INDIAN Grooming Market Business Insights & Lessons Explained by Beardo Founder | FO124 Raj Shamani

it came and you love the product you. like the product you will not come back. to give it a five-star rating and. explain why you like the product but. soon as you buy a product. you will make it a point to go back and. give a one two three star rating and. show your disappointment okay tell me a. couple of people you have worked with. okay that is. how was it so when we had taken rashmika. first time for biodo okay.

all the investors the board the partners. you know I said when you see women have. more men followers that is the best way. to reach to them right why are you. missing out on that. let my work talk for it. competitors.

because this guy is a gem bye. [Music]. foreign.

[Music].

episode now. foreign.

unfiltered hair. to my channel. [Music].

[Laughter]. actually India one of the most. underrated entrepreneur. S. I feel. and it's very smart and that's why I. wanted to get you you were you won't.

believe this okay because I'm. actually. fundrise. you were one of them so just saying that. and I say this because.

I wanted to start the podcast with this. because I want to tell everybody okay. podcast. because I genuinely believe in this guy. thank you that's that's so kind of you. really appreciate it thank you for. having me here and first of all I'm not. on that Capital hopefully in the next. round for sure for sure.

I really appreciate it and to your point. of actually being underrated right that. in a way for us we have done it. purposefully right why is. um a lot of your time when you want to. go out there and show yourself and try.

to spread the knowledge what I feel. right I have not achieved enough yet to. go out and spread that knowledge and. understanding. in a particular Market second brand. understanding I want to go with all full. guns blazing you know I want to have all. the weapons all the tools all the. knowledge and know-how to spread out. there I don't want to go with knowledge. of my brand of what I've done I actually. want to tell you about what you can also. do in your brand in your sector right so. I always try to avoid like I said right.

this is my first podcast and as soon as. my team told me that Raj wants to do it. I was like hands on this guy's not just. a person who is talking he's also a doer. right and that is the kind of person. that I really want to share my. information of what I've learned till. today and I also want to gain some right. nice and hence uh being like Loki is. what I like to do because let my work. talk for it okay right so you believe in. let me build don't talk like it. automatically become a thing I get it.

but. foreign.

my love yeah. what do you think is a reason why. why do you think this is a very. interesting question I want to ask you. can we go back a little right so so when. I give you the context I think that. understanding will come okay yeah what.

I'm doing right or yeah I've been so. lucky that it is. it's not a public number but it's close. to 40 to 50 million dollars. um. so we started we are doing 2016. we sold. it in 2020 four years it was 100 plus. gross revenue uh in four years it was. proven through profitable in the total. um time we only raised about a million. million and a half that's it so the.

amount of money that we raised when we. sold we are more money in the bank right. just to like sum it up wow so we always. believed that we are not doing so we are. not starting startups we are creating. businesses and Legacies right and that. has always been a thought process right. so we always want to be profitable as. soon as possible okay right so that was. that is always in the thought process we. started willing right willingly sold in. a span of 11 months give or take and. that was. close to uh nine to ten million dollar. deal right and and that is 100 owned by.

us there was no fundraise it was our. personal money because we came into some. money. right so that was one of our fastest. kind of and at that point of time I. think villain was doing about close to. 40 crore.

by that time I think uh uh we had met. ashka way before right and um. which was a probably a billion dollar. give or take industry if you're able to. create a 100 crore kind of a story. was not just a luck game so we did. villain again to prove to ourselves can. we do this again we did it right that's. when we realized that Renee was even a. larger story it was a lack plus career. kind of a bpc market. it does 20 times more opportunities.

right so again. into you know female grooming in. cosmetics the answer is yes and not a. lot of people have done a lot of things. in the last 10 to 15 years into this. space as well so if somebody was to do. it I think it was on our shoulders to. probably come and try to kill this one. right so that's when we said. we need understanding of how women think. of makeup and Beauty right because that. was our core Focus category and that's. where ashka came in because she was the.

one who started Rene she had started. Rene by Ash. Renee was the name of her mother-in-law. okay all right so we said look we don't. want to change anything let's let's. combine the powers let's combine your. understanding of the 10 000 shades of. pink and our understanding of the real. ground stuff and combine the power and. create something big and faster right. and in this one we thought okay yeah the. focus is not just profitability the. focus is to uh to find gaps right to. create something which has not been done.

before and to be number one see because. whatever we have done thinking here we. don't do anything to be number two or. number three right we do it to lead. and if you are doing it then we'll give. it our all to see see when we started. right so it's been exactly August 2020. September was our first product line. like a proper relaunch after kovid it. has been almost three years now we have. been the fastest to 100 crore Revenue. run rate we have been the fastest to 200. Revenue hundred we have been the fastest. to go offline we have been one of the.

fastest to be 50 50. so 50 offline 50. online Revenue. so we have broken a lot of fastest. records right now we don't see it see it. as an achievement because we are not. profitable right. but to do it in a category which people. thought was very crowded right to do it. in a category people thought it was all. a me to category. yeah that was the confidence booster to. ourselves that we exactly know what we. are doing and we are doing it right. again and the previous two Brands were.

not flukes right. right so coming back to your point right. how have we done it right this goes a. little before like to 2008 I I did my. post grad from Bruno University London. right so when I was there so so much. [Laughter]. so I what I um why I went there was to. actually not just study it was to learn. as many jobs I can do part-time as a. student under law right and do an.

