Fast beauty in India: Bewakoof CEO expects new brand to net U$13m in 18 months

Bewakoof is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) fast fashion brand founded in 2012. The company has amassed a consumer base of four million and has a top line figure of close to U$45m in sales

The company recently launched Cosmos Beauty to tap into the opportunities in the fast-growing beauty market in India.

Targeted and millennials and Gen Z consumers, Cosmos Beauty is a gender-neutral brand developed with plant and mineral ingredients.

The brand launched on Bewakoof’s official platform as well as top marketplaces like Amazon, Myntra, Tata Cliq, Flipkart, Nykaa.

“Beauty is a need which is picking up big time in India. It started with the women’s segment three years back and right now, it is picking up big time in the male segment also,” said Prabhkiran Singh, founder and CEO of the Bewakoof Group.

The company is following the footsteps of fast fashion giants Zara and H&M, which both have expanded beyond fashion and into categories including homeware, beauty, and tech accessories.

“The vision of Bewakoof was always to build a lifestyle brand. Our expertise lies in fulfilling the needs of our core audience, which are Gen Z and millennials. We are a brand that is super focused on young people and no matter what the needs this group has, we want to fulfil it, regardless of category,” ​said Singh.

With its strong base of existing consumers and expertise in digital content and marketing, the company is confident that it has a success on their hands.

“We will be disappointed if we don’t hit Rs100 crore (U$13.4m) in 18 months and we are quite confident of hitting Rs500 crore (U$67m) in four years,” ​said Singh.
The brand launched with 43 SKUs with prices starting at Rs350 (U$4.70).

“We see that there is a very big gap when it comes to pricing between the affordable and the high-end products and there's nothing in between. I think the market is underserved. People have high affordability than before, but there are fewer premium products out there,” ​said Singh.

In the next month, the company plans to roll out another 45 SKUs. Over the next quarter, it expects to release a total of 200 SKUs.

The rapid roll-out rapid is essential to retain the attention of its young consumer base, which have an insatiable appetite for everything new.

“This is a generation that likes to explore a lot before settling down with one option. We are seeing this consumer pattern in each segment, from the products they consume to travel,” ​said Singh.

He added that the company will leverage its “excellent”​ supply chains processes for fashion to keep up with a bevvy of products.

“We are seeing a new phenomenon and the way we see the beauty segment evolving is that it’s becoming fast beauty, just like fashion. Fast beauty is the way of the future and will want to be one of the leading players in it.”​