Mumbai: La Pink, a beauty brand with 100 per cent microplastic-free formulations, announced actress Parineeti Chopra as its first brand face. This partnership marks a milestone as La Pink redefines clean beauty standards and inspires confidence among women.
Launched in 2023 with 17 products, La Pink now offers over 60, focusing on customer feedback for packaging and formulations. Parineeti Chopra aligns with the brand’s mission and values as an actor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and singer.
“Her smart and aspirational approach to self-expression blends effortlessly with our belief that beauty should reflect your true self. As a passionate advocate for social change, Parineeti’s support for initiatives that uplift women and foster self-love resonates deeply with La Pink’s mission of giving the best to the community. We are thrilled to collaborate with her to encourage our community to embrace their individuality and celebrate their unique beauty with only the best of natural ingredients.” said La Pink founder & director Nitin Jain.
Chopra said, “When I came across La Pink, the concept of being microplastic-free instantly caught my attention. While there are many natural and organic skincare brands, very few are discussing the harmful effects of microplastics on our skin and the environment. That’s why I knew I had to participate in this mission. Indian consumers deserve to know about these ingredients and make informed choices. La Pink’s products, like the Ideal Bright Serum and Vitamin C Sunscreen, have become my go-to essentials. They repair, nourish, hydrate, and maintain the skin’s pH balance, all while being completely free of microplastics. This is exactly what modern skincare should be—unique, natural, and innovative. I’m excited to be associated with La Pink and hope this collaboration will inspire people to embrace mindful beauty choices for healthier skin and a better planet.”
Mumbai: Dove’s latest campaign questioning society on the beauty-based judgements that young girls are subjected to has been garnering attention, not always for the right reasons however. As was probably discovered by the Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) MD & CEO Sanjiv Mehta when he recently shared a post on the campaign on a social networking platform.
Sharing the brand film on LinkedIn Mehta wrote: “Ahead of #InternationalDaughtersDay pleased to launch phase 2 of our #StopTheBeautyTest movement. Our new brand communication sheds light on the scrutiny and low self-esteem young girls encounter in society because of unrealistic beauty norms.”
“As a father to two lovely daughters, I feel deeply for the cause. You would agree that our children’s formative years are critical, and if done right, we set them up for life. Therefore, we must create an environment where girls can feel more confident about themselves and focus on who they are as individuals, not how they look,” he continued.
Let us pause, reflect and eliminate beauty biases that prevent India’s daughters from achieving their full potential, Mehta added before concluding with the plea “Please let us all #StopTheBeautyTest.”
While several netizens lauded him and Dove for taking up the cause of women by asking consumers to confront beauty stereotypes laid down by society, there were other voices which questioned HUL’s seemingly contradictory stance when it came to its other flagship brand Glow & Lovely (formerly Fair & Lovely).
“Fascinating ad from the company that makes Fair & Lovely,” pointed out a user, referring to the ‘skin-lightening’ cosmetic product of Hindustan Unilever introduced to the Indian market in 1975. The user, Savitha Rao, further demanded to know if Unilever would make an ad on how so many companies are marketing products by making the customer feel inadequate. “For decades, Fair & Lovely promoted a solution to dark complexions, which was shown as a problem,” she added.
The film was also criticised for showing parents and teachers in a bad light ‘to sell a soap.’
“A campaign ad that shows hardworking mothers, grandmothers, and teachers as the real villains, pushing for unrealistic beauty standards, while not just absolving oneself, but branding oneself as the torchbearer of change. I am yet to come across a better example of hypocrisy,” declared a netizen.
LinkedIn user Anirudh Kunte while being appreciative of the campaign, did not hesitate to give the company a reality check on it’s ‘not-so-fair’ history. “Good initiative. However, admitting your mistakes is the first step towards correcting them,” he wrote, recalling the tag lines/ narratives propagated by the conglomerate. “These aren’t exact, but the gist is similar: ‘Fairer skin got me a job/ romantic date/groom’, ‘Gora nikhaar laye jeevan mein bahaar’, ‘Get 2 shades lighter skin in 4 weeks’. All of these, perpetuated for decades, by the brand’s parent company (and specifically some of its products) in India,” he stated.
“All of these, perpetuated for decades, by the brand’s parent company (and specifically some of its products) in India,” he stated.
