Keeping consumers in mind, the startups are going the extra mile to cater to the demands
Consumers have become more conscious when it comes to choosing the right personal care and beauty products. Though there are thousands of products in the market, however, going for the right one with fewer chemicals and environmentally-friendly products is what consumers are looking for. According to a recent survey by Euromonitor, 67 per cent of Indian consumers identify themselves as environmentally conscious, preferring natural and recyclable products.
Startups like Super Smelly, Auravedic and Mamaearth are bringing toxin-free, natural and organic products to the mainstream market. Also, Gen Z and Millennials are now key driving factors of this industry and are influencing household brand purchasing decisions
Says Ghazal Alagh, Co-founder, Mamaearth, “Until a decade ago, Indian consumers were led by fancy names and packaging. But today, they are much more informed about the harmful effects of chemicals that are present in almost all personal care brands. With easy access to information on the Internet, consumers are educating themselves about various brands in the market and what will work best for them. Across India, millennial consumers are becoming increasingly conscious and are looking for safe natural alternatives to replace the existing cosmetic products being offered by large multinationals.”.
Personal care startups are driven by innovation and use the best of science and Ayurveda to meet all personal care needs of young, aspirational and increasingly conscious Indian consumers. They also bring a spirit of constant innovation and in-depth research and customer feedback into every single product.
Amrita Bhatia, Founder, Auravedic says, “Auravedic has been a pioneer in introducing face oils for all types of skin concerns, ranging from dark spots to pigmentation, fine lines and even dark circles.”
Dipali Mathur, CEO & Co-Founder, Super Smelly mentions, “We started our journey with one of the most innovative products in the deodorant category ever – India’s first and only Australia certified spray deodorant. So far we have only seen safe ineffective deodorant formats which are safe but not suitable for our tropical climate – roll-ons, cream sticks or deodorant creams – but never a spray formulation which is 100 per cent toxin-free certified by SCA and naturally derived with skin superfoods like tea tree oil, aloe vera and witch hazel.”
Innovation has now become a part of the DNA of these brands and in the coming years, they plan to launch new products, enter new categories and use the right ingredients based on consumer feedback.
Alagh adds, “From the day we launched, we have listened to our consumers and provide products which they were looking for. This led us to develop and launch over 100 products in under three years. In the baby care segment, some of the most innovative products developed by us include India’s first bamboo-based Baby Wipes, Easy Tummy Roll on with Hing & Fennel for Colic and Digestion Relief and 100 per cent natural plant-based toothpaste for children between 0-10 years. After diversifying into the hair and skin care segment, we noticed that our consumers were using onion juice as the ultimate household remedy for hair loss. That’s when we launched our onion range of hair care products and saw phenomenal results.”
Mathur adds, “We’ve recently launched a range of hair care products that contain oil made with 4,000-year-old Kshirpak Process. The product range consists of hair oil, shampoo, conditioner, and hair mask made from an Ayurvedic blend of Bhringraj, Amla, and many other herbs. We are using Semi-AI (artificial intelligence) to marry our brands with technology. With this, we are interacting with our customers at every stage, from welcome to exit, and also educate them about products and brands. At each step, we offer exclusive offers to our customers. After applying Semi-AI, we saw an increase of 30 per cent in our daily sales.”
The advertising campaigns of these brands are devised around real people and focusing on their problems to engage the customers who develop a strong connection with these brands.
“We are a digital-first brand, targeted at the millennial generation. Our advertising campaigns are purely focused on digital content. We want consumers to read about the problems that our products solve and why our products are the best in the market. We work with bloggers and social media influencers to reach our target audience through word-of-mouth,” states Alagh.
“Wherever consumer preferences have shifted, advertising spend has adjusted in response. Though, to make a mark in consumer minds, we have done radio and influencer campaigns to increase brand awareness,” adds Mathur.
During the initial days of COVID-19, these startups were also hit by a manufacturing slowdown, however, they bounced back soon.
“We have seen an increased demand for our products. There has been a 20 per cent increase after lockdown,” Bhatia states.
Alagh adds, “In May, we achieved the same sales number as in January-February this year. June saw growth on all channels (e-commerce, brand’s website and offline stores) as compared to the pre-COVID days.”
Businesses are prioritising survival for now, but in the future will have to find new ways of brand building. The pandemic has caused brands of all sizes to rethink the types of strategies they implement for the smooth running of the business.
“For our effective supply chain, we shifted our supplies towards multiple delivery partners with reduced charges and timely delivery. Effective manpower management was implemented to handle the operations and logistics with social distancing and sanitized work areas,” states Mathur.
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