Beauty and wellness industry is valued at $16,95,661.4 Million in 2024. Back in 2013, it was roughly around $15,95,165.9 Million. Can you see the digit change that happened?
Now let's talk what the numbers would look like 10 years down the line. It's multifold growth, approximately $36,94,843.6 Million. Yes, by 2034.
“Everything is chemical, water is chemical, therefore chemical-free skincare products don't exist”
~ Minimalist Founders
The tagline Hide Nothing, speaks weight for the brand. We know Minimalist as a brand that's in for everything inventive when it comes to skincare, haircare, and bodycare. But how did they move to this approach? Why would they even think about inventing something out of the box when there's already hundreds of formulations available out there? Let's get into the skin of the brand:
The Visionaries
Everyone likes a good team. The co-founder must be great, be ready to adapt to changes. And that's what is just too good about Yadav Brothers.
Mohit and Rahul Yadav
Yadav brothers, basically the co-founders of Minimalist, paved their way together since the initial days.
Scopial fashions
Rahul and Mohit Yadav, initially came up with Scopial (Scope for Discovery), an online t-shirt store. Designers from across the globe were able to submit designs for t-shirts directly on the website. Rahul himself is a Graphic Designer, and Mohit is a Chartered Accountant.
At Scopial, Rahul handled everything technology and Mohit looked after the financial aspects. Sequoia capital didn't invest in this venture but still the brothers were great at execution of the project, back in when there were just a few online players.
CarDekho partnership
Next, Yadav brothers partnered with CarDekho. They were part of the core team back in 2013. They, during their times at CarDekho played some pivotal roles in business and product.
Freewill
Just as the name suggests, the concept was just too unique to the market. Freewill, a personalised hair care brand, did entice customers, but scaling became a problem. The experience at Freewill was amazing. The brothers were able to get a lot of learnings on what Indian consumers want, how direct to consumer distribution is done, and the right way to deliver the right product.
Minimalist
Yadav brothers pivoted to Minimalist when Freewill didn't scale the way they desired. In 2020, Minimalist happened. Again the location Jaipur. Minimalist is an Internet first brand offering skincare products to consumers. They have products for body, face, and hair.
The total fundings the brothers have received so far is $16.8M. The company as of July 23, 2021 is valued at $76.9M and the annual revenue as on March 31, 2023 was recorded at $23.4M.
Lessons Learned From Previous Startups
Before getting into how Minimalist Skincare happened, let's rip down some events that made Minimalist a profitable venture from day one.
Both the founders in their previous days worked for a series of ventures. Their initial business Scopial fashions, and then the pivot to freewill, gave them a lot of valuable lessons, like
Importance of resilience in the face of adversity. The founders faced a lot of setbacks and challenges, like finding constraints when sequoia capital didn't raise funds for Scopial. The brothers remained steadfast. They were able to weather storms
Agility and adaptability. Yadav brothers quickly realised that the key to growth lies in quick decision making - that's their pivot they made during Freewill days. Even now, the brothers often fine tune Minimalist’s product offerings to outmanoeuvre competitors
Customer centricity does bring competitive advantage. Each venture the brothers started with, they prioritised understanding and addressing the needs of the target audience. They do very quick customer redressal, like you can see in the picture below:
Strategic resource allocation. Minimalists brought science back to the room. But this single decision did cost founders a lot of funds for operations. The brothers prioritised investment in product development. They took a disciplined approach so that their mission doesn't go on a toss
Building a strong team, a culture. Drawing from their experience with Scopial fashions and Freewill, the founders understood having a great idea is important, but what's more essential is surrounding oneself with talented individuals.
The Birth of Minimalist, Let's Say Beminimalist
Dot&Key, Dr. Sheth’s, KIMRICA, Nutriglow Cosmetics, Pahadi Local - well I can list tens and hundreds of brands that are now the competitors of Minimalist Skincare. It's been obvious since decades, the whole beauty and personal care industry is highly competitive. Atleast these are the new players.
Let's talk about the older ones like P&G, Hindustan Unilever, L’Oréal, and much more. These players, since they are in the field for long, the penetration is multifold.
But since the industry is so huge, many new brands keep on entering the space. Yadav brothers, with the same vision to grab some market share entered the space, and now Minimalist is the fastest growing D2C brands in India.
Let's get into the details
Rahul came up with Scopial in 2008. Then Scopial was rebranded to Mango Street which was further acquired by HushBabies. The brothers then moved to CarDekho, but their entrepreneurial spark in them felt the need to start a new venture - and here's where Freewill happened.
The duo didn't have to do a lot of research because being a chemical engineer Rahul had a fair idea of formulations. All they had to do was invest heavily in building a network of researchers and build an amazing R&D team.
After entering into the personal care space, the brothers did extensive research in customer’s requirements. The thing we spoke about before in the “lessons learned” section.
Freewill to Minimalist
When the brothers initially started with freewill they gave customisation major importance. It was a homegrown venture, and the mission was to order customised hair products based on each customer's unique requirements.
