Gone are these days when beauty was just regarded some thing which only subsided with girls. Beauty is for absolutely everyone – gender has no part to play right here. This pretty shift in perception has led to the buoyancy of the male beauty business, which continues to develop at a speedy pace to be on par with its female counterpart. According to a Statista report, the international male grooming industry is projected to attain about USD 81.2 billion by 2024. In an exclusive conversation with the TheSpuzz Online Suraj Chaudhari, Co-founder and CEO of Zlade talked about the men’s grooming industry in India, influence of Covid-19, development of manscaping in India, most up-to-date trends and more. Excerpts:
What are the views on the men’s grooming industry and what is the influence of Covid-19 on this segment?
Men’s grooming is nevertheless a 5-6 year old industry in India, if you take into consideration it the industry which was produced by the new age on-line initial brands. It’s nevertheless fairly new and there is nevertheless big possible for development. The industry which mostly consisted of only Shaving items, Deodorants and Skin whitening creams, now has items ranging from personalised hair care, beard care, skin, body, and even footcare. Like all industries, Covid-19 was like a brick wall to this business, as the lockdown began, anything came to a standstill. With markets shut, no particular person on the ground, even e-commerce was made to be shut initially.
But now the industry is recovering and we are seeing spendings like the levels of early 2020, and in some instances even more than that. Covid-19 has accelerated E-Commerce globally and India is not an exception, in the US, 12 months saw 10 years’ worth of development in on-line retail, and India is not far behind. So several individuals have shopped on-line for the initial time and we will see most of these individuals having used to purchasing on-line for great. This was the only silver lining, if we can even get in touch with that. With salons shut, and zoom calls on at all instances, sales of men’s grooming items took off as Men necessary items which could assist them look great at home.
What is the core position of the brand?
Our core position has usually been focused on Shaving and Hair removal we think we are quite great at that. Since January 2021, with the launch of our readyshaver variety, we have anything for absolutely everyone who is into shaving. We now cover the complete shaving variety from readyshavers, program razors, shaving gels, aftershaves, for each Men and Women, also intimate hair removal options such as the Ballistic variety of Body hair trimmers.
Given that the industry is flooded with grooming items, what tends to make you exceptional?
We have usually been pretty clear with our strategy and focused on only shaving beneath Zlade. The ultimate target is to make the word ‘Zlade’ synonymous with a blade. As you have rightly observed that the industry is flooded with grooming items, it is pretty complicated for a customer to pick the very best items, and we have usually helped the buyers to pick the very best, by maintaining a a lot targeted portfolio of items. As a outcome, we have a loyal set of clients and a pretty healthier retention price of 30%. What Colgate is to toothpaste, Zlade shall be to a shaving blade.
What was your business enterprise development in sales (M-O-M) for the duration of the pre-pandemic period and post-Covid period?
We have seen immense development for the duration of the pandemic. Pre-pandemic we had been developing steady at about 15-20%, and we hit our lowest numbers in April. Since May as E-Commerce was permitted to function we saw our historically very best numbers in June and July, so a lot so that our items became sold out by November. This year with the launch of new items we have seen upto one hundred% MoM Growth in August from July and we intend to maintain developing by at least 50% MoM.
Tell us about the hero items of Zlade which had been in higher demand for the duration of the pandemic.
Our shaving razors and the Ballistic Body Trimmer have been our very best-sellers for the duration of the pandemic, as salons had been shut for the most component of the pandemic we have seen an rising demand for our items. As most individuals could not go out for a shave or a haircut, our items helped a lot of buyers to do that at the comfort of their residences.
How do you see the development of manscaping in India?
Manscaping has usually been a topic which is discussed behind closed doors, or not discussed at all. Even Men do not go over this with their close friends or partners but absolutely everyone does manscaping each and every when in a even though. With Ballistic, we want males to be comfy in discussing intimate hygiene and body hair. Whether you want to eliminate body hair or maintain it, you must not hesitate in in search of items to assist you do that. We see an immense possible in this industry has gone are the days when Bollywood had actors like Anil Kapoor flaunting body hair, to him baring a clean shaven chest with six pack abs. Earlier Men used to be made exciting of if they attempted to shave their arms or legs, but now it is an acceptable practice and more males have began to eliminate body hair. But males nevertheless lack the appropriate tools for it, and the existing offerings are either to go to a salon or do it at home with messy items like hair removal creams or painful waxing. Ballistic solves this.
You are venturing into the individual care category for women’. Let us know how you want to market and leverage this in the industry. What are the sorts of items that will be incorporated in the category?
We have been which means to introduce our women’s variety considering that the previous 2 years but the pandemic disrupted our plans and we have lastly introduced the Summer by Zlade variety for girls. We have launched the category with a shaving focused portfolio and the existing portfolio consists of the Splash Mini Hair Removal Razor and the Face and Eyebrow razor. I feel related to the situation Men faced with manscaping, girls also had restricted solutions even though attempting to eliminate body hair, and in most instances it essential them going to a salon.
While we are conscious that most girls pay a visit to salons not just to take care of specific issues but for the knowledge and indulgence, at the very same time girls must have more solutions. Hair removal is not some thing that girls delight in and we want to make the knowledge superior for them. There is also the situation of pink tax, exactly where a women’s razor will be twice as high priced as their male counterparts for no purpose whatsoever, and we are addressing this situation.
What are the most up-to-date trends in the grooming segment?
I feel the most up-to-date trends in grooming are personalised offerings and a focus on sustainability. Many brands are introducing items which are sustainable, packaging which is recyclable and an all round climate conscious strategy.
What are the new items launched in the pipeline in the next 6 months?
We have usually maintained a pretty restricted portfolio of items and it is currently altering. We now have a complete shaving variety for Men, which we will continue to add to in the next handful of months. The Ballistic variety will see more items, especially catering to Men’s intimate hygiene along with the existing variety of body hair removal. The Summer variety for girls will see a handful of additions, like disposable razors, bikini and intimate hair removal options along with pre and post shave options catering to concerns like post shave itching and ingrown hair.