Twenty Beauty was launched three years ago by sisters Jyotsna and Santhoshi Reddy who wanted to develop a brand for Generation Z consumers.
“Unlike the generations before them, Gen Z consumers are very well informed and conscious about skin care and ingredients because of the evolving trends and the access they have to information through channels like social media,” said co-founder Jyotsna Reddy.
Prior to launching Twenty Beauty, Reddy was a cosmetic chemist working with cosmetic labs for a few years.
She told CosmeticsDesign-Asia that she leveraged on her background to create a range of colour cosmetic products infused with skin care benefits.
“Make-up is growing in popularity and is used as regularly as skin care now. Interest in make-up with skin care ingredients started recently because of the growing skin problems that people are experiencing and the attention they are putting into their products. These two factors are driving consumers to think about what goes into their make-up.”
Additionally, the company has also observed a demand for make-up that can help reduce the amount of time they spend on their beauty routines.
“Women nowadays have a very busy schedule. They are always on-the-go – not just with beauty, even with food, it’s just grab and go. Not a lot of people have all the time to do their make-up. Instead you can find many women doing their make-up on public transport. By having skin care ingredients in make-up, your morning routine can be faster and simpler,” said Reddy.
Beauty dispenser
Twenty Beauty products are available on their official website and physical stores.
However, the lifestyle of the urban beauty consumer inspired the company to expand their distribution channel with automated vending machines that dispense travel-sized products and kits that can easily fit into daily carry-ons.
Twenty Beauty began rolling out the vending machines early this year against the increasingly tense COVID-19 backdrop in India.
“While the idea of the vending machines came about before COVID-19, it came at a prompt time,” said Reddy.
With India easing out of lockdown, the company is eyeing opportunities to expand its vending machine network.
“Right now, when you go out, it can be quite stressful because there’s a fear of COVID-19 and all the precautions you have to take. The best part of our vending machines is that it limits your potential with people and it’s very fast. We're very glad we made the decision to start the vending machines now,” said Reddy.
She revealed that the firm was aiming to have at least 1,000 vending machines across the country by the end of this year.
Additionally, it plans to focus its efforts on its e-commerce business which has grown by 25% since the country went into lockdown.
“We want to continue growing both online and offline, but we will be more active online given the situation and amplify sales more with online marketing.”