Responding to the campaign’s exhortation of ‘Dove kehta hain #StopTheBeautyTest‘, another user wrote, “Sirf Dove kehta hai… But what about Fair & Lovely and all the other brands that have told every little girl to constantly worry about glowing skin/ shining hair / makeup that hides them.”
“There is demand and there is supply.. I propose you cut the supply of useless confidence shattering products and demand shall wade off. Be the first movers if you really care!! N not just for the Daughters Day campaign,” she emphasised.
Yet another netizen minced no words while replying to Mehta’s post. After seeing this short film, the first thing that crossed my mind is a popular saying in Hindi language, he wrote. “It goes like this… Sau chuhe kha kar, billi chali Haj ko.”
He continued,” I’m sorry, no amount of campaign like this can undo the damage that Unilever India has done to the psyche and self-confidence of millions of young girls in India in the last several decades, milking their emotions and preying on their low self-esteem with campaigns for brands like Fair & Lovely, Pond’s, Lakme, etc. to make millions of dollars in profit.”
“And what’s worst is that I have personally contributed to this by selling F&L for over 2.5 years while working for HUL in rural India,” he added.
LinkedIn user Gautam Pradhan was also scathing of the post even as he lauded the initiative. “Good initiative Sanjiv, But Unilever has actively contributed to believing that fair skin colour is beautiful with massive advertisement campaigns from 1975 to 2020,” he wrote. “The height was when Hindustan Unilever started giving seven shades scale in the pack. I have seen my sisters growing up with the Fair and Lovely brand. And they are comparing skin tone on the scale,” he further shared.
“Keep running this campaign on TV until you change the belief system of an Indian household that skin colour doesn’t matter,” he emphasised.
Dove’s latest campaign claims to bring to fore beauty-based judgements that young girls are subjected to by the society in the guise of advice.
Last year, the soap brand launched the #StopTheBeautyTest campaign throwing a spotlight on how beauty biases are amplified during the process of finding a life partner. The campaign showcased how the remarks deeply impacted the self-esteem of prospective brides.
The second and latest leg of the campaign has shifted its focus on ‘the root of the problem’ – from prospective brides to teenage girls. The film features girls who narrate their stories of how they have been subjected to varied beauty tests based on their appearances and thereby rated by society on their looks instead of their intellect / aptitude.
Watch the Dove film here:
Mehta’s post also faced backlash from a section of users who pointed out how the campaign seemed removed from the reality of today’s times, even as some LinkedIn users responded by complimenting Dove for bringing social issues to light with their ‘wonderful purpose driven campaign’.
“Something is not right with these ads. Indian mother daughter relationship has changed at least aspirationally. In the households depicted in the ads pressure from mother is for studies and ambitions mothers have for their daughters. The middle class India has changed. The ads looked unreal to me for a hashtag#realbeauty brand,” wrote a user in response to Mehta’s post.
“Our girls have crossed this barrier long back. Ask your team to work on some other strategy to connect with girls,” trolled another, even as another section of users commended the ad for being relatable and true. This prevails in many families, even ‘educated and cultured families’, they noted.
Some users called the brand’s latest campaign another ‘marketing gimmick’.
“Good to see a change, but large questions remain on the way most of Unilever’s products are marketed and pushed into the minds of the vulnerable. Till the bigger change happens, these ads will be viewed by most as a mere gimmick,” wrote a user.
“It IS a gimmick. An expensive , slick gimmick. What is the locus standi of a company that makes Fair & Lovely , Lakme to preach #StopTheBeautyTest to consumers,” insisted another user.
Are they asking Dove consumers to not buy Fair & Lovely, Lakme products, a user demanded to know.
Mumbai: The leading direct-to-consumer beauty brand, MyGlamm comes on board as the presenting sponsor for season seven of the reality talk-show Koffee with Karan. The brand has also launched a new campaign #GlammUpLikeAStar with brand ambassador Shraddha Kapoor leading the way on creating celebrity inspired makeup looks.
With this collaboration, MyGlamm wishes to inspire women to glamm up like their favourite Bollywood celebrities.
As presenting sponsor, MyGlamm will be creating a MyGlamm Zone at the show where the celebs will indulge in fun and gaming sessions making it more entertaining for the viewers. Furthermore, viewers can participate by downloading the MyGlamm App and playing quizzes and getting a chance to win complimentary makeup products. The brand has partnered with a large network of influencers to bring alive the celeb looks of the week and can experience makeovers across our select stores in India.
