Main Highlights
- Juicy Chemistry, an organic personal care products firm, is poised to reach the Rs 100 crore club in the next 16-18 months in the beauty and personal care market.
- Average orders have increased in the last six months, according to Juicy Chemistry’s growth chart.
- The Coimbatore-based startup has secured $6.3 million in Series A investment led by the Belgian firm Verlinvest.
- This money will be used to support foreign growth ambitions and even the introduction of new product categories.
Direct-to-consumer (D2C) businesses have thrived as a result of the country’s digital revolution during the last year. Juicy Chemistry, an organic personal care products firm, is poised to reach the Rs 100 crore club in the next 16-18 months in the beauty and personal care market.
“The consumer offtake has definitely grown; the interest has increased since consumers have mostly become accustomed to buying online,” says Pritesh Asher, Co-founder, Juicy Chemistry, of the brand’s recent surge in client orders.
People had to adopt internet purchasing for all of their requirements as a result of the pandemic, which proved advantageous for most D2C businesses in terms of brand exposure. The cosmetics and personal care sector in India is rapidly expanding, with both old and new companies joining the market. The organic personal care product industry has a consumer base since today’s consumer is increasingly ecologically concerned.
How will the funds be used?
Average orders have increased in the last six months, according to Juicy Chemistry’s growth chart. The firm receives 30,000 orders each month and expects to reach 50,000 in the next few months. According to Asher, the peak shopping season in October 2021 will assist them in meeting objectives and exceeding 70,000 orders by December.
The Coimbatore-based startup has secured $6.3 million in Series A investment led by the Belgian firm Verlinvest. This money will be used to support foreign growth ambitions and even the introduction of new product categories.
Pritesh and Megha Asher co-founded Juicy Chemistry in 2014 with the purpose of providing effective skincare products designed with the cleanest and most nutrient-rich ingredients nature has to offer.
The pair came across a salesperson attempting to promote natural goods while shopping at the mall. Pritesh was shocked to discover references of chemicals that were utilized as raw materials at his petroleum products production facility when he read the ingredients list. “I handed the product back to the salesman, and all I could think of was the oxymoron, where the front of the label screamed natural and organic, but the back of the label screamed preservatives, parabens, mineral oils, synthetic colors, fragrances, and more,” Pritesh explained.
How was Juicy Chemistry ideated?
A further in-depth examination of personal care items and their chemicals revealed to the couple that even baby-care products included possible irritants. Worse, many companies professing to be organic and natural could not be further from the truth.
When they shared their discoveries and views with friends and family, they discovered that there was little to no understanding of what an ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ product is and how some synthetic chemicals may potentially cause harm in the long run. Whether it was due to an apparent lack of consumer knowledge or the lack of a truly ‘organic’ brand accessible, there was an obvious vacuum in the market.
Pritesh, who came from a manufacturing background, was well-versed in complicated formulas and production methods, among other commercial subtleties. The pair decided to put his skills to use in an effort to establish a fully organic skincare brand driven by Mother Nature’s goodness.
Juicy Chemistry products are created with great thought, work, and study, and they include no synthetic ingredients or preservatives. The products are concentrated, contain no water, and are all ECOCERT certified organic. “We are now doing hair care and facial care, and we plan to develop in that area,” Asher says.
As part of its product diversification, the firm will expand into organic dyes and hair care items. They have a presence in Australia, France, South Africa, and Nepal, and are planning to debut in the UAE. They will examine Amazon US for expansion in the United States. In India, there are intentions to expand geographically by expanding into Tier-II cities.
The pandemic-caused digital revolution in e-commerce has been enormous, and it has the potential to continue post-pandemic. Juicy Chemistry’s expansion strategy includes both online and physical shops. When asked about the popularity of personal care items in physical stores, Asher argues that India is still a touch-and-feel market.
According to research issued earlier this year by Avendus Capital, the cosmetics and personal care market in India is expected to reach $30 billion by 2025. This industry’s natural and organic products sector will account for five to ten percent of the total.
