Children’s shoes, while being a part of the large-scale footwear market, are often ignored when it comes to innovation. Across India, a simple rule has long governed purchases—parents buy shoes one size larger, hoping they'll last longer. Aretto believes that such a compromise is unnecessary.
Founded by Satyajit Mittal, the Pune-based brand has reimagined kids' footwear with patented shoes that expand across three sizes, ensuring a better fit as children grow. What began as an attempt to solve an overlooked everyday problem has evolved into a fast-growing footwear brand with global ambitions.
“I used to think the whole idea of simply buying a bigger shoe is a very Indian thing. But when I spoke at a convention in the US, explaining this concept to the audience there, I was surprised to realise that the ‘size issue’ is a global phenomenon. My roots lie in industrial design. I immediately thought that if I can make the shoe grow along with the kid’s feet, I might solve a large-scale problem,” Mittal says.
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The insight stemmed from a simple observation: children's feet grow gradually every day, while footwear is manufactured in fixed sizes. As a result, parents are often forced to choose between shoes that are too loose or too tight, with only a brief period of perfect fit. Mittal argues that parents are not necessarily trying to save money—they are trying to maximise value by extending the usable life of a pair of shoes. That realisation led Aretto to engineer footwear that adapts to a child's natural growth rather than forcing the child to adapt to the shoe.
While the technology is central to the product, convincing parents to trust it required a different playbook. Instead of relying solely on digital advertising, Aretto focused on creating hyperlocal communities. The brand organised flea market activations, school events and neighbourhood pop-ups, complemented by targeted performance marketing. As parents began noticing other children wearing Aretto shoes, word-of-mouth became one of the company's strongest growth drivers.
"We realised that if one mother liked the product, she would naturally recommend it to another parent during school pickups or evening playtime. That organic advocacy was far more powerful than any advertisement," Mittal explains. The brand later amplified these conversations through micro-influencers, encouraging them to use the product for a few months before sharing honest reviews instead of scripted endorsements.
Retail has played an equally important role in building trust. As Aretto expanded into malls across key cities, physical stores became demonstration centres where parents could see the patented expandable technology in action. According to Mittal, the offline presence also boosted online sales, as customers gained greater confidence in the brand after interacting with the product firsthand. Today, Aretto has replicated this city-by-city expansion strategy across markets including Pune and Bengaluru, while continuing to invest heavily in customer support and feedback systems.
Another milestone came with the brand's appearance on Shark Tank India. While many startups view the platform primarily as a fundraising opportunity, Mittal believes its biggest contribution was awareness. The show's visibility encouraged curious parents to walk into Aretto stores, ask questions and experience the product. Demonstrating how the shoe expands three sizes often became the turning point in converting visitors into customers. "The airtime was invaluable because it gave people confidence to walk into our stores. Once they experienced the product, the conversation became much easier," he says.
The company has grown nearly threefold year-on-year over the past four years and is now targeting the ₹100-crore revenue milestone. Looking ahead, Aretto plans to deepen its retail footprint before investing significantly in mass media advertising. International expansion has already begun with markets such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, while interest from parents in the US has reinforced the company's belief that the problem it set out to solve extends far beyond India.
Even as it prepares for its next phase of growth, Mittal insists the company's philosophy remains unchanged. Rather than launching products simply to expand its catalogue, Aretto spends almost 16 months designing and testing every innovation before it reaches consumers. New product categories, including adult footwear, remain on the roadmap, but only when the company believes it has genuinely solved another consumer problem.
"Our philosophy has always been to ask 'why'. Why should shoes be made this way? Why can't footwear adapt to the wearer instead of the other way around? If we can answer those questions meaningfully, the products will follow," Mittal concludes.
(The brands that we cover in this segment are not from New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata or Bangalore)