That means 100 customers, 100 different formulations = a 100% satisfaction rate.
The customisation was done based on lifestyle, habits, and climate in which the customer lived.
The business went well, the idea of offering personalised solutions based on advanced technology was something very unique. It was obviously a lot different than the existing players. But in a year itself, the founders faced scalability issues.
They were not able to do retail, expand, instead were pouring more money into marketing.
The initial approach - offering personalised products to each customer didn't actually work, but the lesson was learned, and then Minimalist Skincare happened.
One thing the duo learned from free will is that - by offering the product and by being transparent enough, a successful brand can be built.
2020. COVID happened, and Minimalist happened too.
Minimalist was launched in October 2020. The team grew to an INR of 100Cr business within 8 months of launch. The company was profitable in the first month itself. There was no negative EBITDA, all 100% positive since month 1.
Key Events That Shaped Minimalist’s Journey
Let's talk a bit numbers now, and some amazing events
Minimalist Skincare Series A funding
Within nine months of business, just because the brand was able to generate 100Cr revenue in 8 months of its inception; the brand was able to attract multiple investors.
In its Series A funding, Minimalist Skincare raised $15 million, approximately Rs. 110 Crore. This round was led by Sequoia Capital (now XV Capital) with participation from Unilever Ventures.
108 Cr revenue in FY22
The D2C brand was able to five-fold its growth within three years of its launch. It reportedly crossed the 100Cr revenues in FY22. In 2022, Minimalist used to retail its product through its own Website, Amazon, Nykaa, Myntra, and others. The sole revenue source of the brand is its products itself.
184 Cr in FY23
From 108.1Cr to 184 Cr, Minimalist grew its revenue to 8x as compared to what its revenue was in FY21, that is 22Cr.
Marketing Strategy That Propelled Minimalist to Prominence
Minimalist Skincare, from the day of its inception it knew where to control its costs - marketing. The brand spent around 25% in marketing while the others were spending 40-50%.
The brand wanted to play on its USP. That is to make people aware. It educates customers through its marketing efforts. If you look at the website, you'll see everything about chemistry and biology, because that's what skin-body-hair care is all about.
The beminimalist brand’s vision is to be credible. And that's simply a very unique take. They post clinical study reports. They post research findings in a very digestible manner. And they even share cheat sheets to help customers compare and make informed decisions while they purchase.
There is consistency in their marketing approach, and they are sharing the right message to the right audience.
What do they do?
A mix of branding and performance marketing. Search for Minimalist Skincare on your Instagram, and the next minute you will see amazing ads by them.
Financial Fortitude
India is a price sensitive market. But if you'll look into Minimalist they are a bit on a costlier side. However, the offerings are innovative and this makes the brand stand unique. They didn't brand themselves as an affordable skincare product, instead their target audience is a ‘woke’ sect of society who knows and is eager to know what science can do to skin, hair, and body.
Operational Excellence
As mentioned previously, there are hundreds of brands in this beauty and wellness space. The only way to stand unique is by offering unique. And to offer something unique, you have to do your research and development independently.
The brand is able to come with superior quality products because of its heavy R&D investments. For example, there's a product by Minimal (patent is still pending) that has won the best hair serum award from Elle Magazine.
For long term value creation, the brand is also trying to differentiate its products through its unique offerings and loyalty.
And The Big Bet, Transparency
Minimalist’s ethos is “Hide Nothing”. The beauty and wellness industry is plagued by opaque formulations misleading claims. Minimalists however want to be authentic. And for that, if you'll look both at the packaging and how the branding is done - the brand showcases all the product information.
It even highlights the ingredient sourcing details and clinical research findings. Minimalist prioritises transparency. And that's why the brand not just earned the trust of discerning consumers but even set a new standard for accountability and integrity in the beauty industry.
Taking Minimalist Beyond Borders
Minimalist is charting new territories and expanding its global footprint. The brand's mission is democratising access to premium skincare solutions, not in India, but worldwide.
But here comes the pain point.
Mohit knew the best selling product in India could not be a great hit elsewhere, because of many reasons. Hence, the brand has to operate strategically everywhere.
While going global, the founders check out the trends, seasons, and skin conditions of individuals. Every country should have its own Hero Product.
That's why minimalists are also taking localised marketing initiatives. It wants to establish itself as a global leader in clean beauty, and that's why it's doing great in international markets - like The US, the UK, the Middle East, and some parts of South Asia.
Minimalist and Idea, Now A Minicorn, And In The Future?
Minimalist is now a Minicorn, just a few steps away from being a Unicorn. It's yet to reach the offline retail space. It's still a digital-first brand. But the scenario would change in the near future.
The brand is thinking of coming up with exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) because obviously they can't mess with the core - educate customers. The AI-powered face recognition systems will analyse people’s skin tone and will offer unique products, instead of some generic recommendations.
Minimalist skincare is both adapting and evolving to changing market dynamics. The future prospects look bright and promising. The brand is committed to its founding principles, and that's why we believe it can be a Unicorn soon. What do you think?