Colour combination: How India’s Juicy Cosmetics is reaping rewards with ‘clean’ make-up that takes care of the skin

Launched in November 2022, Color Chemistry is available in India, both online and offline, and has already chalked up USD $152,467 in sales.

The range includes face, lip and eye make-up, and has over 100 SKUs certified by ECOCERT under the COSMOS standard.

Speaking to CosmeticsDesign-Asia, ​CEO and co-founder Pritesh Asher said the aim of the range was to provide organic make-up that also cared for the skin to stand out in the country’s ‘cluttered market’.

“This started two years ago at the peak of COVID in our consumer engagement. As people were not going out, they stopped applying their regular make-up and realised that their skin health was not in the best shape. They were not happy with the quality of makeup in the market."​

“A lot of the make-up in the market promises of long stay and non-removable qualities. There was a trade-off between make-up and skin health, so that was our cue as we were already addressing skin health. ​

“We asked: What if we went back one step backwards and address it at the make-up level? Can we give our consumers certified organic make-up which help them to take care of the skin as well?”​

Ingredients for a successful launch​

The brand had conversations with over 3,000 consumers, with many stating they wanted clean beauty products.

Notably, about 60% to 65% of them said they were willing to retouch their colour cosmetics once a day if the products are good for their lips or skin.

On what guides new product development, Asher revealed that the brand has pioneered several “technology-driven products​” – referring to the science of natural and organic ingredients used in its products.

It previously partnered with an Australian supplier for ingredients such as Kakadu plum extract, which was obtained through cellular extraction from plant material. The brand also recently partnered with a manufacturer from Spain for the launch of its ampoule products, and Hungary for their magnesium products.

“We want to be able to give our consumers a line of products which are absolutely clean from the source. For the first time ever, the consumer can experience top of the line quality products that were never launched in the Indian market. ​

“We're constantly working with suppliers from around the world to bring the latest technology and ingredients that are completely natural and organic in this in this field. We are making all these advances as we as we develop the new line of juicy chemistry products,” ​Asher said.

Store expansion​

Juicy Chemistry currently has six flagship stores across India and a total of 20 touchpoints. They plan to increase that to ten stores and enter 25 franchises – bringing their touchpoints to at least 100 – by the end of 2023.

Asher sees the expansion of offline presence a key strategy to drive further sales in colour cosmetics:

“Especially after we launched make-up, we realised that [expanding our offline presence] is the strategy that we need to double down on. Whilst the reviews and sales have been extremely promising for us, we realise that offline strategy is going to be an extremely key for us to make sure that consumers are able to understand the product offering and then convert.”​

Additionally, the firm is also looking at distributing its products via franchising.