understand of what those categories. stand for okay so my first job was as a. waiter right I was waiting tables right. and I was not ashamed to do it because I. wanted to see from the bottom of how. people who are waiting uh you know. tables to how the owners think right and. that's how I started so for the first. three to six months I slogged my eyes. there I was a waiter Khan. I was fine with it right I was doing it. with pride okay it's my job and there's.

nothing to be ashamed of right the next. job was as a cashier at a stadium uh. there was a Wembley Stadium there right. so I used to see football eyes to see. how you know consumer bring how they. deal with their money. right then I switched to a surveyor at a. college right so I used to survey. lectures right different different. lectures sit in the lectures and see how. how many people are yawning right and I. used to counter those things right and. that's when I started understanding of. what is working with what kind of. audience said. in the end my job was as a boarding.

executive at Heathrow Airport okay right. yeah so I used to board people right so. I I used to you know meet a lot of. people I used to interact with a lot of. people and these are all ground level. things right so now when I started our. brand I used to think from being a. waiter to doing a business right and all. of the people between that right and. that's what made me realize that who am. I speaking to what do they really. require in their lives right and how can. I fill that Gap right and if I was able. to answer that question I think that's.

about it right interesting questions. foreign.

is in his pocket he acts like he's the. owner of that restaurant in that point. of time. right for that 500 rupees he will suck. the best service out of where he is. because he wants the best symbol right. he you cannot figure out as a waiter. okay tomorrow. it is what I see or what you want me to.

see of who you are right and that is. when I started realizing that everybody. wants to show that they are they have. made it they are right irrespective what. is in their pocket or what is the. reality of it right so ultimately what. happens is how does that happen why why. is that right so the answer is if you. give a service or a product to a person. that makes him feel that he has arrived. or she has arrived I think you have done. the job. so you just don't sell a product you.

sell an idea alongside the product right. and that is how you create or you. distinguish between your product and. everybody else's okay so you mean to say. okay. ultimately the ideas. you have made it yes yes to your point. right so I think you will also be able. to relate and I think a lot of people. with Blanco right uh so that's a. branding integration.

so so with Blanco right what are you. selling right you are people before this. before Blanco or villain or border right. people who were using perfumes under 500. rupees yeah normally what I saw right uh. from what I used to talk to people and. you know consumers is this when they. used to buy a 500 rupee perfume they. used to buy it for two reasons right one. is it a pocket friendly and long lasting. the third factor which was the missing. the air factor in it was they were not. proud of it yeah so when they were asked. about it they used to say minutes.

right because that was still 12 to 1500. rupees which they are not able to spend. huh but people could think. long lasting and I can claim that I'm. wearing it I can own that right and. that's when we thought okay boss uh. transitioning uh from the branch of. beardo and Berlin those have to the.

brands where people even though they are. cheaper that has a sense of Pride. aspiration a value that yes that I am. somebody even though and I'm proud of. wearing a 500 people and it's okay 100. right. and I think I'm sure Blanco also has. that kind of a like a thought process. right yes and that works. um. wow okay so I'll give you why I relate. with you so much and now I'm interested. you know. my name is.

foreign.

[Music]. foreign.

right and then he feels hurt so I think.

that was one of the good lessons which I. learned in consumer brands also that's. actually a very good observation per se. right and I will I will add to that. um so now the same customer right goes. to very fancy restaurant right. that person feels out of place. the ego and the self-respect comes a. little low very low and the point of. complaining goes. patience. because he or she or they feel okay I.

don't want to do this because I cannot. own this thing because this place is. bigger than I am yes and when that sense. is there no suddenly like you said right. that patience level grows. just because he or she feels that they. are in a place where it's higher than. them yes right and that is also a thing. that we see in a lot of luxury Brands. right so a lot of luxurious Brands you. you go to. um. foreign.

yeah nice okay let's let's talk about. your first question.

Industries around the world not only. India. is. like what do you feel what inside do you. know we want to know that. is. to do this this this is.

foreign. third may we have expertised all of this. and now we are doing what actually works. most of the times. and what works mostly let's let's talk. okay so let's get into the micro things. of things right is see first of all is. understanding your audience number one. okay. these basic things if these are clear. then you have to figure out what to.

offer to them now now you know okay. audience this is their thought process. what is it that will change their. mindset change their impulse into trying. you than all the other brands right. so what we had figured out was always. give them something that people have not. seen okay right that has that Curiosity. impact to the product right that has. that first purchase uh you know drawdown. anybody else will bring an existing. product and say yes.

which you have never seen before right. and that has to be at the right price. point that has to genuinely solve a. problem for the consumer that has to be. of good quality in the price you're. offering and that has to be something. that never before seen so if you see at. Rene we have made five back-to-back. viral products five not one not even 35. names so the first was Renee F5 for. which Rene became very famous was a five. in one lipstick okay.

so now you don't have to carry five. lipsticks the cost of each lipstick is. 150 rupees now if you if you divide it. so for the brand the aov 750 which is. great for Indian market right but for a. consumer it's 150 rupee the lipstick. which is not too expensive yes that's so. far that's one stick saves you space. easy to carry and you don't have to. think. you can always buy it and it's cheaper. right so that solution automatically. people like yeah I I would love to do. this.

maybe we gave you the option to. customize you choose your five Shades. out of the 25 50 Shades that we have. nice so that become a hit. second product was running Madness that. was a black pH stick which gave out a. pink payoff as per your pH balance right. a black lipstick to look like a black. lipstick black lipstick. but as soon as they apply it's instant. pink. people are like oh mind blown what is. going on this is sorcery this is.

