In Conversation With Mr. Rachit Gupta, CEO & MD, Oxyglow Cosmetics

• Please tell us about the journey of Brand OxyGlow.

OxyGlow takes its inspiration and legacy from one of India’s oldest personal care companies founded by my grandfather Mr. Chhiddha Mal Gupta in the late 60’s. The group started its operations with the manufacturing of Heena and exporting the same to 30 countries across the globe and later on diversified into Herbal Hair Colours, Herbal Hair Care, Personal Care Products, Real Estate and Education. Black Rose Kali Mehandi brand from the group portfolio became synonymous with Heena in India and our brand Color Mate introduced Indians to the fascinating world of hair colours.

With the determination to infuse new ideas and procedures, I joined the family business at the young age of 16 and was involved with the day-to-day operations of the group. This was the time when I traveled a lot to interact with our channel partners and realized that beauty salon culture especially in Tier 2 and 3 towns is a promising industry and is booming, but lacks heavily in quality products. And, this challenge of empowering thousands of small beauty salon businesses and through them, millions of small-town customers with quality beauty care products provided a great deal of inspiration. I started designing the business plan to develop a professional range, which is both high in quality and low in the price range to address this category. In 2009, after pursuing my MBA in Marketing from SP Jain Institute of Marketing and Research, I launched the first product under the brand name OxyGlow Herbal Cosmetics – a handmade facewash, which became a hot-selling cake. Since then, there is no looking back for the brand and to date, we have launched over 70 products with more than 190 SKUs. Today, OxyGlow has become the favourite cosmetics and beauty care brand of Aspirational Bharat.

Even overseas, our products enjoy an enviable reputation for high quality and affordability. Presently the company is exporting its products to more than 10 countries including the Middle East, UAE, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, USA, Yamen, Madagascar, and Australia. With a strong channel partner network of over 500 dealers and distributors, the company has aggressive plans to expand its retail footprint across the nook and corner of the country.

• Briefly explain your product portfolio.

An iconic blend of rich knowledge, high-quality ingredients and customized innovations, our product portfolio comprises Skin Care Products, Hair Care Products, Body Care Products, and the Professional range for Salons. We have an extensive range of products ranging from Facewash, Toner, Moisturisers, Serums, Bleaches, Facial Kits, Sun Protection Range, Shampoo, Conditioner, Hair Serum, Hair Colours, and Body Lotion to Hair Removal Products. Our professional range is quite popular amongst the beauty business aspirants and established salons of the country.

• Tell us more about your professional range.

In Tier 2, 3, and small towns, hair salons or city beauty parlors, are at the heart of the communities. Realizing the huge potential of the massive salon and beauty service industry in India, we entered into the professional segment with our Hair Color products. After witnessing a huge demand for this product range, we soon developed a complete range of products to meet the diverse requirements of professionals. We currently reach out to over 1 million customers in this segment through our robust distribution network of more than 500 distributors and dealers across India. Our Professional range includes Facial Kits, Blonder Powder Gel, D-Tan Packs, Hair Spa Creams, Professional Hair Straightener & Neutralizer Cream, Professional Hair Colours and Developers, Professional Keratin Treatment for Hair.

• Have you seen any shift in the consumer behaviour during pandemic?

With the rise of the pandemic, personal care has seen an upsurge. During the stay-at-home period consumers, both men and women started to take skin care more seriously. While on the other hand during the same period the demand for cosmetic products reduced significantly. Wear minimum became the phenomenon in the case of skincare products across the globe.

We had also witnessed the shift in demand from Offline stores to online platforms during the period. In addition, our products, which were available in small packs, were moving faster than the one’s in bigger professional packaging due to the uncertainty that prevailed during the period. Our overall sales had increased by 43% in the last year. We also realized the need for understanding and developing new marketing avenues to reach out to the consumers effectively and efficiently.

• What are your plans for the brand?

 OxyGlow aspires to create a responsible passion for beauty care and cosmetics amongst a broad spectrum of consumers, spread across different cultures, geographies, and age groups. Invoking India’s rich and ancient wisdom of self-care, we are determined to create the biggest and greatest Indian Cosmetic brand for the world that hold the power to set and change the narrative of personal care across the globe. We have recently launched BB Creams and Foundation for our customers and have plans to strengthen the product line by adding Vitamin C Range, Retinol Serum and Hyaluronic Acid. We have also ventured out into Private Labelling to help young entrepreneurs in their thrust to carve a name for themselves by assisting them with the manufacturing of the products.