New-age beauty brands shine bright amid Covid-19 pandemic gloom

Shraddha Joshi was an ardent user of luxury cosmetic brand MAC. A chance encounter with a friend and the new lipstick she saw her using made her aware of a brand called SUGAR. This was 2018; since then Joshi has become a follower of SUGAR Cosmetics.

With the Indian beauty market likely to cross the $20-billion mark by next year, homegrown beauty and personal care brands such as St Botanica, SUGAR Cosmetics, SkinKraft, Vedix and Juicy Chemistry are creating a niche in the market. They are offering a range of customised, natural and cruelty-free products, especially made for the Indian skin and climate. These new-age firms are ditching the use of chemicals and tapping into the country’s centuries-old ayurvedic and organic remedies for formulations, which is attracting the eco-friendly consumer.

Organic brand Juicy Chemistry, which is anticipating a 200-250 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth, cuts out middlemen and directly works with small-scale farmers to procure fresh ingredients with a rich nutrient profile. “Our products, such as our toners, are made through steam distillation in a sterile environment. Thus, they remain contamination-free despite being preservative-free. Our soaps and cleansers are alkaline formulations and do not provide a conducive environment for bacterial growth,” says Pritesh Asher, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Juicy Chemistry. The start-up, which is known for its facial oils, is currently present in countries such as South Africa, Nepal, Australia, the US, Singapore and is looking to enter the American and European markets, particularly France. “At present, our export percentage accounts for 10 per cent of our overall sales and we are expecting to increase that to 20-25 per cent by next year,” said Asher. 

Homegrown beauty and personal care brand St Botanica is two times bigger than what it was pre-Covid and is targeting annual recurring revenue (ARR) of Rs 100 crore this year.

“The pandemic limited the choice of luxuries available to customers with spending power. Income, traditionally reserved for travel, leisure, and entertainment, is being redirected towards use-at-home products. Beauty and personal care constitute an important part of this basket, being a safe source of indulgence-at-home,” says Sahil Mehta, founder, St Botanica. The company, based out of the small town of Panchkula in Haryana, has also entered the offline market by associating with retailers like Health & Glow and Shoppers Stop and is available in around 200 stores as of now. 

Ayurvedic beauty solutions brand Vedix is bringing the amalgamation of technology and the tradition of ayurveda to design hyper customised hair and skincare regime. Vedix utilises machine learning and artificial intelligence-driven technology to craft individualised products and is taking the brand global, starting with the US and West Asia.

“The core of Vedix is the Tridosha theory of ayurveda. Every person is born with their unique set of Doshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha) that makes their Prakuriti, and true ayurvedic solutions are customised to address each individual’s uniqueness,” says Jatin Gujrati, Business Head, Vedix.

What has worked in case of the Indian players is the focus on Indian skin tones and climate conditions.

The company has served more than a million orders since its launch and continues to add 50,000 customers every month.

SUGAR, which is one of the biggest success stories coming out of the domestic beauty market, offers pigmented shades of beauty products suited for every Indian skin tone and longer lasting in Indian weather conditions.

It closed its Series C funding round of $21 million led by Elevation Capital in February. Despite the lockdown, the company sold five million lipsticks, eyeliners, kajals and other products in 2020.

“We clocked 30-35 per cent more revenue in FY21 as compared to FY20,” says Vineeta Singh, CEO and cofounder, SUGAR Cosmetics.

AI and data-driven beauty and wellness company, SkinKraft is also going for an international launch by Diwali this year. “A customised skin or hair care regimen is recommended to customers. This includes ingredients corresponding to specific requirements as outlined in the customer’s skin or hair profile,” says Chaitanya Nallan, co-founder, SkinKraft.