and it is genuinely a very good product. because at 499 rupees I am not only. giving you a lipstick that makes you. makes your lips pink it is ph balanced. right so it gives it moisturizes your. lips it it uh helps your lips right it. has vitamin E and jojoba oil and. everything right so. it's skin care so it's Care Plus makeup. plus something very new never before. seen. so essay then then our next product is. Bollywood filter right okay now this.

came out of me asking Priyanka talking. one day right okay what can we offer to. our consumer what is trending today. right Snapchat or Instagram or Facebook. or people are using filters why don't we. give them real life filters where they. don't have to use one right in a form of. a primer. so what that does is that makes your. face that actually mattifies the skin. close oiliness gone away instantly right. and right then what do people need right.

like you said when you order something. at a restaurant till the time you get it. you're you are only testing your. patience levels 10 minutes patience one. patience. when you give something to people right. use it and your skin will become like. this their patience is every day it's. ticking this is instant. we as consumers want something today and. right and now right so as soon as you. get the product and you apply you see. the difference instantly. all right and that broke the internet to. a level where that also became one of.

the best selling primers online. yeah right and see uh. it's all in one solution it works on. everybody. like you have that filter right what. happens you see in India most of the. makeup and grooming is actually inspired. and aspired or instigated by actors and. actresses right majorly all the push of. Brands all the push or usage of you know. beauty products comes from that that.

league right so Bollywood was the. perfect name for it right that was a. perfect catch. so. a product is not only a product in terms. of offering but it has to have that hook. of marketing as well. right and the combination of both of a. great product offering at a great price. point but also having that hook that. makes my life simpler to Market to you. right of what it does. right and that changes everything. then we had a few more products which. worked uh recently last week only we.

launched something called a sucker okay. and I'm I'm uh I don't know I'm just a. fan of the crazy names right people. don't want to experiment so it's an oil. pulling stick like a small stick what it. does is oil oil you swipe and your oil. is almost gone. instantly makes your face very fresh. right it's a small stick you can carry. it in your pocket you know men women. anybody who wants right it could be. anyone. and it will suck out it'll pull the oil.

and it's called the oil cooling stick so. the name is sucker right so it says what. it does it sucks. so now these are smart I would want to. have sucker. that's smart yeah so I think a lot of it. comes from understanding how you can. offer a product add something and Market. it in a very different way altogether. right and how do you get access to these. products. we we make it ah so you make it my love.

you go around the world and be like. research and development. ideas. yes. so you give them instructions. correct so we actually go to the. formulators we say boss this is the. purpose of this product the benchmarks.

are these products right you can make. similar to this add this these these you. know ingredients and give it to me. it takes three to six months for a. product to get developed which goes so. viral right because it has to hit that. right Mark yeah. Madness. right that has to happen instantly right. now within a span of 30 seconds so that. is very important that we are focused on. that instant impact right so.

right now this is a personal opinion is. we get discouraged and disappointed. faster than we encourage and uh back. people right so just to prove my point. Amazon. right at the price point and you thought. great deal it came and you love the. product you like the product you will. not come back to give it a five-star. rating and explain why you like the.

product but as soon as you buy a product. and USB. you will make it a point to go back and. give a one two three star rating and. show your disappointment right and I. think that comes from within I think. it's not just India it's everybody right. yeah it's not the world it's around the. world that we have been born and brought. up in a way where the disappointment. culture or showing of that uh feeling is. higher than showing a feeling of uh you. know support and uh you know um sort of.

satisfaction yeah right so that is why. you see uh a lot of this happening so we. have to make sure that we belong to that. five star category and we make everybody. happy because it will take one consumer. to go out in the market and say oh hey. this product sucks it's not great and. it's not working and surprisingly people. will listen to that one person and not. the other 99 who are satisfied happy. with it right dude that is so true. yeah.

right so that is that is how we are. bringing these products right so we have. to be careful of what we are doing when. we are doing it right that is why you. will see that our nearest competitor. probably has thousand plus sqs and we. only have 250 today. right approximately so 250 may we want. to go deeper not not spread ourselves. too thin right now when it comes to this. when we are talking of all these Brands. and why these these brands are working. right there are some d2c Brands right. I'll call them d2c because they are.

digital first only website only and. online only right they there is a. judgment error for most of the brands. which have not done well and what is. that right they go offline too soon. but people don't know who you are just. because you have your rois conversions. three Facebook is selling your products. and Amazon it doesn't really mean that. people know about you yet yeah that is. those are all impulse buys do have you. created enough value for your brand for. people to go and ask offline right so.

that is one error second is going. offline too late. and the third thing is not going offline. at all. in India to survive you have to be a. Omni Channel fmcg brand you cannot there. is nothing called d2c today d2c is a. name for you to die sooner if you remain. d2c only right there'll be very less.

