The CMO was excited much! It was finally happening! The long overdue, much awaited, eagerly anticipated beauty revolution.
The ‘resistance’ had been ongoing for a while now, but it was a little yelp here, a teeny growl there, a teensy sigh, a small whimper, a modest cry, a meek protest and in some little corner something of a statement.
While it was well meaning, certainly well intentioned, it lacked might, it lacked sound and it most certainly fell short on reach and therefore impact. And then there were the ‘let’s be trendy’ and get on the ‘Gen Z wagon’. Super lip service only, like strictly just for ‘show’ folks! CSR budgets, ring a bell?
It irked the righteous, annoyed the digital natives. The well-informed fluid folks were peeved to say the very least! These blips and bloopers honestly served no one and yielded no ROI in the strictest sense of bringing about true reform. Nay! Far from it!
And then rings in 2025, bells and whistles et al. Marketers wake up to the sound of music, literally. The beauty industry is blushing, figuratively. The start up founders are hi-fing, virtually.
Beauty is truly metamorphising in India. It is changing. It is really waking up. Oh! such a euphoric moment. The biggest daddy of them all has decided to bandy with a born in goodness brand, created with the purest of pure, beloved by its loyal tribe.
HUL seems to be telling India ‘Beautiful is You’, each and every one of you. It’s creating seismic waves by driving cultural change. That’s the magnitude of this news. Why, one might ask?
For years, we have known, beauty is skin deep, it is what is on the inside. In the literal sense – it goes deep into the dermal layers and effects change from ‘within’ It is therefore important that we are equipped with the right knowledge on what we are ‘applying’ It was a well-kept, beautifully preserved secret by the alchemists of beauty – the ubiquitous R&D folks, crafting formulation after formulation with a deep study of what’s okay, what’s not and what’s passable by legal to allow for marketing to make ‘claims’, many a times tall so long as it was ‘just within the percentage'.
So, where was all this documented? At the back of pack or BOP in small font (almost like mutual funds are subject to market risk..) as it is lovingly referred to in FMCG parlance.
So, the consumer never knew – 5x fairer, whiter in 7 days, 2x better hydration, SPF 100 (what?) and so on and so forth, the front of pack (or FOP, as it is called by marketers, R&D, packaging, legal, supply chain, distribution, procurement. Oh my!) claimed in bold lettering!
And so on and so forth, same formulation, different fragrance, same formulation, different colour, same formulation, single teeny ingredient change. Oh! and if nothing else simply say – now in a new better pack! (sounds familiar?)
The consumer kept buying, was forced to upgrade to the ‘new’ (FOMO, much!) and kept wondering, why she (not being sexist here, but it was only a she for the longest time!) wasn’t getting, younger or fairer.
And then entered brands that bravely reversed the narrative. They just flipped it, you see, literally! The BOP moved to the FOP. Let there be light, said the beauty Gods and consumers were enlightened.
Hyaluronic acid, Salicylic acid, Niacinamide, Glycolic acid, Kojic acid, Peptides, Retinol, Ceramides, Lactic Acid, Vitamin C, Biotin, Glycerin, AHA, BHA, Broad Spectrum, Non-comedogenic (Familiar much, right?)
A new linguistic device was born and it spread three layers skin deep. (pun intended!)
It was fascinating, how quickly consumers unlearnt old behaviours and actively began looking for ‘active ingredients’ and ‘sourcing’ strategies. But, this was still limited to certain generational cohorts with decent disposable incomes. And so the mass produced, BOP first, hidden on FOP brands continued to make profit, rule the roost and do a little bit of speakeasy (for perception) on ‘sustainability’ ‘green’ ’clean’ etc. But it wasn’t enough and did nothing.
Now, with the reach of Unilever being available and accessible to a brand like Minimalist. A brand that was India’s answer to Ordinary. Almost looks like a Homeopathic bottle, what with its dropper, the dark tinted glass and that label (a compounder would physically apply) with the callout that states clearly one per cent x acid, two per cent y acid and so on. Simplicity woven in curiosity to craft extraordinary impact.
If Unilever maintains the essence of this good brand and uses its might to retail at a lower price point, giving it the levers pan India, distribution edge, it will be Manna!
Mama Mia! It will craft a cultural revolution. It will inform, educate and guide India to clean beauty that begins with good skin from within and all else will be built on it, not without.
It will transform the roots, the legacy, the foundation of a healthy relationship with beauty. It will be truly unisex, it will be cutting edge, it will be what the dermatologists have advocated for years and what R&D scientists have been waiting to create.
It will be a marketer’s dream to promote what’s truly there in the loudest decibel across every conceivable media. Legal can rest in peace, assured that no consumer is going to drag them to court and nobody is looking to sue!
Most importantly, this is just the beginning, the resistance song has been sung – Bella Ciao! (Goodbye beautiful) because 'Hello/ Real Beauty is here'. More such brands will define not just skin care but hair care, body care and finally make up.
Beauty is now truly beautiful!