With a revamped organization and an aim to step into the global market, Sukhleen Aneja, CEO Beauty and FMCG brands, Good Glamm Group, enters the space as a lady stalwart who’s got the right pulse for what the consumer needs and wants!
Coupled with a strong knack for marketing, execution abilities, and staunch leadership skills Sukhleen Aneja has spent more than two decades working across large fast-moving consumer goods companies. She recently took over as the CEO of the Beauty and FMCG Brands, Good Glamm Group to change the dynamics of the ever-evolving marketing landscape.
In an exclusive interaction with GlobalSpa Sukhleen talks about what made her change roles, the trends in the beauty industry, her marketing strategies for the Good Glamm Group, and the expansion plans of the group.
You have been in the business of selling brands for a long time now. How has the transition from being a CMO to the CEO of the Good Glamm Group been for you?
After two decades of experience working with some of the most respected FMCG companies in the country, the role of the CEO of Beauty and FMCG Brands at Good Glamm Group came at the right time. It felt like a natural next step in my professional journey. Over the years, I have witnessed many marketing strategies take shape in front of me. Creating a strategic road map for leading digital-first brands, integrating and scaling the recent acquisitions and leveraging the Unique digital ecosystem including content, creator and community for building strong FMCG/Beauty brands–my experience has allowed me to understand how to best create a roadmap for the future. Joining the Good Glamm Group at a time when the D2C revolution in India is truly taking wings has been nothing short of thrilling. It’s exciting to be part of this new wave and steer a D2C conglomerate with experienced leadership at the helm.
What are some of the marketing & business strategies you have planned for the group? And how do you plan to implement it?
In our journey towards becoming one of South Asia’s first DTC & Personal Care unicorns, we have focused on self-sufficiency. The strategic structure of our group with three core verticals – Good Brands Co, Good Media Co, and Good Creator Co. – allows us to implement our marketing plans and drive commerce through content effectively.
Under Good Brands Co, we have one of the largest portfolios of DTC Beauty & Personal Care brands including MyGlamm, Manish Malhotra Luxury Makeup exclusively by MyGlamm, The Moms Co., Sirona Hygiene, St. Botanica, Organic Harvest and BabyChakra. Good Media Co is one of the world’s largest digital content companies with 200 million MAUs and 4.5 Billion monthly organic impressions–it’s our in-house asset of content platforms including POPxo, Scoopwhoop, Miss Malini, Tweak India and BabyChakra. Our third asset, Good Creator Co., is one of the world’s largest tech-enabled influencer platforms with over 1.5 million creators and influencers providing content creation, deep data analytics, offline events, brand endorsements, networking and entertainment industry opportunities to influencers at scale. So, our main content-to-commerce strategy is ingrained in our DNA.
The Good Glamm Group also onboarded a strong set of celebrities–Shraddha Kapoor for MyGlamm, Sonam Kapoor for The Moms Co and Kareena Kapoor for St Botanica–who are truly the face of the brand they represent.
What trends in the personal care and beauty industry can we look forward to in 2023?
Throughout this year, we’ve seen a growing interest in beauty brands incorporating active ingredients such as Vitamin C, Hyaluronic Acid, Ceramides and more. In line with global trends, it is likely that consumers will continue to hold a sweet spot for skincare products with exotic ingredients. With brands and consumers shifting their focus not only toward self-care but also towards sustainability and environmental consciousness, it’s imperative that the industry will see a trend of more vegan, organic, cruelty-free, and consciously crafted products.
Keeping these trends in mind, MyGlamm has also introduced its latest face makeup range, the Super Serum range, which features Hyaluronic Acid and combines makeup and skincare in a new, revolutionary way. As for the other brands in our portfolio, The Moms Co. has also recently launched its Ceramides range, while St.Botanica has delved deeper into the exotic ingredient-based sphere with its Goji Berry range, following its existing Moroccan Argan range. All our brands continue to be vegan, cruelty-free and toxin-free.
How do you gain consumer trust with your new-age brands in a market where consumers are more inclined to stick to their staples?
Today’s consumer is particularly aware, informed, and eager to learn. Not only are they focusing on truly understanding the products they are using, but they are also interested in learning how their choices impact the future, whether on a personal level or in the bigger picture. As such, it is imperative that we truly listen to what our consumers want, and reflect that through our brands.
The unique content-to-commerce strategy that we implement through our three in-house verticals allows us to tap into newer marketplaces both online and offline. Social media has become a great platform for the discovery of new products and brands. So, naturally, we focus a great deal on social media and influencer marketing.