Brands until you have a platform. because brand loyalties today are going. lower because the offerings are. increasing yes right let's say 2015 when. we started beardo right there are hardly. three or four Brands into the new age. milk grooming right today you will see. 300 pages of listing worth of mail.

grooming and beard oils write 300 pages. so I'm talking of a few hundreds. probably even a few thousand Brands yeah. right so then the consumer doesn't know. which one to buy. so the cost of reaching to a consumer. slowly will become higher. and your profitability will slowly go. lower so you have to start reaching. it's very important right so. one thing right again to your point. right why we think we work uh more often.

than not is this right we have never. followed the rule book okay so right so. when we started we were very clear that. we want to go offline but we did not. know how. so we were we were sitting ideally we. had hired some people saying that. offline Channel. they had that rulebook fixed K step one. step two step three. we have to figure out a way to speak to. a consumer and to instill that trust and. sell the product right so the first.

thing that we did that everybody was. afraid was go to a salon. okay and not go to GT stores okay okay. they go walk into a cello at least once. or twice a month to get groomed yeah. right and men in general have this. tendency when it comes to buying their. grooming products is they will only. listen to somebody or they should be. referred to that product they are not. very window Pickers. try this right and who does that better.

than your hair stylist yeah right so. we're recommending recommendations right. so that comes up with a backing okay. credibility. there is some credit coming with the. hairdresser telling you so we chose we. said no we are not gonna do how you do. things we are gonna try a new way and. that's when we started Distributing in. salons as a product and then as a.

service. all right and that really hit for us it. did wonders because everybody was. getting that personal kind of a word. towards our band it took time right. other brands became famous far more uh. you know faster than we did but when we. became a brand I think we became like a. stalworth of our kind of a category. right and that is important to do and. name was also pretty directly yeah yeah. what it stands for what it stands for.

very. smart you took. some famously. famous because. you've become famous. yes. and there was this um uh feeling of. respect and Trust right that came with. the brand right people did not just wear. weirdo as a brand but they started.

thinking of it as a character right and. that you could see the community yeah. yes yes yes the community power right we. used to we went into building that and. the first campaign that we did which. really went well for us was we were. always once again we were not those. original go-to marketeers right we. created a song All right a song did not. have anything to sell a product it was. nothing to do with any product of ours. it was just to establish that you are. such a weirdo and such a beardo was a. song which went viral right it probably. reached more than 100 million eyeballs.

back in 2016-17 right and 1700 million. eyeballs it was big it was big right it. was big today it's easier right with the. reels and everything but that was big so. I think uh the whole point of that song. was you are such a weirdo and weirdo. does this this. I was not selling a product I was not. trying to push anything an idea yes a. beardo is this macho guy who is this. strong personality who wants to do. things his way and I think that is what. our audience used to connect to.

right so we feed the audience what they. want to see right and give them what. they like and I think those those small. small experiments those small steps. towards doing something differently. worked for us and I think they are. working for us even today intelligent. dude that's that's such a good idea I. can think of so many things right now. what you said. if there's a brand.

subconsciously. so I would prefer that brand regardless. results. fast forward to this right villain why. villain right. what happened was all these years of.

Bollywood instilled or showed us one. thing even even the South movies even. the East movies right what did they show. us right in 20 years of Our Generation. understood one thing villain always. successfully. he can do whatever he wants right that's. how the villain have been portrayed. right so then we decided not to be a. very hero brand not to be an anti-hero. brand but to be the villain meaning a. villain comes into your personality that. means you own the world kind of uh look.

towards it right you are powerful you. are successful you can do anything does. not mean that you're a bad person just. that you have this villain personality. right yeah and that is and as soon as we. did that you would see the movies around. that this time period of 20 20 to 2024. or even a little before all the actors. used to be gundas yeah. this movie South movies most of the. movies right so you'll see tollywood. Hollywood Bollywood whatever right you. will always see that I would I always. want to be a bond villain not James Bond. right because I could see that guy as.

Jets and islands and. he's dating Miss universes of the world. right. right so why do I want to name my. brother hero and that's uh so I think. those thought process and I think. sometimes names hit right also and yeah. and that creates that connect yeah that. picks up you know I want to go deeper on. this thought yeah. which didn't we did fabulously well.

around the world two-faced yeah right. foreign.

automatically.

leadership okay.

exactly right you can go. okay but. specifically have this question. foreign.

lifestyle it's not just a product range. right so that's when we realized here. then uh the point came in.

perfume why are people not wearing with. pride because people are not connecting. to it right because beardo was a. lifestyle so that was one of the smaller. categories for beardo right but for. villain that was the core product focus. and this was the Gap right and that's. how villain came into the picture when. we moved to women Rene we saw give us. women. so tell name three brands which are 500.

rupee. before 2020 for perfume offering to. women certainly women doesn't want to. smell good or they don't want to feel. better about themselves it was just that. they had either very premium offerings. or unorganized Market offerings right. that's when I saw that Zara uska average. price is let's say average billing price. probably even higher than that right but. it's a perfume starts at 450 rupees. which is the counter so what happened. and they are off the counter Beach that.

means if Zara has to come down to sell. their perfumes at 500 to 1500 rupees. there is a usable Gap here what is going. on why why is there nobody there that's. what I thought was Renee can not only be. a makeup brand. um runny can also be that Lifestyle. brand that offers great quality product. at a very affordable price point right. and that is it you want to smell a. million dollars but I am making that. happen at a 500 rupee price point. simple. right.

and I think that was the focus right and. that is why you see now suddenly there. is a flood of new you know female. perfumes coming in right when we were. there you would hardly see three men. after us I think uh skin by Titan they. fall into a little premium category. right expensive yeah expensive category. and everybody else was focused on men. how do we make the men of India smell. good or who somebody has to take care of. women as well right now here is the. biggest challenge that people don't see. of what we have done right and why we.

