While most made-in-India brands have taken the route of going from a D2C format to an omnichannel business model, skincare and beauty brand Fixderma went about it the other way around: from being present across multiple sales touchpoints to now paying increasing attention to its D2C channel as brand awareness grows.
According to a Euromonitor International Study, India, the 8th largest skincare and personal beauty market in the world, skincare and cosmetics are expected to drive that growth. According to Statista, in 2020, India’s beauty and personal care industry was valued at one trillion Indian rupees and is expected to increase to about two trillion Indian rupees by 2025.
Shaily Mehrotra, CEO and Founder of Fixderma, says that when the company started in 2010, it began by pitching its products directly on the doormats of doctors and dermatologists, as well as clinics and chemists. “We jumped into online selling only three years ago, since we were not a D2C brand. So the journey has been long; it takes time to establish a brand especially when you don't have funding in the beginning (this was before Indian brands became such a VC darling).”
“We are very lucky and are in a sweet spot to be very honest, since we are not a traditional D2C company in that we didn't start our brand like that. First, we were an omnichannel company. We had exports in place for a very long time (we are exporting to more than 34 countries right now) and more than 50% of our business was coming through exports and sales to doctors and chemists. We are not migrating from a D2C brand to an omnichannel brand. It was the other way round with us.”
Over time, Fixderma has built up an enviable catalogue of products as well as reached out to a multitude of markets, all while sticking to its brand identity. “As the name Fix-Derma suggests, all our products are looking at fixing your derma, which is fixing your skin, the largest organ of your body. So all our products are like problem solvers.”
In a global market increasingly dominated by Korean products, Mehrotra notes that the company has managed to crack into tough markets like Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and even those with porous borders into India like Nepal and China.
“Over there, we have so many European companies that have already been present for ages. We’re so proud to say an Indian skincare company has found a foothold where they have doctors that really rely on our quality. We are also there in South America. Internationally, we’re looking at the Middle East and in India, we’re looking to crack into the highly competitive North East market. So the future is very bright for us.”