MyGlamm’s association with the new season of Hotstar Special’s Koffee with Karan is the brand’s step towards tapping all sides of the glamour industry by reaching out to its core target audiences. The brand stands tall with its belief to keep on introducing exciting innovations to achieve its single, focused goal – to make looking glamorous and effortless.
Speaking on this collaboration, The Good Glamm Group beauty and FMCG brand CEO Sukhleen Aneja said, “We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with the iconic Koffee with Karan Season 7. MyGlamm is a brand that empowers women to create their own glamour by taking inspiration from their favourite Bollywood stars. With this collaboration, we aim to further our endeavour to democratise beauty at a whole new level. As the largest DTC beauty brand in India, MyGlamm creates innovative and personalised beauty products by understanding from women their beauty needs and then working with the finest global labs to create extensive formats, textures and colours that have high-efficacy, made with good-for-you ingredient and are toxin-free and cruelty-free.”
Mumbai: A global data and measurement-driven media agency WPP’s GroupM, Essence has won the integrated media mandate of beauty brand Plum in India. Essence will work on this mandate out of their Mumbai office.
As a part of this partnership, Essence will manage strategy, media planning and media activation for Plum’s brand marketing activities. With its pioneering expertise in data, technology and creativity, the agency will help scale the brand across categories and drive enhanced return on investment.
With over 180 SKUs, Plum has steadily built its customer base on both online and offline platforms. In addition to being among the top new-age beauty brands online, Plum now reaches over 250 towns and cities in India, through more than 1,000 assisted outlets and over 10,000 unassisted outlets – growing month-on-month. It is also one of the fastest-growing beauty and personal care brands on key online marketplaces.
Now it joins Essence’s diverse portfolio of clients across its Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai offices, covering a mix of high-growth, technology-driven startups as well as established local and global companies. Since Essence’s entry into India in 2016, the agency has seen an increasing demand by companies for its transformational data-driven approach to marketing, unified use of media and creativity to deepen relationships with consumers, and expertise in accelerating brand and business growth.
Speaking of this association, Plum chief marketing officer Shivani Behl said, “Consumer behaviour is ever-evolving, and reaching out to the new-age digital consumer is a process that involves constant learning and feedback. With this context, it is imperative to keep a keen eye on data, and expand our reach to newer audiences and cater to the ever-changing demands of our existing ones. Hence, collaborating with Essence to leverage their expertise in technology, media and marketing was a logical next step. We are looking forward to this association and we hope it helps us in achieving the business vision we have chalked out for ourselves.”
Essence India managing director Sonali Malaviya commented, “Plum is an exciting, fast-growing and purpose-driven beauty brand, which shares Essence’s commitment to data-driven growth and marketing that adds value to people’s lives. Leveraging our cutting-edge use of analytics and technology, we are looking forward to collaborating with the team at Plum as its strategic partner, to help create new growth opportunities for the brand and the business.”
Mumbai: Nykaa recently announced its financial results for the quarter and financial year ended 31 March 2022. The financial report highlights that FSN E-commerce Ventures, Nykaa’s parent company, has experienced overall strong performance in FY2022 amidst various macro-economic challenges such as rising inflation, reduction in discretionary spends by consumers, and uncertainty around Covid-19.
Nykaa reported a 49 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 8.56 crore in the fourth quarter from Rs 16.88 crore a year earlier. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 16.8 crore in the year-ago period. Its revenues from operations, however, rose 31 per cent to Rs 973.32 crore in the quarter as against Rs 740.52 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
Its Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) grew 45 per cent year on year to Rs 179.79 crore in March quarter, while it increased 71 per cent to Rs 693.32 crore in FY22. Revenue from operations grew 55 per cent year on year to Rs 377.39 crore and grew 31 per cent to Rs 973.3 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2022.
Profit after tax stood at Rs 41.3 crore in FY2022, a decline of 33 per cent from a year-ago period.
Nykaa chairperson MD and CEO Falguni Nayar said. “The year has witnessed a challenging macroeconomic environment, pronounced for discretionary categories like beauty, personal care and fashion. Despite market slowdown, our unique growth story continues, showing the resilience of our business model and long term sustainability by balancing strong revenue growth, responsible unit economics and profitability.”
“We acquired over six million new customers across beauty and fashion, and witnessed superior customer retention, with improved metrics across the funnel – from visits to conversions. We have expanded our addressable market through new growth engines – speciality retail stores, Nykaa Man, and SuperStore. These businesses, along with our consumer brands portfolio have witnessed increasing momentum through the year,” she added.
