Minimalist: Disrupting India's Beauty Industry

Overview

• Minimalist is a skincare startup achieving significant success in a short period.
• Generated over 360 crores in annual revenue within three years.
• Made 100 crores in just 8 months after inception.
• Focuses on the rapidly growing beauty and personal care industry in India, projected to reach $30 billion by 2030.

Founders

• Founded by two brothers, Mohit and Rahul Yadav.
  • Both are serial entrepreneurs with previous experience in children's fashion (Mango Street) and beauty brands.
  • Previous attempt in beauty with Freewell focused on custom hair solutions, but that venture helped identify market opportunities.

Industry Context

• India's beauty and personal care market is expected to grow at a 10% rate.
• Key categories: Bath and Shower, Hair Care, and Skincare.
• Minimalist targeted the Skincare category focusing on active ingredients.

Insight 1: Category Creation

• First brand in India to solely focus on active ingredients in skincare products.
• Active ingredients are chemicals that target specific skin concerns (e.g., wrinkles, dryness).
  • Contrast to inactive ingredients which enhance active ingredients’ performance.
• Customers previously focused on brand recognition, gimmicky claims, and insecurities.

Insight 2: Building Trust

• High competition with many new brands emerging in the market.
• Minimalist has a customer repeat rate of 60%.
• Focus on in-house production, ensuring product quality and reducing reliance on third-party manufacturers.
  • Vertical integration strategy enhances control over product quality.
• High sourcing costs (40-50% above average), prioritizing quality over gross margin to generate customer loyalty.
• Reduced marketing costs (25% compared to competitors) due to strong word-of-mouth from satisfied customers.

Insight 3: Accessibility

• Products priced affordably (200-600 rupees), targeting the mass market.
• Strategy aligns with the growth of India's middle class (31% to 47% by 2030).
• Focused on educating consumers about skincare, removing intimidation factors.

Market Expansion Strategy

• Expanding internationally, with 10% of sales from markets like the UK, US, Gulf countries, and Southeast Asia.
• Recently expanded product range to include body care and hair care (50 products total).
• Future plans to open 100 exclusive business outlets (EBOs) to enhance customer education and brand presence.

Conclusion

• Minimalist illustrates effective disruptive strategies in a competitive market through quality, education, and accessibility.
• Future developments in their strategy will be interesting to watch as they continue to grow.