In one of our significant campaigns, MyGlamm administered the world’s largest democratic survey on identifying what our consumers are seeking from their beauty products. We have reached over 90M consumers and have over 15M responses to our survey. Through the #TellMyGlammWhatYouWant campaign, the brand has showcased its dedication toward truly listening to its customers, and personalising makeup in line with changing needs.
Do you think Indian brands are ready to push their boundaries and go global? And how likely are they going to find relevance with consumers in the international markets?
Absolutely! Indian brands understand what comes into play when catering to a diverse audience, across varying demographics and spending power. Having absorbed the ins and outs of truly understanding a massive consumer base, it is only natural that the next step looks at further expanding on the existing audience sphere.
The Good Glamm Group has earmarked Rs. 100 crores investment for international expansion. With management and a team of over 3,500 now spread across Singapore, India, Dubai and the US, Good Glamm Group is expanding in all key international markets backed by leading blue-chip Global Investors. We have already started sales in the Middle East and will soon be available in Saudi Arabia and Moscow. Our international revenue target is $150 million for the brands in our portfolio, over the next 3 years.
What are your expansion plans for the Good Glamm Group?
Besides international expansion, we are going headstrong towards our goal of launching our IPO within the next two years. Our target for the next 3-5 years is to be a 2,000-cr brand, with multiple 500-cr sub-brands in the portfolio, and we’re already halfway to achieving this target.
While we are digital-first, about 30 per cent of our revenue comes from offline sales. MyGlamm has a one-of-its-kind 3,500 square feet experiential store in Mumbai’s Juhu area, designed by a New York-based firm. We’re planning to launch two more such experiential stores in Bangalore and Delhi very soon. We currently have 1,500 shop-in-shops, and we expect to go up to 3,000 shop-in-shops by the end of 2023, with an increased focus on tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
Three products by the Good Glamm Group that you live by?
I honestly love all the products that we make. But a new addition to my daily routine is the Super Serum BB Cream from MyGlamm’s latest serum-infused face range. It allows me to get ready for work so much quicker in the mornings. Some other products that I regularly use include the Argan Oil Day Cream from St. Botanica’s Moroccan Argan Range, which has become a saviour through the winters and I carry wherever I go; and St. Botanica’s newest launch, the Goji Berry Sunscreen Serum has changed the skincare game for me. Powered with 500x more vitamin C than oranges, the goji berries help me get glowing skin and the SPF gives me sun protection at the same time.
What was the thought process, going into the associations with ‘Koffee with Karan’ and ‘Bigg Boss’?/ What was the aim behind MyGlamm’s associations with ‘Koffee with Karan’ and then ‘Bigg Boss’?
Earlier this year, MyGlamm partnered with ‘Koffee with Karan’, as the show’s official presenting sponsor. With that being our first TV show association of that scale, our aim was to expand our reach and penetrate into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
Realising the potential of television and OTT platforms in the present scenario, we went on to collaborate with Bigg Boss, with MyGlamm as the official makeup partner for this season. It is a step further towards reinforcing our aim of democratising beauty by leveraging the immense reach of the show.
How do you think Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands are reshaping the Indian consumer market
As India’s largest direct-to-consumer beauty brand, MyGlamm has created a paradigm shift in the way beauty products are formulated. MyGlamm was one of the pioneers in initiating an ecosystem where consumers tell the brand what they want in terms of their beauty and hence play an integral part in the brand’s creation process. Not only does MyGlamm have India’s largest beauty survey, but the brand also facilitates the perfect intersection of Beauty, Tech and Innovation.
Having a direct channel to the brand’s consumers helps us with faster consumer feedback, understand what the demand is, and how to address it effectively. Basing customer experience on analytical insights is the key to offering an enhanced level of personalisation. This also allows us to establish firm relationships with our customers and also expand our markets. As part of our omnichannel approach, we have a website, a dedicated app with features like a virtual try-on, and offline stores.
Tell us about the last most exciting product that MyGlamm launched and the vision behind it.
Concluding 2022 on a high note, we launched our first-ever serum-infused face makeup range with a TVC featuring brand ambassador Shraddha Kapoor. The new MyGlamm Super Serum face makeup range has been created for the multifaceted woman who wants to look glamm all day and seeks a multi-purpose product that offers benefits for her skin. Our makeup is rooted in innovation and created with the best skin-friendly ingredients.
