6 Made in India brands redefining men’s personal care space
A Nielsen report revealed that the use of face-cleansing products among men jumped 60 times between 2009 and 2016 in India. SMBStory curates a list of men’s personal care brands ushering in a new era in the grooming segment.
Gone are the days when only a few products of brands like P&G or Gillette adorned the shelves of men. Today, factors like urbanisation, the rise of the MNC culture, and the need to look presentable and well-groomed have paved the way for an increase in demand and variety of men’s grooming products.
According to Research and Markets, the Indian male grooming market stood at $643 million in 2018 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 11 percent to cross $1.2 billion by 2024.
A Nielsen report also revealed that the use of face-cleansing products among men jumped 60 times between 2009 and 2016 in India.
SMBStory curated a list of men’s personal care brands ushering in a new era in the grooming segment.
Bombay Shaving Company
Shantanu Deshpande
Delhi-based Bombay Shaving Company was founded in October 2015 by Shantanu Deshpande, Raunak Munot, Deepu Panicker, and Rohit Jaiswal.
The online private label has 30 male grooming products under categories such as bath, shave, beard-care, skincare, and grooming.
The team claims to have over 80,000 customers and has expanded to 18 different channels. While Bombay Shaving Company claims 95 percent of its sales take place online, the company also plans to sell offline in salons and stores.
In 2017, the brand was also chosen by Amazon for a global launch.
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Skin Elements
Raghav Sood and Sarthak Taneja, Co-founders, Skin Elements
Childhood friends Sarthak Taneja and Raghav Sood launched Skin Elements in 2017, amidst growing awareness about personal hygiene and an acute lack of options in men’s hygiene products. One of its first products was a foaming intimate wash for men.
Initially launched through Amazon, Skin Elements’ products are now available in all leading ecommerce portals including Nykaa, Flipkart, MensXP, and others.
Today, the brand offers holistic skincare and personal hygiene solutions with a strong focus on hygiene, odour management, anti-chafing solutions, skincare, and haircare, and has a total of 19 products.
According to Raghav, the business has been profitable since its inception, and the company also secured funding of $102,000 in a seed round led by Dheeraj Jain from Redcliffe Capital.
Qraa
Karan Gupta, Founder of Qraa Men
Founded in 2017 by Karan Gupta under parent company RG Biocosmetics, Delhi-based Qraa Men is trying to solve the lack of affordable Ayurvedic products, tailor-made for men.
It sells pure, botanical, chemical-free, and organic skin, hair, and body care products, rooted in ancient Ayurvedic practices, and targets metrosexual men between 18 and 30.
Qraa Men’s manufacturing unit is located in Okhla where R&D is conducted by industry professionals who are hired on a contract basis. The brand leverages social media, digital, and influencer marketing techniques to acquire its customers.
According to Karan, in the last financial year, the brand sold 67,4151 units of products, and is aiming to sell a lakh units this year. The gross merchant value of Qraa Men stands at Rs 50 crore.
Beardo
Owned by Ahmedabad-based Zed lifestyle, Beardo was founded in October 2015 by Ashutosh Valani and Priyank Shah who wanted to cater to the men’s grooming segment.
“Beardo was the result of a need to introduce products that specially cater to taking care of one’s beard as it is not advisable to use regular grooming products for beard hair,” Priyank told SMBStory in a previous interaction.
Today, the brand offers a range of products, including Beardo Oil, Beardo Wash, Beardo Beard & Hair Growth Oil, Beardo Moustache Wax, Beardo Ultraglow, and Beardo Brick Soap.
Most products are made from natural ingredients and are majorly used for a good hold in one's moustache and beard.
Actor Sunil Shetty also invested in the company in 2016.
The Man Company
Bhisham Bhateja Founder of The Man Company
The Man Company is a subscription-based e-commerce platform for men’s grooming and essentials. It was co-founded by Mohit Saxena, Bhisham Bhateja, and Parvesh Bareja in 2013.
The Man Company allows customers to customise their products basket to suit their needs, set the frequency of their order, and revise or cancel their subscription any time they want to.
It also has a blog on grooming tips and what men like to consume for others who may not be too sure of what they need to buy.
Today, The Man Company claims to have a 30 percent market share in the beard grooming category. It has also raised two rounds of funding from Kolkata-based FMCG brand Emami.
At present, it has 1,000 brand touchpoints, including premium salons, large format retail stores, health and beauty stores, and exclusive pop-ups. These locations are spread over 30 cities.
Pink Wolf
Subodh Sharma, Co-founder, Pink Woolf
In 2018, Subodh and Stuti Sharma launched Pink Woolf, a men’s grooming brand that offers barber-grade shaving and skincare products, after seeing a lack of quality shaving products.
Currently selling online, the company’s products are formulated for different skin types, water, and climate conditions. Pink Wolf’s product range includes pre-shave oil, brushes, razors, aftershaves, and skincare options.
It also has introduced a fragrance line, which includes earthy tones like Oudh and Sandalwood, and fresh notes like Oceanic Blue and Seabuckthorn.
The founders say that the colour pink represents rebellion, and busts the myth that men and pink don’t go together. The Woolf stands for the wolf, an animal that lives in packs that function like the human joint family.
Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta
