Natural and herbal skincare brand Jovees Herbal is targeting revenue of Rs 175 crore this financial year. The brand currently retails online as well as over 35,000 offline retail stores across India and plans to expand into international markets. “Currently, our products are available in Sri Lanka, the Middle East, France, Malaysia, Mauritius and the Maldives. We expect to triple our exports over the next two years,” Rakhi Ahuja, CEO of Jovees Herbal, told FinancialExpress.com. The brand plans to achieve 2x March 2022 sales by March 31, 2024, she added. As for the current holiday season, Jovees Herbal expects growth of at least 20% over last year during the festivities.
Here are the edited excerpts from the interview.
What was the idea behind the introduction of the brand?
The brand was created in September 2004 with 24 products. We offer a wide range of products to our consumers i.e. skin care, hair care, body care, professional range and also Ayurvedic products. Today, Jovees has more than 3,000 employees. And we have sold more than 100 crore units since our establishment.
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Tell us about your business presence and expansion plans.
We ensure to be available across India through various retail channels. We have partnered with 18 e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Nykaa, Purple, Reliance, etc. and in more than 35,000 retail stores. We strive to reach a wider audience in the online and offline space. We are aiming to achieve 2x sales of March 2022 by March 31, 2024. Apart from potential new customers in India, we are also looking to broaden our horizons in the international market. We are also in the process of expanding our recently launched professional category over the next two years.
What percentage of your sales come from offline retail channels versus online channels?
About 94% of our revenue comes from our offline retail channels and the remaining 6% comes from e-commerce and exports.
What kind of investment goes into your marketing strategies? Are there plans to increase it in FY23?
Our marketing budget for the financial year 2022-23 is around Rs 20 crore. We recently onboarded Parineeti Chopra as our brand ambassador. We strongly believe in allocating 70% of our budgets to amplifying content across various media platforms because there is no point in creating content if it does not reach the maximum number of people. Over the next 3 years, the brand plans to spend around Rs 75 crores on marketing as we have exciting plans for the future both in terms of product line and marketing.
When it comes to the holiday season, we have festive offers based on market feedback. Currently we are in the middle of our campaign and we have a 360° campaign which includes TV, outdoor, digital marketing, OTT platforms and social media.
Shed light on the brand’s Omnichannel strategy.
A “seamless experience” is what a brand should focus on when working on omnichannel strategies. Keeping the same key visuals across all platforms – whether offline or online – helps create great brand recall. The same goes for product offerings, offers and the provision of cross-channel customer support.
In terms of technology upgrading at Jovees Herbal, we keep updating our website to the latest technology for a smoother shopping experience. We are also working on a project for the Metaverse currently.
How has consumer buying behavior changed in the beauty industry over the years? How does the segment adapt to this?
The increase in disposable income has contributed to the growth of the Indian beauty and personal care industry in recent years. The key factor driving the Indian beauty and personal care market is the growing attention paid by individuals to personal hygiene and skin health. Demand for the products is fueled nationwide by a growing female workforce, rising fashion trends, and popularity of social media. India’s beauty and personal care industry reached a value of Rs 54,558 crore in 2020, due to increased spending on personal care products. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% during the forecast period, 2022-2027, aided by growing penetration of a diverse range of brands and growing popularity of herbal products.
