Beauty creation is a form of art! Kaushik Mukherjee and Vineeta Singh, both IIM Ahmedabad grads, founded the premium beauty brand SUGAR.

SUGAR was launched in 2012, at a period when the market was controlled by large competitors such as Lakmé, L’Oréal, and MAC Cosmetics. The goal was to ultimately create a variety that was more appropriate and economical for Indian skin tones. SUGAR has grown rapidly ever since, and the company now claims to have its set up in 195 locations across India. In FY19, it grew at a rate of 4X, resulting in sales of INR 200 crore. The company has aggressively expanded its retail footprint across the country, now operating in over 100 cities.

SUGAR engaged with Instagram and YouTube influencers in the early days to generate awareness for its goods among millennials and urban Indian women.

Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee, co-founders of SUGAR Cosmetics, were overjoyed when their company’s net income for FY 19-20 reached Rs 105 crore. As of January 2020, the Mumbai-based firm was producing monthly sales of Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore, with a revenue target of Rs 200 crore for the year. When the epidemic struck, however, the preparations came crashing down in a couple of weeks, scaring the husband-wife team.

THE BUSINESS HACK

The Indian beauty e-commerce market is considerably still in the nascent stage but may see a flurry of acquisitions in the upcoming three to four years as the smaller, direct-to-consumer (D2C) firms expand, following the US model.

The global cosmetics industry, for example, is expected to reach $428.9 billion by 2022. Furthermore, the Indian cosmetics sector is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 25% to $20 billion by 2025.

One of the reasons that beauty is moving toward e-commerce is that customers want to have digital experiences. People may now have nearly the same “real-life” experience online as they can in stores, making the transition from online material to an online shop much easier and less time-intensive (personal preferences, samples, etc.).

NAME

The company started its journey as an internet retailer of natural, paraben-free cosmetics and has now gained a global following. The visual identity of this Indian cosmetics brand is beautiful and sophisticated while yet appearing bold and confident, all thanks to the use of the white and black color combination. 

LOGO

The company’s logo consists of a wordmark on the left with an emblem that serves as the brand’s signifier, sharing a special appearance on all of the company’s cosmetic products.

TAGLINE

“Rule The World, One Look At a Time!!!” proclaims Sugar Cosmetics.

MISSION & VISION

According to Sugar Cosmetics’ mission statement, “We believe that beauty may be defined in a variety of ways. Every day to glamorous diva, from bold to restrained, insane to quirk! We want to celebrate every aspect of you, regardless of your personal style. So go ahead and vote for your favorites.”

INVESTMENT & FUNDING

Sugar Cosmetics has raised $35.5 million over the course of three investment rounds. Sugar’s most recent round of fundraising, which injected $21 million into the company on October 21, 2020, was the Series C round.

REVENUE

Sugar Cosmetics’ sales climbed to Rs 126.36 crore in FY21 from Rs 103.71 crore the previous fiscal year, with operational revenue increasing by 22%. Domestic sales drove the company’s overall revenues, accounting for 93.1 percent of total revenue and increasing by 34.1 percent from Rs 87.7 crore to Rs 117.61 crore in FY21. Sugar, on the other hand, had a 45.4 percent decline in export sales as a result of the travel and freight interruptions that the company experienced as a result of the pandemic outbreak.

QUALITY

Despite its limited budget, the team was able to get their launch items from a highly reputed German manufacturer: a kohl pencil and an eyeliner. The ‘Made in Germany’ emblem creating brand resonance across the customers had helped SUGAR get off to a solid start. At the time, the industry was hugely dominated by the trending gloss eyeliners, but SUGAR chose to create the matte version of it, assuming that its customers would prefer an everyday, elegant item. The eyeliner was the first of several product wagers created by SUGAR, and it paid out handsomely.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Instagram influencers have truly created the needed magic for this beauty brand’s promotion. To raise awareness, SUGAR hopped on the ‘unwrapping videos’ and ‘before and after’ makeover trend—their well-balanced strategies featuring videos of acid assault survivors like Anmol Rodriguez. The brand now has smoothly struck the 1 million Instagram followers mark, outnumbering competitors like Colorbar.

FUTURE

Outside India, SUGAR Cosmetics has set up its physical location in Russia and an internet presence in the United States as well. SUGAR Cosmetics plans to slowly expand its offline standalone shops in FY22. The company, which was founded in 2015, presently operates 70+ stores on its own, with plans to expand to 100 by December 2022.

According to some estimates, 95% of Indian business still takes place offline. SUGAR plans to leverage this to grow and diversify its retail base, as well as improve its retail marketing and visual merchandising.

Throughout the epidemic, SUGAR Cosmetics launched five new brand-owned retail outlets, prioritizing hygiene and safety for its retail customers. To improve its direct-to-consumer channels, the company is focusing on increasing its mobile app, which has already received 800,000 downloads within a year. Content marketing, strong collaborations strategies, and the introduction of new products will all be on the table in 2021. Sugar’s CEO, Vineeta Singh, has revealed the company’s current objectives, which include exceeding Rs 300 crore in revenue in FY22.

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