pride ourselves in having a great. perfume right is this. name one Indian makeup brand that sells. perfume. or successfully sells perfume. all right name one Indian female. grooming brand that sells perfume. successfully. you will see none or probably close to. none right is this when you are focused. on one category so. um uh like 100 focus is there you lose. out on a thought and the thought is what. if people only see you as a lipstick.

brand. um. as a consumer my acceptance towards your. brand anything apart from lipstick will. will probably end. I will be limited to see you as a. lipstick brand only. and that's about it so anything to do. with lipstick makeup it's fine but as. soon as you say a face wash I'll not be. acceptable of it as soon as you say. perfume I'll not accept it as soon as. you see anything else apart from that. particular category you have limited. your brand so you have become the worst. enemy for your brand to grow into.

certain categories. as a Founder right so to understand that. you have to make sure early on you offer. more. than all your competition. so now I can fight with a perfume brand. with Rene I can find with a makeup brand. with Rene I can also fight with the. skincare brand with it. and I can fight three brands which are. already stalwarts of their categories. and grow in that process. and I can now offer different offerings.

in all of these categories that they. haven't. you know that's such a different thought. yeah. yeah why like I want to go deeper on. this okay let's go talk about if you. look at the traditional brands of the. world let's say. Gillette right your PNG and the Unilever. of the world is.

so I think I can't comment on their. thought process but what I've learned of. all all the bigger fmcgs right there. there are there are few blockages here. right one is the ownership of who will.

extend that category right I am acting. as a Founder. right who is going to take that. ownership what if it what if that fails. right is the team equipped enough or do. they have ownership enough to take that. failure on them right third is how big. on a larger market is because they have. to be very efficient of costing to make. sure give us a larger a market is large. enough to inject a product and then. become one of the biggest or bigger. players of that particular sector or.

category right. fourth and the last the biggest thing is. that go to market time that strategy. could be probably a few quarters or a. few years also right. now. because they have deeper distribution. what they do is they wait for the right. time and then try to inject a market. meal grooming apart from Gillette was.

probably what uh. road now suddenly it's a thousand crores. now we can come and see if we can. probably take one of the categories and. create 100 to 300 crore product right I. think that's how they think that's why. Gillette also has a beard range now oh. yeah I didn't know that so Gillette I. think launched with the one who was. against beard has a beer train now yeah. and and they've done a pretty good job. at it right so beard started it in all. the other countries before I think in. India they also launched it right with. Amazon or somebody there was a range for. sure so acceptance relevance timeline.

if they would have come a little earlier. I think they would have killed us. because their move they they move late. and slow that's why people like us exist. in the market yeah okay here's a. question I want to ask there are brands. in the market. like villain. or let's say Bombay savings company yeah. right. so because questions. all right so I was talking to one of my.

friends female friends. [Music]. similarly same I asked my sister.

how's the word villain she likes very. manly strong perfumes she loves strong. perfume. um. whereas Thicket so that is one question. is. in the beginning. that is one way to go then second is. [Music].

the third category which is. so it's very very innocent what do you. based on your suggestion in India market. right now what would you suggest Brands. like us.

foreign. they've come with offerings for him for. her unisex right but usually you will. see a different segment CEO yeah.

because the brand is still not uh titled. as what it is right it is still growing. it is it is growing at a you know good. rate. as soon as I will see a woman using. bellavita I will stop using it. and that will come it is not me I'm. saying as a consumer right this is. something which is inbuilt in us that if. you see the opposite sex using something. you will feel that it's for her or for. him right villain female names.

you have just you're considered it. because. it's very simple right sooner or later. there will be a career a clear. distinction between are you a male. grooming or are you a female grooming. brand or are you male perfume or a. female perfume you can although have a. female range of perfumes. but that particular range you cannot be. selling to both that is not happening. and unless it's a generic commodity like. let's say you're a perfume brand saying.

UD is the best that we give right for an. example so with male female both can use. I am not I am a designer and I have. branded that with my design name now. that can be used by both because at who. this is why you are buying it and not. because of my name right then that's a. different story but if you're buying it. was a strong fragrance Personnel You by. default your psyche will not let you. choose something which an opposite sex. is using is what I have noticed right. foreign.

this is that experience or that. observation that has gone into your gut. and in the in the future in the long run. that may not really help you until as. you say Blanca for him blank for her. clear distinction between the two then.

it's fine.

this is my sport. foreign. I think you you have actually this is a. very nice button and you know this is a. very touchy topic also right so I will.

try to put this in as you know kind of. openness as possible see nobody is. asking you here generally let me clarify. for everybody for the audience as well. nobody's asking you your thoughts on. gender neutrality. ready. multiple times all right so you would we. have some insights. right that is one thing which follows.

now here that the the thing is. the timeline of doing that. so I'm not saying that this will not. work or this will work I'm saying. probably India is still at a stage where. we are not ready for this kind of a. brand creation at least today this is. what I feel this will happen probably.

five years seven in a down the line but. if you do it today the chances of you. feeling are higher than not. you are also dealing in a very Mass. premium to a mass segment right that. segment how do they think what is their. psyche what is their psychology towards. society and Indian culture right. and if you have to speak to them right. and how many are. uh today very Progressive versus how. many are still trying to understand and.

