G&M Cosmetics is the maker of brands such as Australian Creams, DR. V, P’URE Papayacare, and Native Australian. Since it was established in 1996, the company has experienced success throughout the Australasian region as well as Europe.
The company recently launched in India and has found a niche in the “high middle to premium” market with its products, which tick all the boxes in terms of quality ingredients and certification that its local consumers are looking for.
“The middle class is growing, and they are hungry for international brands. It was primarily dominated by European brands but in the last few years, they’re leaning towards Australian and New Zealand brands,” said Peter Bosevski, global marketing and sales manager of G&M Cosmetics.
However, the company still faces stiff competition from legacy and independent new brands alike.
“There’s a lot of competition for us as a newcomer, not just foreign brands but also the homegrown Indian skin care brands are booming at the moment. That's exciting to see and its actually making us become more competitive and a bit more creative.”
One of its more out-of-the-box strategies is to target India’s wedding industry. Weddings are huge affairs in India and typically take place over a season when the weather is right.
The pandemic has impacted the wedding sector, but players are gearing up for a comeback to recover the billions lost over the past two years.
“The wedding industry in India is massive so we at looking at several huge opportunities to indirectly target this industry. Traditionally, brides in India are given gifts when they get married and we’ve got this positioning as a luxury brand.”
“That’s what we are trying to target, and we’ll have something rolled out in the next three months. When they think of our products, we want them to think of our products as a luxury, premium gift.”
A lengthy delay
In 2019, the firm revealed to CosmeticsDesign-Asia that it was about to tackle the Indian market with a much-anticipated launch with Amazon India. However, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented G&M from carrying out its plans.
“It took us 24 months – longer than expected, but that was COVID, it was out of everyone’s control. But we were patient and now we can work properly in India,” said Bosevski.
After the long delays, the company went all out with its entry into India. It launched three of its brands in India, including its marquee brand Australian Creams, Dr. V, and P’URE Papayacare, through Amazon India at the end of 2021.
In addition to Amazon, the brands will be available through online beauty retailer Nykaa starting in May. According to the firm, it is growing rate of 70% month-on-month in India.
“The response we’re getting from the market over there has been very, very positive. It’s been quicker than expected – we’re not walking, we’re sprinting. It’s going beyond our expectations. We are very happy and grateful that the Indian consumer is buying our products in droves,” said Bosevski.
In addition to Nykaa, the firm is in talks with platforms such as Myntra and Purplle for the second phase of its online expansion.
In addition to that, it will be launching on Taste of Australia, an online pavilion on Amazon India that is supported by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, or Austrade.
It is also in talks with retailers such as Health & Glow and Shopper Stop to launch its products offline.