Print-on-demand platform Qikink has launched Creator Store, a free branded storefront that lets influencers, YouTubers, and digital creators in India sell custom merchandise without managing inventory, fulfilment, or logistics.
For most creators in India, advertising revenue remains the default income model.
YouTube and Instagram payouts are tied to eligibility thresholds, and brand sponsorships tend to favour creators with large follower counts, leaving the majority of India's estimated four million content creators with limited ways to earn directly from their audiences.
Merchandise has long been seen as a way around this, but setting up a product business has its own demands.
Manufacturing partnerships, inventory, payment gateways, shipping, and customer support require both capital and time that most individual creators do not have.