“Our consumer brands have recently seen expansion into wellness, activewear and personal care through purpose-driven brand acquisitions. We deeply value our shareholders’ faith in us and hold their capital in highest regard. Our investments are always made in getting the building blocks right – such as tech platform, customer experience, assortment – and growing our new and early-stage businesses in a sustainable manner with a long term focus,” concluded Falguni.
The leading beauty e-commerce platform Purplle.com has launched its latest brand campaign featuring bollywood actress Sara Ali Khan. With this campaign the brand aims to position itself as “Har Indian Ka Beauty Destination”. With this it Purplle repositions itself from mass, premium, to super-premium beauty solution for every Indian skin tone and skin type!
The new campaign brings alive this proposition by showcasing a diverse group of friends, from across the country, who find their perfect match on the beauty e-commerce platform. Brand ambassador Sara Ali Khan, dressed in a Manish Malhotra outfit, encourages girls to fearlessly explore their beauty needs and embrace their diversity.
The campaign went live across Sara Ali Khan’s social platforms and will be further amplified across languages and distributed via digital and social channels.
With over sixty thousands products from over thousand brands, catering to the diverse needs of every Indian, the brand encourages women to indulge and add to their cart, everything they heart.
It also allows consumers to avail personalised recommendations while shopping on Purplle.com. If needed, they can opt to return products through a unique two-day return policy.
Today, women across the markets seek personalized beauty solutions that appeal to different skin tones and types.
Purplle’s propriety Beauty Intelligence Suite uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to decipher thousands of keywords, which include brands, ingredients, skin types, benefits, categories, and special attributes. With this, Purplle has made trending beauty products accessible and affordable.
At Purplle, there is a beauty product for every Indian, from mass, premium, to super-premium. Bringing this to life through the campaign, Purplle.com chief business officer Nippun Aneja said, “Beauty is very personal and exploratory. Different skin types, skin tones, weather conditions, and textures can influence a consumer’s journey. Today, with digital breaking access barriers, the beauty experience is full of personalized solutions.”
“Powered by a strong technology backbone, Purplle caters to the many requirements of consumers with a plethora of offerings and trending products. Our strong positioning encourages women to explore the pleasures of beauty, with a wide range of genuine certified products delivered across eighteen hundered pin codes. With this, we truly are Har Indian ka Beauty Destination,” he added.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign, brand ambassador Sara Ali Khan said, “The Purplle world is all about having fun with beauty, experimenting, and finding your perfect match. From luxury products to daily basics, I have always turned to Purplle for my beauty needs, and I am proud to say that Purplle sirf Sara ka hi nahi, Har Indian ka Beauty Destination hai! I hope many young girls can resonate with our campaign and, whatever their definition of beauty, they can truly indulge in all that they hear on Purplle. For the campaign, we brought alive the brand’s personality of being trendy, yet super fun and relatable”
Mumbai: Beauty and fashion e-commerce platform, Nykaa has announced the acquisition of the Indian skincare brand Dot & Key. This is the first D2C (direct to consumer) beauty brand acquired by Nykaa.
“We are excited to bring Dot & Key into the Nykaa family in time to serve the demand in high-quality skincare by Indian consumers,” said Nykaa founder and CEO Falguni Nayar. “Dot & Key’s product range presents an exciting opportunity for Nykaa as it allows us to extend the brand’s reach to a larger landscape of consumers and enter the nutraceutical space as well. Dot & Key is a consumer-centric brand with a growing base of consumers and a range of skincare solutions.”
Founded by Kolkata-based Suyash Saraf and Anisha Saraf, Dot & Key is a new-age brand focused on providing solutions to skincare concerns. It offers premium skincare products such as serums, face masks, toners, and cleansers. The brand has recently expanded into nutraceuticals under the brand ‘IKWI’.
“We have created a niche brand with Dot & Key, focused on making products based on consumer needs. Our passion to differentiate ourselves has inspired us to take an unconventional angle to skincare. Nykaa’s position in the beauty landscape in India and its resources will allow Dot & Key to grow further as a brand and scale to the next level,” said Dot & Key co-founder Suyash Saraf.
Ernst & Young LLP was the exclusive advisor to Dot & Key on the deal.
