TakingOnceUponIndiafromlocalBaithakstoamulti-cityculturalbrand
700% revenue growth. 4,000+ tickets a year. 15+ cities. How TSBP built a repeatable growth engine for India's fastest-growing cultural events brand.
/ About the brand
Music, storytelling, poetry, heritage
Once Upon India (OUI) curates immersive Indian cultural experiences through intimate Baithaks and large-format Mehfils, bringing together music, storytelling, poetry and heritage for audiences across the country.
When OUI partnered with us, it was operating primarily in Delhi and Gurgaon with roughly 70-seat Baithaks. The vision was much bigger — take these experiences across India while significantly growing attendance and revenue.
/ Formats
Baithak
Intimate · 70 → 200 seats
Mehfil
Large format · 350 → 500 seats
Ticket range
₹4,000 – ₹11,000
/ The challenge
Not more tickets — a scalable event business
OUI wasn't just looking to sell more tickets. It wanted to build a repeatable operation that could travel to new cities without losing occupancy or profitability.
Understand the audience
Learn which audiences respond to which formats, price points and messaging.
Repeatable ticket-sales system
A creative and media-buying engine that could reliably fill rooms, event after event.
City expansion without dilution
Launch new cities without occupancy or ROAS collapsing.
Bigger rooms, bigger tickets
Grow event sizes and ticket price bands while keeping demand comfortably ahead of supply.
/ The three-year journey
Foundation. Scale. Sustain.
Year 1 · Foundation
Learn what actually sells tickets
- Marketed 7 Baithaks end-to-end
- Launched a 350-seat Mehfil at ₹4K – ₹11K
- 800+ tickets sold; built a first-party audience
- Identified the creative angles, formats and audience segments that consistently converted
Year 2 · Scaling
Take the model across India
- Expanded into 5 new cities
- Baithaks grew from 70 → 150–200 seats
- Mehfils grew from 350 → 400–500 seats
- Stable campaign ROAS > 4x for new cities, > 10x for existing cities
- Ad spend per event increased ~60%, in line with demand
Year 3 · Sustaining
Refine and compound
- 18+ shows completed year-to-date, more scheduled
- Focus shifted from proving the model to refining it
- Systems built in Years 1–2 continue to drive predictable ticket sales
/ Results at a glance
The numbers that moved
↑ 700%
Revenue growth
Year 2 vs Year 1
4,000+
Tickets sold
Year 2
4,000+
Tickets YTD
Year 3 (as of July 2026)
25+
Total shows
Year 2
15+
Cities expanded to
90%
Direct web ticket sales
First-party audience owned by OUI
/ Baithak capacity
/ Mehfil capacity
/ City expansion
From Delhi–Gurgaon to a national footprint
Indicative list. Cities expanded across metros and tier-2 cultural hubs.
/ Business impact
Own the audience, not just the sale
Approximately 90% of all ticket sales came directly through the OUI website, with the balance from ticketing platforms and word of mouth generated by our campaigns. That meant OUI kept ownership of its customer relationships and built a valuable first-party audience for every future event.
/ Top performing creatives
The formats that filled the rooms
Baithaks
Intimate reveals · price-anchored offers · early-bird urgency
Mehfils
Cinematic teasers · line-up reveals · scarcity framing
UGC / Creator
Attendee POV clips · creator-hosted invites · behind-the-curtain reels
/ The outcome
A cultural brand, built on a growth engine
Over three years, we helped transform Once Upon India from a local organiser hosting intimate 70-person Baithaks into a fast-growing, multi-city cultural brand producing large-format experiences across India — 700% revenue growth, thousands of tickets a year and a scalable foundation for long-term growth.
/ FAQ
Common questions
What is Once Upon India?+
Once Upon India (OUI) is a cultural events brand that curates immersive Indian experiences — intimate Baithaks and large-format Mehfils — combining music, storytelling, poetry and heritage for audiences across the country.
What's the difference between a Baithak and a Mehfil?+
A Baithak is an intimate 70–200 seat cultural gathering; a Mehfil is a large-format production seating 350–500. Both centre on Indian music, storytelling and heritage.
How did Once Upon India scale from one city to fifteen?+
TSBP spent Year 1 building a repeatable creative and audience testing engine, then used it in Year 2 to launch in five new cities with a stable campaign ROAS above 4x for new cities and over 10x for existing cities. Year 3 has focused on refining and expanding that system.
How were tickets actually sold?+
Around 90% of ticket sales were driven directly through the Once Upon India website via TSBP's paid campaigns, with the remainder coming through ticketing platforms and word of mouth generated by those campaigns.
What kind of returns did the campaigns generate?+
Year 2 delivered a stable campaign ROAS above 4x for newly launched cities and over 10x for existing cities, alongside a 700% year-on-year revenue increase.
/ Related reading