Safety has become a really highlighted thing in terms of consumer demand- Naveen Anand
Consumers are turning more aware and this has led them to ask the right questions and is concerned about the safety of their skin. On the launch event of Oriflame Optimals, we had Mr Naveen Anand, Senior Director, Marketing, Oriflame South Asia, sharing his thoughts on how important it is to follow skincare routines for a healthy skin, the marketing strategies of Oriflame and much more.
Kindly give us a brief about your brand, Oriflame.
Oriflame, as a brand, has now celebrated 50 years of existence and the brand is in over 60 counties today. We’ve had an excellent time in growth, whether it is in geographies or sales. So, we are a strong brand with a lot of heritage and we continue to be extremely proud of our values and heritage.
How has been your entrepreneurial journey so far?
It has been very interesting. The company has been extremely welcoming and has given me the right opportunities to settle in. I am truly enjoying being in the field with consultants and I am also understanding the beauty business. It has been a delightful experience so far and I am sure it will continue the same way.
How is Oriflame bringing a change in the beauty and skincare routines of Indian women?
The word ‘routine’ is really dear to our strategies. There is a lot of science that we have seen in the recent past that when you use only one product in skincare, you do not get the optimal effect. You need to have a routine of products and that gives you the optimal effect. We do promote passionately the routine of cleansing and toning the skin, then taking care of the skin around the eyes, add in a product that can boost the process and then moisturise. This might sound like too many products to go with but it is a work of less than 2 minutes. So, when you follow this routine 2 minutes in the morning and evening, you get the promise of a beautiful and glowing skin. When it comes to beauty and wellness, having a routine helps you to be that much healthier.
What are your views regarding the Indian beauty Industry?
Indian beauty industry continues to be growing. The Euro monitor data said that the last 5 years, the cumulative growth has been 16% and the coming 5 years are expected to be double-digit growth. So, the market is expanding and we are excited about it. I would like to point out that there has been one key difference that I have noticed in the last few years that the Indian consumer has become far more demanding. They are asking all the right questions like what are the claims on the products. , how do you back up those claims etc. So, the consumers are not only asking about the cheapest products but are also looking for value, something which is worth the money spent. The consumers want safe products since no one wants to take chances with their skin. Safety has become a really highlighted thing in terms of consumer demand. At Oriflame, we spend a lot of time with our scientists in order to make sure that every product that the consumers get is a safe product and any claim we make is backed by science.
With your new launch, who is your target audience and what can they expect from the same?
From target audience point of view, we have two tiers of pricing. We have a brand called NovAge which is a premium brand and Optimals is the one which we call the mass brand. The brands are backed by Swedish natural ingredients and lot of Science. We have three ranges in it as we believe in serving both the factors of skin need and skin type. For instance, many women like to have even toned skin, so for them, we have Even Out. Anti-ageing has been a big thing in the past few years and it’s a need which women have. So, we have an anti-ageing range. We also have the hydration product which we call The Hydra. So, there are three different ranges and they are priced at the mass segment and all of them offer a routine so that you get an outstanding product quality at affordable prices. The key difference between the tow is that Optimals has been tested with the consumers and NovAge has been clinically proven. In both cases, you get high quality of the product. It is about the ingredients that vary between the two but both of them give very good results based on your needs.
What are some of the marketing strategies a brand can follow to maximise their reach out in the market?
At the general level, it depends on the industry in which you are. Our strategies are rather simple. We like to work with our consultants, give them a lot of understanding, training and knowledge so that when they go out and share these products with their friends and families, they are able to instil confidence so that they buy it. So, our strategy has been of direct selling and I can ensure you that it will always be working with our consultants. On the other hand, we will also be extremely focused on Swedish natural ingredients which are extracted from plant sources which have survived extremely harsh weather conditions in Sweden. The weather variation there is from - 20 degree Centigrade to 30 degrees Centigrade. These plants are really resilient and we are using them for extracting resources from them. This gives us our edge over anyone else in terms of ingredients. The core of the business is person to person selling and we do not change that. In any country, we have never sole our products on retail and neither do we want to as our business model is person to person. We value accessibility of product which is that we have a high quality of the product but they are affordable so that more people are able to buy them.
Any expansion plans for the brand to look forward to?
It’s an exciting marketplace. India is developing really fast and the middle-income group is also growing. There is lot of money to be spent and we are excited about it. We are looking at newer products that are coming in future. We are also trying to put more focus on some of our wellness products and as time passes by, I am sure we will expand our geographies. Those are the things that at a macro level we are evaluating closely.
