Consumers are more aware and inquisitive than ever about what goes into their products and a good personal care product which people trust, becomes hard to displace - a key metric of attractive businesses in the increasingly trend and fad-driven beauty world

The changing times and increased awareness have led to a radical change in the way Indian customers consume beauty products. This major inclination towards clean beauty and organic products has spurred the rise of beauty startups in the last decade significantly. While some beauty entrants successfully take the pulse of its smart audience by offering a plethora of unique solutions, some miss the mark and fail to cater to diverse sensibilities. Customers eagerly want to try a product that resonates with their personality and actually solves their unique concerns. By addressing their ever-evolving needs, a beauty startup can accelerate positive momentum around the core offering and derive exponential growth amidst cutthroat competition in the market.

To mitigate the chances of failure, here are some of the best practices to aid an aspiring beauty startup.

(1) Innovation focussed R&D - Beauty industry is flooded with choices, which often confuses the consumer. There are innumerable Indian and international players which make it confusing for a consumer to pick and choose. Herbal and Ayurveda based products which were a trend until sometime back, are now being overshadowed by the demand for high performance products. Safe is the new truth and performance, the new focus. This allows a brand to focus on core issues of quality and efficacy while ensuring it offers the highest safety standards to its customers. Competent R&D capabilities become key in the space and businesses with this ability will innovate and disrupt the market as well as stand out within crowded, aggregator platforms.

(2) Relatable Content on Social Platforms - With higher internet penetration, there is increased awareness and content consumption through social channels be it digital media, celebrities or channelized influencers such as beauty salons, make-up artists, doctors etc. Instead of selling your audience images of how perfect skin or hair should look like, speak to your customers in a more modest and relatable way, sharing their actual progress and humouring their challenges - this will allow you to develop a stronger connection with them.

(3) Complete Transparency - Consumers are more aware and inquisitive than ever about what goes into their products and a good personal care product which people trust, becomes hard to displace - a key metric of attractive businesses in the increasingly trend and fad-driven beauty world. Another reason is that consumers are seeking more performance out of their products while being conscious of what goes into their product. Clean beauty is the new focus - natural, safe and effective formulations which deliver results is what consumers are looking at. Full disclosure of the ingredients in the product with a regular feedback mechanism helps improve their experience and gain brand loyalty. An external certification which demonstrates safety of use also helps build customer confidence in the product.

(4) Quality over Quantity - Building a business requires investment, time commitment and assets. To be able to truly stand out, consider all the influence factors - invest into mindful R&D focussed on solving actual problems, speak to your target customers first hand to understand gaps in their experience and offer real innovation to your target customers via your product/ service. Offering great quality products or services should all the while distinguish your brand in the market. This helps in not only building loyalty within a niche audience segment but also leads to rapid word of mouth marketing which helps customer acquisition.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house