The firm’s customer feedback found that consumers prioritised “holistic, end-to-end solutions”, said Founder and CEO Shilpa Khanna Thakkar.
To meet this demand, the company tapped into the expertise of South Korean cosmetic manufacturers.
“We were impressed with the quality of ingredients and their understanding of it as well when we spoke with their R&D team,” said Thakkar.
The company was able to work with the Korean team to customise it for the Indian consumer.
“They were also able to customise to the Indian skin. When I speak to other regional manufacturers, they were not able to adapt to it as well. We felt the Korean team was more accepting of the insights we were giving them about the Indian market, say pigmentation issues, as well as our customisation requirements.”
Additionally, the team accounted for internal factors like where Indian skin falls in the Fitzpatrick scale, and external factors like climate and pollution.
The skin care line, which launched six months ago, contains five products. The company settled on a simple line, rather than conventional multi-step K-beauty regimes.
Education required
After launching the range, education was one of the company’s major challenges.
Thakkar highlighted that the beauty space was riddled with misconceptions, such as the belief that a high concentration of actives have greater efficacy.
“You should not go with such a high concentration, for example Vitamin C, daily. Under the guidance of a dermatologist, they may tell you to apply a high concentration for a period of two to three weeks, but not something in your daily skin care. It has to be soothing and not harsh to your skin.”
Thakkar told us that its skin care range was only the first stage of its expansion into beauty and personal care. She added its next step was to move into hair care.
“Hair care is a very evident choice for our next phase.”
Next phase
Founded in 2019, Chicnutrix is the subsidiary Fullife Healthcare. It started with four SKUs in hair and skin care and currently has more than 20 SKUs covering women’s health and lifestyle.
A majority, around 60% to 70%, of its sales come from e-commerce across India, including its official website and major e-commerce platforms such as Nykaa, Amazon, and Flipkart.
It is also exporting via international shipping to about 20 countries across all the continents. The brand said the demand is mainly driven by Indian diaspora, likely through word of mouth, as there is no targeted marketing in its overseas markets.
It also has a presence in offline retail store, such as pharmacies and beauty retailers in India’s tier-1 cities.
Thakkar said the firm will focus on expanding in tier-two cities given the growing demand on its online platforms.