, safety-focused products, a structural change that favours Studds.
2. SMK brand: the premium global growth engine
A design-led, safety-certified premium helmet brand growing export volumes at roughly 52% CAGR, now building its own warehousing and distribution hubs in Europe and the United States.
- Born to meet European standards - launched in 2016, SMK was designed from the start to comply with international safety certifications such as ECE 22.06, positioning it for markets where the STUDDS brand’s price-first positioning could not reach.
- A higher price band funds the brand build - SMK helmets carry an MRP range from Rs 3,000 to Rs 15,350, and the brand adds features like built-in communications, LED indicators, integrated navigation and helmet wear detection that justify the premium over mass-market products.
- Racing is the marketing strategy - a dedicated racing manager has been hired, and the brand participates in events like the Moto4 Latin America Cup through its premium brand SMK helmets, alongside global platforms like EICMA and domestic events like India Bike Week, to build visibility among riding communities and international buyers.
- Europe gets its own warehouse - a wholly owned subsidiary, SMK Helmets Europe SRL, was registered in Italy in May 2026 with a capital of EUR 300,000, and will stock 10,000 to 15,000 units initially to cut transit times and improve supply responsiveness in a region where the company’s presence is currently limited.
- America already has a foothold - the wholly owned subsidiary Bikerz US Inc., a Delaware corporation incorporated in 2021 and acquired by Studds in 2024, handles importation, distribution and sales of SMK helmets in the US market.
3. Private label: manufacturing for the brands others built
A fast-growing OEM export line that makes helmets for internationally recognised brands, sharpening the company’s own manufacturing skills while opening doors in markets where its own brands are not yet known.
- Growing at roughly 22% CAGR - the private label business accounted for 7% of the product-wise revenue mix in FY26, making it a small but fast-expanding third engine alongside the two owned brands.
- A separate capability from branded exports - private label manufacturing is distinct from selling STUDDS or SMK helmets abroad; it is a contract manufacturing business that builds production expertise and factory utilisation while generating revenue from markets where the company’s own brands have yet to establish distribution.
4. Accessories and adjacent categories: filling the rider’s kit beyond the helmet
A small but broadening portfolio of riding gear, luggage and protective accessories that turns a helmet customer into a repeat buyer across multiple categories.
- From helmets to the whole rider - the accessories range now includes two-wheeler luggage boxes, helmet locking devices, gloves, riding jackets, rain suits and eyewear, and contributed 3.1% of the product-wise revenue mix in FY26.
- Bluetooth and jackets are next - the company is in advanced prototype development for riding jackets and external Bluetooth communication systems for helmets, with commercial sales expected to begin in the second half of FY27.
Manufacturing and supply chain
Four factories under one roof in Faridabad, a fifth under construction, and a level of vertical integration that runs from mould-making and EPS liner production all the way to robotic painting and in-house safety testing - the company makes practically everything that goes into a helmet.
- 9.5 million units of installed capacity, running near full - the three helmet-and-box facilities have a combined installed capacity of 9.23 million units as of March 2026, and production in FY26 reached 8.27 million units, roughly 90% utilisation.
- A captive EPS liner plant removes a supplier dependency - Facility IV produces the expanded polystyrene liners that absorb impact inside every helmet, with 9 million units of installed capacity and 7.92 million units produced in FY26, so the company does not need to source this critical safety component from outside.
- A fifth facility is about to come online - Manufacturing Facility V, under construction in Faridabad, will add 1.5 million units of capacity, with commercial production expected before the end of Q2 FY27 after delays caused by construction restrictions during Delhi-NCR pollution emergencies.
- Fungible lines mean the factory can chase demand - because manufacturing operations are shared across STUDDS and SMK products, the company can shift production between solid-colour helmets and complex graphic variants, or between brands, based on real-time demand signals.
- Raw materials are the one thing it cannot control - roughly half of raw material inputs are derived from crude oil, making costs sensitive to international oil prices; the company uses short-term customer contracts and calibrated price increases - 8% to 9% implemented from April 2026 - to pass through some of that volatility.
Group structure and partners
A debt-free Indian parent with two wholly owned overseas subsidiaries - one in the US, one newly established in Italy - and a promoter family that runs the business day to day.
- The parent company is the operating heart - Studds Accessories Limited, headquartered in Faridabad and listed on BSE and NSE since November 2025, operates in a single reportable segment and holds 100% of both overseas subsidiaries.
- Bikerz US Inc. is the American bridgehead - incorporated in Delaware in 2021 and acquired by Studds in 2024, it handles importation, distribution and sales of SMK helmets in the USA, with Ms. Shilpa Arora, the parent company’s Global Sales Head, serving as President and CEO.
- SMK Helmets Europe SRL is the new European hub - registered in Reggio Emilia, Italy, in May 2026 with EUR 300,000 in capital, it will manage import, export, wholesale and retail distribution including e-commerce, with day-to-day operations run by a locally appointed director and CEO, Mr. Matteo Schieppati.
- The Board is promoter-led with independent oversight - the Board includes three promoter directors - Madhu Bhushan Khurana (Chairman and Managing Director, on the board since 1983), Sidhartha Bhushan Khurana (Managing Director, since 1998), and Shilpa Arora (Whole-time Director and Global Sales Head) - alongside three independent directors.