Today, the Indian beauty market is inundated with beauty brands that promise clean beauty solutions. But till about few years ago, there was hardly any awareness about the how certain chemical additives can impact the health of our skin and hair. That was when WOW Skin Science was born.

It came with the promise of bringing research-backed, nature-powered beauty and wellness products without any chemical additives like silicone, mineral oil, parabens and artificial fragrance. It was a new concept for the consumers to adopt to.

Manish Chowdhary, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Body Cupid Pvt Ltd, the umbrella company of the brand WOW Skin Science spoke to Beauty Business India about the brand’s journey and how the new trends are defining the Indian beauty industry. Excerpts:

Can you tell me briefly about the journey of your brand?

WOW Skin Science, started in 2013, was born out of the passion and vision to develop and deliver the best of beauty and wellness products to the Indian consumers. When we started, the idea was to be a wellness brand, but we saw a large opportunity in green chemistry and the emergence of the indigenous beauty brands in India. Also, we saw a great demand for nature-based beauty care products that’s when we automatically transitioned into being nature-based beauty, personal care and wellness brand. We are inspired by our brand motto ‘Nature Powered’.

The basis of the brand is that the products are inspired by the beauty and wellness traditions from both East and the West that are backed by research and science. The aim is to deliver advance, research-backed, nature-infused products to wellness-conscious consumers. We created a competitive edge by developing products without any of the harmful additives like silicone, sulphates, mineral oil, parabens and artificial colour or fragrance. We can say quite confidently that WOW Skin Science was one of the first few brands in the Indian market to be open about the ingredients that go into our products. In fact, this has been a key customer engagement point for us.

How have you grown over the last ten years?

Over the last ten years we have introduced many firsts and bestsellers in the market. Our Apple Cider Vinegar range of hair care products and Red Onion Black Seed range were the firsts in the market and continue to be on the bestsellers list in the ecommerce platforms. Today we have over 500 skus under our brands WOW Skin Science, WOW Life Science and Body Cupid.

Since the inception of the brand, we looked at leveraging the online retail space – we were also one of the first few Direct-to-Consumer brands in India to make most of the growing e-commerce market in the country. E-commerce still contributes major chunk of our revenue, but now we have gone omni-channel and are available offline as well.

What is the opportunity that you see in the personal care and beauty industry in India?  What are the main factors that are driving the growth ?

The Indian beauty and wellness market is currently going through a very dynamic phase. There is a high level of awareness towards selfcare and wellness among the consumers, which is driving their purchase decision in a big, big way. The biggest consumer trend that is driving the market is the demand for clean, green, sustainable beauty and wellness products. Consumers, both women and men are willing to invest on taking care of their skin and hair the right way, which for most is using nature-based, organic products that are eco-friendly and cruelty-free. More and more consumers are turning towards products that are nature-based, organic and cruelty-free. They want simple, easy-to-use, and multi-use products. They want core beauty care solutions that deliver visible results and have long term benefits. So, there is a renewed focus on natural, nature-based, and organic products. That is why we are seeing increasing demand for effective, and targeted beauty care products. This increased consumer demand is now driving the launch of new and indigenous, nature-based brands on a regular basis in the market. We see these driving business and product decisions in our personal care, beauty and wellness sector.

Do you think now there is a rising demand for natural, organic, and cruelty-free products for skin care among both men and women?

Yes, definitely. Over the last few years, we have noticed an increasing demand for natural, organic, cruelty-free products among all types of consumers. This demand has become prominent over the last two years due to the growing consciousness towards sustainability and being eco-friendly. One of the most important trends that is driving the beauty care market is the awareness about clean living and the need to revive our environment.

Also, the covid pandemic has brought to the fore a consciousness about personal hygiene and state of wellbeing both mental and physical. The pandemic has made all of us realise the need for change in the way we live, reduce waste, and use products that do not harm nature and the environment. That is why products that do not contain harmful chemicals, synthetic actives and preservatives are finding more buyers.

How do you ensure your products are pure, natural and safe for the skin? How do you create that credibility among customers?

Every product range that we launch goes through stringent process and check, all the way from research to formulation to development of the products. Since the inception of the brand, we introduced skin and hair care products based on completely natural and nature-derived ingredients. For that, we use traditional beauty recipes and do intensive research on each of the natural ingredient we put it. We test the efficacy of each of actives in conjunction with other natural ingredients that go into the product. We were one of one of the pioneers in the country in launching products without parabens, sulphates, mineral oil, silicones, artificial colour or fragrance. From the beginning our mantra was ‘Nature inspired, Research backed’.

When we launched our D2C brand, we reached out to customers directly highlighting the concept of hero ingredient for each of our range. We do intensive research on the efficacy of the natural her active for both skin and hair and based on that we create a complete skin and hair care solution. In fact, we led the market with natural actives like apple cider vinegar, onion and black seed oil, activated charcoal, rice water etc. One of the ways we stay ahead of the game is to create a complete solution based on the one hero active. It delivers a unique user experience and a spa-like feel.

How successful have you been in getting investments to grow the brand?

When we began our startup journey, we were totally bootstrapped; but we grew strong and steady. Then like any growing organization, we needed infusion of capital to grow the brand and improve product portfolio. So, Chrys Capital became a major investor for us. We raised around $50 million funding from the investor.

 As I mentioned earlier, the Indian beauty, personal care and wellness industry is in a dynamic phase and there is lots of business consolidation and launches that are happening here on a regular basis. There are many beauty startups that are garnering investor interests and many D2C brands are being bought by multi-brand beauty retail companies. In the last two years, the industry has seen nearly $300 million funding with players like Wipro Ventures, Chrys Capital, Amazon, Sequoia Capital India betting big money in different beauty companies in the country.

What are your expansion plans?

Since the fresh infusion of capital, we have been able to give form to some of the planned projects like sustainable packaging, improved product portfolio and stronger team count. This year as well we will continue to innovate on new products and look at becoming a sustainable and clean, green brand. Another major focus area is enhancing customer experience, from awareness to engagement to retail to repeat buying. The new generation of consumers are ready to try new things. Our research shows that currently the consumer mood is set towards exploring news brands and using products that deliver real results. So, it is the right time to introduce products and sustain those that are already in the market. As of now we want to focus on strengthening our product awareness, brand loyalty, presence and delivery. We are also looking at launching newer ranges with trending actives and offer complete head-to-toe solutions.

What would you say are the biggest challenges that the personal care and beauty industry in India is facing currently?

The dynamic nature of the industry brings with it its own set of challenges. With the launch of new beauty brands almost on a daily basis, there is a danger of overcrowding in the market. This is especially true for the markets in metro and tier 1 cities. However, there is under penetration in the consumer segment in the tier 2 and tier 3 cities, which can be fulfilled by the new beauty brands in the country.

Another major challenge that beauty brands are facing today is retaining brand loyalty. The current clutch of consumers is highly aware and also curious about new trends and brands. With plethora of choices available to the Indian consumers of beauty products, it is difficult for the beauty brands to hold on to customers on a long term basis.

Retaining brand credibility in the times of greenwashing and unverified claims can be quite challenging. While social media is a big growth driver for the new beauty brands, but it is important for them to be conscientious about making claims of sustainability, or promoting through influencers who can mislead through wrong claims.

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