learn about their progress how much time. will it take right will it take a. generation will it take a decade will it. take five years so when you are wanting. to do it I think you should do it. definitely but wait for the right time. these Brands like you said they are. doing it now yes. they are changing with the times so for. you right and now the best bet is do. male female when the time comes you do. it for everybody. because right now the markets are. divided into segments when the segments. and markets merge you also merge as a.

product offering so yeah we talked about. unisex men women gender neutral we. talked about all of that second question. is. foreign. but.

you I a few people in this industry have. created this uh have foreign.

long time pending right.

multiple. multiple you mean to say you're saying. you believe. this is what I believe foreign.

and now because digital is growing. accessibility is growing distribution is. is now spreading it to its wings from. tier one two three four five six cities.

um. consumerism. nice okay and the other question is. you connect your your differentiation in. a perfume Market is your language and. communication to your audience remember. that who you're talking to is very. important aspirational value quality.

right so what what do the consumers need. uh long lasting perfume because you're. happy whether right uh you need to have. great packaging looks nice right the. third Factor. pride pride comes from aspirational. value pride comes from a sense of. belonging connecting to the brand and. the connect is content. and you already have done a great job. instantly selling out right amazing. right I don't think a lot of people will. be able to do that but a lot of people. still survive at a lower kind of a uh.

volume. um. so another. inside let's move towards India as a. market for now yes okay okay. yes yes.

you must have identified something I. think healthy foods but healthy foods. which are yummy. right that is the future you cannot have. a healthy food brand which sucks and. does not taste oil it tastes good right. so one thing is healthy foods right. that's definitely there food in itself. India is such a large Market that our. Cravings are unending right while I'm. talking. I don't care. I just want it right and that's how we. built so I think a good food brand can. really do wonders.

I want to pause you on this and say that. you know there's a there's a brand I. really love the whole truth right. because. I used to hate bars your protein bars. right right. whole truth. you know because.

and this is how the idea was or I used. to hate it. [Laughter].

it's all false it's probably ten times. until 2021 94 of India still uses. yes yes doesn't use package data right.

and I was like. generation. at least in bigger cities. that's the option okay. what difficult and tough Market I know. or boss. yes yes and you're on point right but. yeah you're dealing commodity yeah right.

so this is sort of a commodity so then. you are very thin with margins that. means you should exactly know what. you're doing you should have the. experience to do that right and you. should foreign.

so here's what my belief is Right. Commodities. which is 24 7. and you charge five rupees premium for.

that just the marketing stunt can work. out yeah okay. so this is what works in most of the. transparency around. um. [Laughter]. yeah. foreign.

foreign.

I should not smell bad right so to me I. go on emotions that is how I work. aspirations.

and I think here's a tip right uh uh I. mean from what I've learned right. so pocket size. because then if you don't do that you're. missing out that pocket size because. that is where it starts because you are. bringing down the the. um uh the size of the the price tag yeah. much lower so you you are getting more. people to enter yeah. if they like it they'll probably buy the. bigger package The Hope right ultimately. so yeah because what you said right.

backpack some form of uh yeah. right so don't miss out on that part of. also pocket size. foreign.

that person is now accepting all your.

frequencies and he might probably. tomorrow try villain also yes right. I love you for this okay because. [Laughter]. um. forget that I was seeing.

I believe in this genuinely. categories. a large majority of audience.

so that is how you have to think about. it that's brilliant man I love talking. to you okay uh. um.

I think it's a behavior which is uh. human not in not uh you know specific uh. Zone wise or area wise right. because we have a rich culture right so. what we see is Indian consumer connect. to culture oriented you know. communication faster and better than any. other country. culture oriented yeah are you not. tradition oriented culture oriented go.

deeper tell me more about. okay. let's stick to this and let's think. about the brands that we have created. right so so right so beer domain the. language that we pick uh picked was. Macho strong element right personality. right a man right at that point of time. Europe and UK and US was going away from. man armacho they were coming that it is. okay to be metrosexual it is okay to be. you know to do this to do that you men. don't have to be macho all the time they.

do not be strong. feminine energy yeah yeah you you should. have that right but yeah because we are. in this time right where marshallness. was still your number one go to as when. you thought of man per se right that was. back seven eight years ago now right so. I think the sort of communication and. the sort of narration that time was. different. so I think times change and so does your. communication so today what I feel is. Indian consumer is open to everything. suddenly the speed of acceptance here.

has grown. uh thanks to the Internet thanks to the. access to the social media in a way that. we don't have to be stereotypical in the. sense of how we market number one number. two there is acceptability right. right second is. um. because of this what has happened is we. are now okay to sell anything and. everything online and see that it will. sell if it's done in an item you know. right manner but. now what I see used to happen back in US. is it is very difficult to cheat or lie.

or mask what you're selling to a. consumer because finally what is. happening is a consumer will come back. to you and says why is this not. happening right so this moment in a way. is actually happening internally also. where they are also researching here. what is this ingredient what is that. ingredient right so today you can't just. take a mirror best product and then. people will go for it blindly that is. not happening anymore right that is one. behavior that I see uh Happening Here uh.

in a certain segment not in all okay not. in all but I'll tell you because Jesse. segment now this is my personal. observation once again. those people start feeling okay. yeah that is still not changing for some. reason right but people uh who are not. from that mindset or from that thought. process are now okay. is this is this vegan leather should I. people who are mindful who are conscious.

about their choices are now looking into. it which is never the fact before. um I I don't know if that answers your. question but I think that is an. observation more than anything exactly. yeah that's what I was thinking yeah but. foreign.

