Indian cosmetics market was valued at $13191.23 million in FY2020 and is forecast to grow at a double-digit CAGR of 16.39 percent through FY2026 to reach $28985.33 million by FY2026, according to Research and Markets. With people starting to care more about the quality of their skin and the products that they apply on it, there has been a major shift towards natural and organic makeup and beauty products. The cosmetics market today is quite similar to what the skincare market was 8 years ago - organic or natural formulations falter in their performance and are viewed as inferior to their synthetic counterparts.

This is further augmented by more and more customers shifting towards ethical products built on sustainable practices and taking a holistic approach to beauty. In tandem with this trend, various personal care brands have entered the color cosmetics category, including Mamaearth, Plum, The Ayurveda Company (T.A.C), and Juicy Chemistry, amongst others.

What Inspired These Brands to Foray into this Market?

Considering that it is already in the skincare category, T.A.C intended to offer an end-to-end solution for beauty, grooming, and makeup, which led to the start of research on makeup. Usually, the ingredients used for cosmetics are not good for the skin, and the brand realized that these could be made with ingredients that not only nurtured the skin but also gave an equal impact. “This aligned to the vision of helping people embrace a clean lifestyle; hence T.A.C forayed into the makeup range,” said Shreedha Singh, Co-Founder and CEO, T.A.C.

Meanwhile, Plum started out as India’s first 100 percent vegan beauty brand back in 2013. Over the years, there has been growing awareness of the concept of clean beauty with the industry now being almost around $0.8 billion. Consumers in today’s age want to take a conscious call about their beauty and personal care choices – seeking products that are not just good in terms of efficacy, but also correct for them and the planet. “Our entry into color cosmetics is hence a natural extension, in line with our brand ethos of ‘goodness that delivers’ that helps leverage the equity of being one of the most loved and trusted D2C brands in the skincare space,” explained Shankar Prasad, Founder and CEO, Plum.

Similarly, over the years, Juicy Chemistry has been able to prove to the world how potent and efficacious organic personal care can be, and it has now set its sights on yet another target that stays true to its mission - to revolutionize how organic makeup is perceived and show how high-performance it can be without damaging the skin.

Products on Offer

Juicy Chemistry has come up with a sub-brand in the makeup category - Color Chemistry. The brand has launched Color Chemistry with 15 categories including foundations, blushes, lip and cheek tints, lipsticks, kajals, and eye shadow palettes, among others.

“While we’re starting with 15 categories, we do intend to evolve as a brand, adding more categories and hues to existing categories. We intend to keep an ear to the ground, listen to our consumers, and create and innovate intentionally,” stated Megha Desai Asher, Co-Founder and COO, Juicy Chemistry.

Initially, T.A.C. launched lip, cheek, and eye tints; sindoor; kajal; liquid, and bullet lipsticks in the makeup category. “Going forward, we would add mascara and skin tints to this category,” Singh asserted.

Simultaneously, Plum’s eye range includes kajals, eyeliners, mascara, and eyebrow definer, while the lip range includes liquid and bullet lipsticks along with the newly launched crayons and lip and cheek tint. In addition to this, the brand also has its primer, legit matte talc-free compact, and an extensive nail paint range.

“Each offering is free of talc, parabens, phthalates, animal-derived ingredients, and pigments. Our products also contain a touch of nourishing skincare ingredients thus staying true to the proposition of delivering ‘skin-loving’ makeup. We are actively looking to expand the category and have a host of launches lined up in the coming months,” Prasad noted.

Sales Expectations

T.A.C expects the color cosmetic category to contribute about 18-20 percent to its total sales, while Juicy Chemistry is estimating Color Chemistry to reach around Rs 50 crore in ARR by the first half of this financial year. “The overall expectations from Color Chemistry are that it will account for a minimum 35 percent ARR to our business,” Asher said.

Since its first funding round in late 2018, Plum has grown 15x and has emerged as one of the fastest-growing brands in the new-age beauty space. Within a year of launching the color cosmetics category, its contribution has touched healthy levels. Plum is currently at an ARR of Rs 350 crore and aims to reach Rs 1,000 crore in the next 2 years. It is expecting the color cosmetics category to be one of the key growth drivers for the same.

Marketing Initiatives

Since Plum’s audience uses the digital platform extensively to explore products, it is essential for the brand to disseminate educational and informational content that helps feature their discovery, and hence, its consideration is set from step 1 of their purchase journey. Therefore, in addition to sampling and performance marketing initiatives, its content marketing initiatives are active all year round.

To disseminate this educational content, in addition to its website and social media channels, the brand is also focusing on influencer marketing, since influencers, with their expertise and credibility, have become a major lever in the upper funnel. 

“People are now also seeking active interactions with brands to simulate an in-store experience from the comforts of their home. Hence, we are also actively exploring new formats such as Live Shopping along with IG Lives on topics addressing beauty and personal care trends on our own website, and in collaboration with our marketplace partners,” Prasad explained.

Juicy Chemistry, too, started out as a digital-first brand and Color Chemistry will definitely follow suit. The brand wants to leverage social media intelligently to reach its target audience.

Talking on the marketing front, Singh of TAC stated, “For makeup, we have gone heavy and all in the content creation with our influencers, utilizing the power of macro to micro creators for our social media.”

Synergies between Personal Care and Color Cosmetics

With the increase in customers seeking a holistic approach to beauty, the synergies between personal care and color cosmetics have been increasing significantly. People now actively seek out beauty products having care ingredients in addition to being efficacious. For instance, Plum’s nail paint range comes with a touch of ingredients such as avocado oil and vitamin E to provide nourishing benefits in addition to aesthetic appearance. “The growing awareness of having a lip care routine that includes products such as lip scrubs and lip balms, in addition to lipsticks, is another example of how well the two categories blend,” Prasad said.

“To prep your skin, you need personal care products, and once you remove the makeup you use the skincare products to refresh and heal your skin again. Hence, both the categories go well hand-in-hand,” Singh added.

Clean brands are contributing around 5-10 percent of the overall skincare and beauty business in India, and hence it is a huge potential yet to be fully tapped.