Amid the pandemic, the health and wellness segment faced a sea change by getting the fuel for growth from the rising consumer consciousness. People started prioritizing their health by adopting fitness technologies, and services and opting for health trainers. The wellness industry was pivoting at a fast rate, the increased health consciousness has fuelled the wellness industry into overdrive, and is making it grow into a stronger and fitter industry.
According to research, the health and wellness industry is booming to become a $4.5 trillion business. Given the scope, the sector poses it is now time for the direct-to-consumer brands to lap up the opportunity and woo the audience with innovation, customer-centric products, and services to win them for life.
Talking Points:
And the session was moderated by Siju Narayan, Chief Experience Officer, RexEmptor Consult LLP
D2C brands have been disrupting the retail ecosystem by listening to acting on customer feedback actively. They are offering personalized, value-for-money products and always looking for feedback from their customers.
They often create a forum to get constructive feedback which can help them improve their product. Anurag Kedia, Co-founder, and CEO, Pilgrim said, “When I started the business, I was already a part of the beauty and wellness space for about 15 years and got the privilege of speaking to more than 5000 consumers. Over the last 15 years, I have witnessed that consumer preferences were evolving and one of the trends was that people were not happy with Haldi/Chandan/ Kumkum that was more predominantly available in the market. People were seeking new and effective solutions. The customers were exposed to the international trends and were looking for Korean beauty-inspired products, but the only problem was that the price points were not friendly in a country like India. By the time we started researching Korean beauty we realized that there are equally powerful beauty traditions that have not been marketed well.”
He further added to it, “We realized that there are multiple such rituals and traditions which are available across the world, and Indian customers are ready for it only when they are offered on a certain price point. So, we started delivering the best of the world at the right price point.”
Indian e-commerce is booming at a high rate with the beauty and wellness segment getting enough traction and response all across the demograophics of the country. The pandemic has also increased the madness and spree of online shopping. But with the prevailing competition in the market, the beauty brands are facing challenges like finding niche & value propositions, reaching out to customers, and finding customer loyalty.
Romita Mazumdar, Founder, and CEO, Foxtale talked about this and told us, “After I entered the space as an entrepreneur, I felt that competition just means how fast the market is growing. If I worry about the competition, I will not get mental peace. But D2C brands are also competing with the marketplaces like Amazon, and Nykaa in providing on- time delivery. Brands are also doing full enablement by themselves which we’re not doing currently so we’re figuring out to get better at every step. The other competition we are facing is the category competition.”
Every company prides itself on giving customers what they ask for. Customers often describe the solutions they want in fewer focus groups and surveys and sit back and wait while R&D rolls up its collective sleeves and gets to work on materializing their ideas. Aditya Ruia, Co-founder, of Beco told us how they are using customer’s inputs at the time of creating products, “While working with Dia Mirza, United Nations, and Animal Planet we realized that people like to co-create and suggest new ideas. They are looking for an opportunity through which they can contribute in a certain way. Just taking the inputs and using it as a platform that can allow people to communicate back is important.”
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