The Clean Beauty Curator From being a largely skincare-driven brand Plum is now growing in all 5 categories - that is skin, hair, body, makeup and men's care

Shankar Prasad started in 2014 with a clean slate, and a consumer profile in mind. "Indian consumers at that time (and even today to a great extent) lack a science-driven approach to natural beauty, and that's what Plum is all about - delightful goodness crafted out of nature's best and "good science". Once this basic construct was in place, everything else fit in almost automatically - the brand language, visual depiction, product range, copy etc. From there on, it's been a slow and steady journey of working with our core base of consumers and addressing their evolving needs - it's now 8 years since our first product launched, but the basics haven't changed at all, admits Shankar Prasad, Founder & CEO, Plum.

Initially, it was only their website which was their window into the consumer world. Working directly with consumers gave them strong insights into their preferences, which moulded their way of thinking. Online marketplaces came next and then physical distribution.

Talking about the market size, Prasad says, "The total size of the beauty and personal care market in India is upwards of US$ 25 billion and growing at healthy double digits. The online share is less than 10% today but it growing faster than the overall market. Categories like toners, mists, serums and sunscreens were really small then, but are now a large part of the market."

From being a largely skincare-driven brand Plum is now growing in all 5 categories - that is skin, hair, body, makeup and men's care. In the last two years, they have almost doubled the product range. Talking about further expansion, Prasda says, "Channel-wise we would like to widen our digital funnel to bring in even more new-to-brand users, while on the retail side we will continue to expand through multi-brand as well as exclusive outlets."

FACTSHEET:

Best seller: Green Tea Night Gel

Total SKUs: 165

Team size: 185

Repeat customer ratio: 40%

Online platform resulting in maximum revenue: Own website

Turnover for FY 2021-22: 175cr

Split between offline and online sales: 40 offline, 60 online