let's say I'll give an Insight what I. have seen then. but simple Insider I learned this from. haldirams. um. correct.

foreign.

no nobody had seen him before that like.

this and he was not very much in the. Limelight he was being doing his thing. and he was being Anna right so we met. him. and we could see that he's not just an. actor he's a person who understands. business who understands he has come. from a a place he has created his own. wealth today that he has right so. um. so he said okay I'll be a partner you. whatever it takes you you know tell me.

this I can be your gateway into whatever. you want in you know glamor Bollywood. yeah. and you just you know just support us. wherever needed. never again did we ever have a problem. we want to use this on social media. right there was such a smooth experience. with him you're not dealing with him I. think he has a great asset. yes he was on the cap table right so you.

didn't pay upfront party Equity party so. it was all all Equity right because so. we were one of the first ones to go and. do this right because. right so that was the thought process. generally why do you want to share. Equity. you first of all that person becomes a. partner to you right that person has a. sense of ownership and that means that. person will do that extra bit for you. right in the end of the day and for that. he will probably earn more which he.

deserves and it's okay yeah. yeah. correct correct and uh or and see this. is what I feel right well I also wanted. to be a billionaire I still do right it. says that is. so you need to have more people who you. share your wealth will to enjoy when you. reach there right uh anyways nice then. the next uh was villain villain happened.

out of uh a nice dinner session with. Yash Yash is the actor of kgf right kgf. gave him the perfect like um like a. booster of that villain image strong. hero but villain right and we are just. having this conversation and we were. just about to leave beardo and. everything was done so we're just. thinking and he also was of the thought. that I want to do and create a brand for. the masses enough people are focusing on. More Money More this thing but I want to. create something which I can give to.

more people right more people can access. it so increase that accessibility. so I said let's do it. he instantly said he was I want to do it. whatever you want you you just let me. know again on a dinner handshake. the brand was born right we came back we. launched the brand in less than 90 days. right it took us 90 days because it was. after exit kovite. to actually enjoy the exit period money. time nothing we got back to work got. back to the wagon Hustle season again.

August 17 we launched villain. right August 17 2020. so we launched. Berlin and that really did well fast. forward right uh in its own way ashka. was was a celebrity great stuff but. ashka was a Founder she was not a face. she wanted to do this full time right so. then we had a great conversation one. thing that I told her first thing right. and which she understood which is a. great thing for somebody who comes from.

a lot of following and a lot of like. Fame is a brand is always bigger than. one person oh yes a brand cannot be. known by one personality right and. that's how Rene by Ashoka became only. right and she got it instantly she was. like I agree. I was of the meaning while I have that. Fame and Limelight I can use it to push. the brand but now that the things are. changing now that the combinations are. changing we are coming in I think this. is how this should be and she instantly. accepted and she said okay look I'm. willing to quit my acting career and we.

will do this full time and that is when. we set you okay now it's okay to sell. villain because villain has done great. for itself it has reached uh to a point. where now it's a brand and I think Mensa. can do the rest. so that's when we thought okay Rene is. the thing and she she always wanted to. be an active personality she was not. going to be just the name or the fame. right you will have not seen ask on the. Forefront anywhere after that because. she is now full time into uh the.

business right and working with her. famous but also active partner right now. this is a very different kind of a. scenario where we are not done this with. Yash or with uh you know sir so here we. see a very different side where. why you why do you make a partner right. so the the question is you know where. you lack and that person fills that Gap. oh yes right and ask her does exactly. that for us today right understanding. women coming from that beauty industry. glamor industry understanding the. product. so that's what she does right manages.

offline no I'm telling you today nobody. can do it better than him today right. offline finances uh it took so just to. give an example it took the number one. number two and number three brand in the. New Age Branch not not the bigger fmcgs. about. 10 odd years to reach 1000 plus mbos. storage store right it took priyank six. months. right that's how that's the kind of. strength that Founders bring onto the. table so we don't rely on somebody else. similarly we we did not want to rely on.

on somebody that we had employed of how. the product should be and that is the. strength of uh you know what Ash cabin. and that's how we then come together. very nicely and form this team The A. Team that I call it right to do it. faster better you know bigger nice nice. it's a best of all the worlds together. there are two more people very. interesting you work with yes one was. RCB team yes it was one of collaboration. what was it story of how RCB happened so.

RCB uh and the year after that was at. the Punjab right Punjab Kings uh so RCB. now I was a big fan I still am a big fan. of Coley right we had beard I think one. of the figures who inspired this uh this. whole uh you know movement of keeping. beards right so I actually wanted to get. Associated and get him on board as uh as. one of the faces for beardo but that was. not happening for some of the other. reasons right so I actually saw an. opportunity people who are men normally. end up watching the matches more so than. not and Kohli being the top of the top.

of his game and uh Coley also being the. captain of the game how can I associate. with the team and also have him with. weirdo and have all of this you know. sorry come together well. uh and you know very economical manner. right in a manner where I am not on the. T-shirt uh I am not on the Holdings but. I can claim that the team and we are. Partners so we became the grooming. partners with them yeah right and that's. how we brought RCB team that if we are.

able to do this we are able to reach. more people because some or the other. way we will reach to the masses that we. are not able to do with digital first. strategy yes the cheapest way to do ATL. BTL because everywhere RCB used to go. there was beard grooming partner right. that was we could have never done that. that was Growers of course of free. eyeballs that we had gotten then. the dream to have Kohli side by side x. beardo also happen because of that. reason right people who who followed the. brand who followed uh the sports people. right it was not just school it was I.

