When the Chemistry is Right Juicy Chemistry's co-founders ventured into the beauty space as complete newbies and are today looking to expand in international markets such as US and UAE
By S Shanthi
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Juicy Chemistry was started in 2014 with a mere Facebook page. Megha Asher, COO and co-founder, Juicy Chemistry initially led a fashion house and would visit exhibitions across the country to showcase her designs and would take Juicy Chemistry products along. This helped her and Pritesh Asher, CEO and co-founder, Juicy Chemistry interact with customers and understand the feedback around the products. Since they were on a tight budget, a Facebook page was enough. As the brand gained traction, it shifted to its own website.
"For us, a digital-first approach was more convenient and economical. We were able to successfully leverage the power of social media to build a thriving and supportive community," says Megha.
The co-founders ventured into the beauty space as complete newbies, from non-industry backgrounds. As a result, they had to do their fair share of groundwork to build a solid foundation for Juicy Chemistry. "Coming from a manufacturing background, Pritesh did have a sound understanding of the processes involved, which helped. In 2016, taking the online route became much easier as e-commerce began to gain traction. Having said that, we still felt a strong need to be visible to the customer and to leave an impression on their mind. Acting on this, we began making preparations to expand our offline presence," she says.
However, due to COVID-19, the co-founders had to make a u-turn, which eventually turned out to be good. In the last two years, Juicy Chemistry has seen phenomenal growth. In the year 2019, it took its angel round and observed a growth of 400 per cent in the following year. "2021 has been a different story as more and more brands pivoted to online channels of growth. Digital marketing has become very competitive, driving up acquisition costs. At the same time, operation costs, raw materials, and supply chain costs have also increased. 2021 has been a year of consolidation, tactical spending, and out-of-the-box thinking to draw in more customers. While we did observe growth, given all the factors it has been subdued. The idea for Juicy Chemistry is to grow sustainably and so we have to be smart about the choices we make and take corrective measures where and when necessary," she says candidly.
The brand's Juicy Actives is its latest innovation-driven offering, wherein it has tied up with an Australian manufacturer for its Cellular Extraction technology, which, it claims, is an industry-first. The startup's plan for FY 2022-23 is to focus on omnichannel growth. 70 per cent of its business comes from the D2C channel and the company is now looking to enter and invest in online marketplaces that can give its product line heightened traction. It is also looking to expand in international markets of the US and UAE. It has recently unveiled its flagship store in Chennai and is looking to enter different cities such as Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai, Delhi, etc.
The startup will be launching a cosmetic line this quarter and is currently working on developing muscle recovery-driven products and hair colors too.
