Meet the Naga woman entrepreneur who cracked the K-beauty business with Beauty Barn

Toinali Chophi's search for a solution to severe acne problems led to the launch of Beauty Barn—a beauty and skincare platform that offers a handpicked selection of brands using safe and potent ingredients—one of the first brands in India to capitalise on Korean beauty (K-beauty) products.

As a teenager, Chophi, Founder of Beauty Barn, recalls being embarrassed because of severe acne. 

The Dimapur, Nagaland-based entrepreneur says, “When I turned 13, my skin started breaking out, and the acne was severe and all over my face. It was very embarrassing as a teenager, and I used to cover my face with a scarf.”

“My mother was concerned and used to take me to the doctor… At one point, the breakout was so bad that I couldn’t even touch my face,” Chophi tells HerStory. 

Chophi moved to Bengaluru to complete her college education and she eventually got married, but her severe acne issues persisted.

Her continuous visits to dermatologists bore no results, and by the time she had her second child, she had more pigmentation and dark spots.

“I tried a lot of products available in the market. I asked my friends and family for recommendations as I was desperate,” she adds.

Stumbling upon the K-beauty solution

Sometime in 2015, a friend recommended Korean skincare to her. She researched online and understood the science behind K-beauty and why it was hugely popular in the West.

Within a year of using the products, Chophi’s skin condition improved, and soon after, her friends and family began asking her for the same products. She had a friend in South Korea who sent her six to ten pieces each time for her and her family to use.

After realising the importance of bringing K-beauty to India—a government teacher at the time—Chophi plunged into entrepreneurship fully aware it was a huge risk. She started Beauty Barn in 2016 as a small Instagram business from home with the idea of helping her friends and family.

Her research led her to brands like Cosrx and Klairs. “I had almost every skin concern. I became my own guinea pig. I would try it on my skin, and depending on how it worked, I would suggest to others,” she says.

Seeing its popularity among her vast circle of family and friends, she understood the potential and decided to visit South Korea and work directly with the brands.

“Beauty Barn remained a small business up to 2020. However, there weren’t many players offering K-beauty in the Indian market, and most people searching online for its skincare products approached me. Only a few websites were selling K-beauty as importing to India is very strict and customs taxes are high. That’s how we could scale and become known in the market,” she explains.

Post the pandemic, new players cashed in on the K-beauty boom in India and entered the beauty and skincare market. 

“What makes us stand out from competitors is that we had an early start. We have a good skincare consultation team that ensures repeat customers. We have had a lot of skincare transformation over the years,” Chophi says.

Cashing in on K-pop culture in India

Chophi believes with the influx of fashion influencers, people are more aware of K-beauty and are conscious about choosing the right skincare products. 

“In front of the camera, everything looks more visible. So people want to have better skin, right from a young age, which helped the rise of K-beauty in India,” she adds.

According to a Mordor Intelligence report, the K-beauty market in India is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.4% from 2021 to 2026, fuelled by the immense popularity of K-pop, especially bands like BTS, and K-dramas among young Indians, especially Gen Z and Millennials.

Also, increased awareness of K-beauty and its well-rounded focus on overall skincare health is appealing to the young demographic already in awe of K-pop culture.

“In terms of the use of technology or its ingredients, K-beauty is far superior. Their concept around skincare is focused on hydration and having healthy skin, unlike non-K-beauty brands. It aims to have a healthy skin foundation and then build your skincare routine. They are also very innovative—for example, they have micro-needling patches—and they come with a lot of new things, never talked about before,” she highlights.

Competition remains cutthroat in terms of pricing with big players dominating today’s beauty and skincare market. “There are big players like Nykaa in this space, but we stand out for our positioning—helping more people to get better skin and customised skincare. Our repeat customers ensure our survival in the marketplace,” she admits.

Beauty Barn handles somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 orders per month. It sells at MRP but also offers discounts. The brand is profitable, but Chophi is hesitant to share numbers. The company targets teenagers starting on their skincare routines and women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s asking for skincare recommendations.

When asked about challenges, Chophi reveals the tedious process of registering the brand as one of the biggest, followed by logistics problems—unique to Northeast India as shipping takes longer than usual. 

In terms of marketing, the entrepreneur leveraged the power of social media to promote Beauty Barn and K-beauty by humanising content. Speaking about her skin issues and setting a personal tone, Chophi believes, has helped create more awareness and draw people to the brand.

Beauty Barn offers over 20 K-beauty products, including brands like Klairs, Beauty of Joeson, Cosrx, and Holika Holika, among others. It has two physical stores in Dimapur and Aizawl—down from the four it had two years ago. 

“Post-COVID, we decided to focus on our ecommerce platform and build a solid digital marketing platform. This year, we plan to expand to more offline stories in other cities of India,” she says.

(The copy has been updated to correct a typo.)