Mumbai: Beauty e-commerce platform Purplle has launched its festive campaign called ‘Purplle Wali Diwali’ with Bollywood star Sara Ali Khan. As a part of this sale, consumers will get a chance to choose their free gift on every order, said the brand. The Purplle Diwali sale will go live from 20-26 October.
The campaign film showcases Khan grooving to “Yeh Diwali Purplle Wali” giving the original song a twist, voiced by singer Anushka Manchanda.
“We wanted to make this Diwali even more special for our consumers during our biggest sale of the season,” said Purplle chief business officer Nippun Aneja. “This year everyone will have the freedom to choose their very own free Diwali gift every time they shop with us, on every order they place. We want this to truly be a Purplle Wali Diwali, celebrated with Sara Ali Khan, and the best of beauty for all.”
Rolled out across television, print, digital, and social media channels, the 360-degree campaign will also witness over 3,000 influencers grooving to the song and choosing their beauty best this Diwali, said the brand in a statement.
A host of beauty products, including, hair straighteners, eye-shadow palettes, primers, highlighters, mascaras, and a lot more will be up for grabs and consumers stand a chance to win the coveted ‘Papa Don’t Preach Lehenga’ worn by Khan in the campaign film, it added.
“We created a fun, quirky, celebration, in the Purplle world, leveraging the brand ethos. With sharp lyrics, we ensured our core communication stands out on a unique, trendy canvas,” stated Spring Marketing Capital founder and creative partner Arun Iyer, on the execution of the campaign.
“Purplle stands for inclusive and accessible beauty for all, and this Diwali they have empowered consumers to choose a free gift of their choice and claim some of the coolest beauty products,” said Khan. “Bringing alive the essence of the campaign through a catchy tune, a quirky hook step, and recreating Bollywood’s most iconic song has been exciting.”
Mumbai: Carat, the media agency from the house of dentsu India, has won the media mandate for beauty brand Sugar Cosmetics. The account was won following a comprehensive competitive pitch process, the agency said.
As per the mandate, the agency will oversee media strategy, planning and buying for the total portfolio of the brand.
Speaking on the account win, Carat India CEO Anita Kotwani said, “Carat is committed to creating meaningful end-to-end media solutions through data-driven marketing, and to further accelerate the brand’s growth journey. As a team, we are excited to get this opportunity to work with a brand that is loved by the women of today!”
Sugar Cosmetics CEO & co-founder Vineeta Singh added, “Carat came highly recommended to us. Their strategic thinking, experience, and efficiencies stood out. Partnering with them on our media strategy is reassuring, given their data-driven approach in meeting our brand goals.”
Mumbai: Beauty brand SUGAR Cosmetics has announced the appointment of Suchit Sikaria, former managing partner of Performics India, as the chief business officer to lead and handle the core direct to consumer division. With this strategic move, the brand aims to double-down on its aggressive past performance of building one of India’s fastest-growing brands in the D2C consumer space, it said in a statement.
An MBA from IIM – Ahmedabad, Sikaria brings more than 14 years of leadership experience in sales, marketing, and business operations with stints at Performics India and Nokia India. He also brings an additional four years of start-up experience from his own entrepreneurial venture.
SUGAR Cosmetics co-founder & CEO Vineeta Singh said, “We are excited to welcome Suchit Sikaria as the new Chief Business Officer for our D2C business at SUGAR Cosmetics and are eager to see the magic he creates for the brand. Over the past 6 months at SUGAR, we have aggressively been growing the team and recruiting the sharpest minds who can accelerate the brand’s trajectory – 120+ new team members, and we’re not done yet. Suchit’s deep expertise in scaling large-budget performance marketing campaigns for one of India’s largest digital advertising agencies will be pivotal to scaling the revenues 5x times in the next 3 years and further cementing the brand’s hold in the D2C market space.”
Speaking on his new role, Sikaria said, “I am incredibly excited to start this new journey at SUGAR Cosmetics. I have been avidly following the journey of this brand and have been quite inspired by how quickly they have grown and become a cult-favourite among India’s gen Z and millennial women. I look forward to bringing in my experience of the industry and building the brand into a much larger D2C player; not just in the country, but even globally. I look forward to this new opportunity!”
In addition to SUGAR’s international presence in the US & Russia markets, SUGAR has also recently forayed into the Middle Eastern market in an exclusive partnership with the Landmark group and will be retailing their products at Lifestyle Stores across UAE and other countries
