D2C Beauty Industry is cluttered

The Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) beauty industry in India has experienced significant growth in size and competition in recent years. This has been fuelled by social media, digital adoption, and changing consumer preferences. Not only have customers in the D2C industry grown manyfold, brands vying for the same customer attention have grown at a much faster rate. India has more than 500 beauty brands of varying sizes competing for approximately 120 million customers, mainly located in Metro and Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. Some of the popular D2C Brands in the beauty industry are Forest Essentials, Mama earth and Blue Nectar

What is D2C, and why is it cluttered?

Unlike traditional beauty brands that rely on retail distribution, D2C beauty brands primarily sell through their websites and market places like Amazon, Nykaa, etc. This direct-to-consumer approach allows brands to be connected with customers and control their experiences better. There are several reasons why D2C industry is cluttered

1. Low entry barriers: With contract manufacturers and white label brands, it is easier to launch a skincare brand than ever before.
2. Overlapping brand stories: Many D2C brands have similar and overlapping brand stories like sustainability, vegan, toxin-free, etc. This not only causes clutter in industry but also clutters consumer’s mind
3. Influencer-Driven Hype: While influencer connections with consumers are more personal and intimate, the same influencer promotes multiple brands. This reduces authenticity and makes it challenging for brand to scale up
4. Wavering customer loyalty: Customers have a lot to choose from and tend to veer towards a newer brand, a more relatable story, or more discounts. This makes it difficult for a brand to retain customers for long.

Why Korean Skincare is not suitable for Indian Skin?

There is an increasing proclivity to veer towards following international skincare trends like Korean skin care trends. Also called K beauty, Korean skincare focuses on multi-step routines, hydration,  and glass skin. However, despite the popularity, Korean skincare is not always the best for Indian skin. Some of the reasons why Korean Skincare is not suitable for Indian Skin are

1. Differences in Climate: Many Korean skincare products are designed to provide intense hydration and nourishment, which may feel heavy or greasy on Indian skin, especially in humid conditions. Layering multiple products, as encouraged in K-beauty routines, can lead to clogged pores and excessive oiliness.
2. Indian skin is more prone to pigmentation. While Korean skincare focuses primarily on hydration and brightening with mild ingredients like rice water and ginseng, Indian skin often requires stronger actives like vitamin C, niacinamide, and kojic acid to address pigmentation issues effectively.
3. Indian skin requires less hydration than Korean skin. Indian skin, especially in a tropical region, requires balance of hydration and oil control that Korean skincare do not prioritize
4. Culture and Dietary Differences: Indian diets are rich in spices, dairy, and fried foods, which impacts sebum production and acne. Korean diet is rich in fermented foods and sea food that makes skin care requirement different from an Indian Skin

How is Blue Nectar making space in Indian Beauty industry?

Rather, we shall be proud and embrace our sharper features, varied color tones, and accept skin changes with seasons. More importantly, a lot of ingredients used in Korean skincare are readily  available in our heritage, Ayurveda. Ayurveda recognizes that Indian skin thrives on simplicity and balance rather than excessive product use. Whatever our skin requires is readily available inside us or in nature.

Building on this philosophy, Blue Nectar, a contemporary ayurveda brand, has adopted a plant-based ingredient approach.  Blue Nectar offers most of the world’s skincare trend with innovative use and discovery of Ayurvedic herbs and their composition. These ingredients derived from plants nourish and nurture our skin as well, if not better than most chemical-based ingredients. Not many people know niacinamide, a popular skincare ingredient from Korea, is abundantly available in potato starch and papaya. Similar Kojic Acid—another very popular skincare ingredient—is available in rice water and mushroom.

Additionally, there is a lot of research available that supports the presence and beneficial impact of using natural ingredients. In a study done in the Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research in 2014, saffron was found to significantly reduce pigmentation and skin redness. In another research study published in the National Library of Medicine, rosemary oil was found to be as effective as 2% minoxidil in growing hair count.

Using plant-based actives gives following advantages in skincare:

1. Gentle yet effective ingredients: As these ingredients are derived from plants, they nourish and nurture the skin without being an irritant. Unlike synthetic chemicals that may be harsh or overly potent, these natural ingredients, like saffron and sandalwood, work with skin’s natural processes.
2. Rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients: Plant-based actives are naturally rich antioxidants and help combat free radicals responsible for skin aging. Anti-inflammatory ingredients like turmeric, sandalwood, neem, etc help soothe irritation, making products effective for acne and other skin conditions
3. Holistic Skin Wellness: Unlike conventional skincare, Blue Nectar’s ayurvedic formulations promotes holistic skin wellness by addressing the root cause of skin concerns rather than just treating symptoms
4. Sustainable and Eco Friendly: Use of natural ingredients and avoiding harsh chemicals reduces environmental impact, making Blue Nectar a preferred choice of eco-friendly skincare enthusiasts

Blue Nectar, with its root in Ayurveda, firmly believes that our body and nature hold solutions to most of our problems. Hence, before looking outside, let’s look inside ourselves and in our backyard to find plants, herbs, and spices that may address most of our problems.