To bolster Pilgrim’s business in the highly competitive D2C beauty market

To boost its growth in the direct-to-consumer beauty market in India, Heavenly Secrets Pvt Ltd, the company behind D2C beauty brand Pilgrim, has appointed Konark Gaur as Chief Marketing Officer. In his new role, Konark will spearhead Pilgrim’s marketing and commercial strategies to push the next phase of growth for the company. He will also be focusing on building a multidisciplinary team and will be hiring to fill critical positions in the next 2 quarters.

Talking about his new responsibilities, Konark Gaur, CMO, Pilgrim said, “Pilgrim is committed to providing Beauty Secrets from around the world to Indian consumers in an accessible way. At this crucial juncture, I aim to scale awareness and growth across multiple channels that can help fast-track Pilgrim’s journey to being the most preferred and loved brand in the beauty and personal care industry.” 

Konark, ex-Business Head at Marico Limited, brings almost two decades of experience in effectively building successful businesses in India and global markets. His expertise lies in building strategy and innovation for leading Indian and global consumer brands for blue chip FMCG companies. Prior to increasing the food footprint of Marico as their Business Head, he worked with Sebamed as the Chief Marketing Officer and led the brand to achieve three times growth in a short span of time. In his expansive career, he has also worked with Nestle and General Mills leading business strategy, Innovation, and go-to-market execution. Additionally, he co-founded Jazz up Salon, a leading professional salon chain, and hijinny.com, an internet start-up. 

With Pilgrim eyeing to grow three times the current run rate in 2023, Konark will closely lead the marketing efforts in introducing new categories in the beauty and personal care ranges. The brand also plans to go on a hiring spree for positions in the first half of the year, amidst major layoff announcements in the startup ecosystem.

Talking about the new appointment Anurag Kedia, Co-Founder and CEO, Pilgrim said, “We are thrilled to have Konark onboard, whose expertise and proven success in building leading brands makes him the ideal partner to channel our business goals into a robust marketing strategy. 2023 will be a crucial year in our growth journey and with Konark at the helm of our consumer-insight-driven marketing strategy, we are geared up to build a credible brand in the personal care industry.”

Kedia and Co-Founder Gagandeep Makker have developed Pilgrim with aim of delivering to the millennials the chance to experience global beauty offerings affordably, at their doorstep. “Pilgrim is curating and innovating “native” global experiences and not merely importing global ingredients. This is what excites me the most about the company, the founders, and their vision,” added Konark. With his expertise in scaling up businesses from the ground up, Konark is tasked with bolstering Pilgrim’s journey to be a strong player they in the personal care space. 

With that in sight, Pilgrim aims to accelerate its momentum further this year. In 2022, the brand onboarded Kalki Koechlin as the brand ambassador for their France-based Vinotherapie range. Furthermore, it entered in two new categories in the personal care range including lip care and body care and have introduced three new international ranges from Spain, Australia, and the Amazon Rain Forest.