think ABD as well alongside two greats. of of the game right and uh the Gale. also probably in that time what about. does a brand want out of this right. while we had all the great you know. Bollywood actors I was always on the. mindset right do not limit yourself from. one actor to uh to form a brand because. some people follow that industry some. people follow a sports some people don't. follow both of these but they follow. different industries from different. zones right uh now let's say in South. right so let's say it is not necessary.

that every uh person from leche. Karnataka watches a Bollywood movie yeah. or watches Cricket per se but they might. watch a kannada movie so a Karnataka. would then watch a kannada movie. probably the chances are more of that. then why not have and touch those people. uh uh you know touch their psyche mental. um you know that consumer Behavior are. you missing out that is when beardo had. a strategy. you should have YouTubers because.

YouTubers are on YouTube consumer who is. you know consuming the content on. YouTube may not necessarily watch a. movie from uh you know South yeah or may. not watch a movie in Bollywood but they. will definitely follow let's say a. follower of Raj shamani is giving 20. minutes a one up to an hour of his time. that is loyalism right I have to have so. we got buwan at the time right we we had. uh we are child Kapoor uh right we uh we. had Yash at one point of time we had um. yeah we had RCB yeah we we were dealing.

with also to a Time Rohit Sharma a few. one-offs so we were dealing all sectors. so we were not missing out on any. eyeball. that we are otherwise if it was just one. one of these people nice strategy right. this this fills me up I'm sure this will. you want to say something yeah so I just. wanted to add so so when we had taken. rashmika first time for biodo okay. all the investors the board the partners.

you know I said. stats. 60 40 70 30 and when you see women have. more men followers that is the best way. to reach to them right why are you. missing out on that. and that is when beardo was one of the. first people to start using women as. influencers to sell male grooming. products that smart. friends with you and then we can wrap it. up yeah because that's like a session. which could go on forever yeah yeah okay. so one is if as a Founder you could pick.

up only. three. specific. department for you to run what would be. those three departments for me. personally marketing has to be it right. because marketing is you got to know. this battle. right second Department. um I would personally take e-commerce. right because e-commerce has always. fascinated me because not only is it a.

point to get more people but you get. people who have an intent of buying who. come to these platforms how would you. convert them right so I want to sell an. Ecom digital first sales right I think. that is something that I definitely want. to do in a second uh right so that's. second now third is a very tricky one. because some ashka manage and some. pretty young manager I don't want to be. a part of it but I love idea creation I. want to create new products right so NCD. and technically marketing. so I I don't want to do all 300 products. I want to do this for you know Bollywood.

filter and Madness kind of products. which uh which are very new and which. are experimental right so marketing. mix but yeah and end up being great. products right so I think these three. are my focus points personally. now. the last question I wanted to ask you is. okay before actually I ask you a last.

question tell me the best advice you. have gotten which is that the best. advice you've ever gotten I think uh for. entrepreneurs in India. so yeah I think this is something that I. also follow and somebody told me this. right uh and and it's a it is a famous. quote but I do follow that it is better. to rule the hell than to always serve. the heaven right so don't always try to. be Kings where they exist right try to. focus on getting this is this is not a. negative thing right this is a thing. that you can also create something where.

no nobody's looking. right. there is so much to achieve that you are. probably missing out on so much just. because somebody's focusing on somewhere. else right that should not be uh what. you should always do right so the hill. here for us is something which is not. created create your own thing the health. could also mean that it is just. something uh that is not sexy enough for. you to be in right like Atta right for a.

lot of people that's not something but. it is a great it is a great pinpoint. right and if you are doing something. great in it you should be proud of it. Focus there 100 not everything is. not the only way you do startups or. create Brands right. and what's the worst advice you've got. I don't think there has been any worst. advice because any advice that I have. taken I've only implemented the one that. I thought were good so I don't see any. words because I have not implemented.

those that I thought were not that great. okay so there's not even one I'll give. you worse advice I've gotten be. realistic. [Laughter]. yeah. I think this is what I believe I think. this is the worst advice you can give to. younger people yeah okay yeah being. practical be realistic if they are be. realistic if they are practical nothing. good is ever gonna be exist like. existing in the world there'll be.

nothing new which will come out there'll. be no longingness there'll be no pushing. forward there'll be no new ideas. be completely unrealistic about your. expectations from the world and go out. and change yeah you know go for it man. what's the worst that could happen right. what's there to lose and uh for for. people right I tell him the only thing. that you should not be scared of okay uh. once again right what do people think. what will other Founders think of how. you're doing what you're doing if you. fail it's okay.

because it is important for you to fail. so that you know how not to fail next. time for sure for sure so people I'm. sure once you are watching this at least. in consumer goods in India will fail. much lesser than people who have not. watched this. just to end that right I had seen your. video with a very good hook that this. this man made a million dollars in one. year just villains is a very clear story. of how you make 11 million in 11 months.

again he's given. [Laughter]. thank you Raj for having me this was a. great session I think I should have done. this way earlier please. I really hope to see you soon with me.

again in the studio. and we'll do round two we'll have much. more sessions. sounds good sounds good yeah. thank you so much. foreign.

foreign.

[Music].

until the next episode keep figuring out. [Music].