A brand should have an independent aura, separate from celeb: 82°E’s Jigar Shah

India’s obsession with celebrities isn’t new – it’s been around for decades. Whether it’s a Bollywood star, cricketer or an influencer, brands leverage their popularity by partnering with them for campaigns.

What has changed now is that celebs have started using their fan power. They’ve started launching their own brands. This trend isn’t just observed in India, but globally too. A few global examples include Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez, Fenty Beauty by Rihanna, Drew House – pop singer Justin Bieber’s fashion brand, etc. 

Just add Indian actor Deepika Padukone to the list. She launched her skincare brand ‘82°E’ in November, 2022. The brand name is inspired by 82 degrees, 30 minutes east – a longitude that passes through India. It depicts the brand’s core value – that it’s rooted in India.

Padukone’s partner in this venture is co-founder Jigar Shah, who looks after the brand’s business operations, fundraising, HR, business strategy and investor relationships. Padukone looks after brand marketing, PR, content, community strategy and execution.

According to a recent Kroll report, Padukone is worth $82.9 million. By launching her own brand, she automatically enjoys an upper hand, as compared to any other brand in the category. 

Talking about the merits of being a celeb-led brand, Shah says, “It helps to augment the awareness level, through the star’s following. The brand can get its voice across a large community in a short time span, which isn’t the case for a non-celeb brand.”

But does a brand led by an A-list celeb, also help in product sales? Shah responds, “It helps initially in the trial phase, but not when it comes to repeat purchases. After a while, the product and value proposition take over. The product needs to solve a customer pain point. Only then can it sustain in the market.”

Marketing strategy 

The Shah Rukh Khan and Padukone-starrer ‘Pathaan’ recently became one of the top Bollywood blockbusters, breaking multiple records globally. The movie became a part of dining table discussions, WhatsApp group chats, and made all of Bollywood go gaga over it. 

82°E leveraged this opportunity and released a video featuring its co-founder (Padukone) with ‘King Khan’. Padukone was seen explaining her skincare routine to Khan, as the two stars were getting ready for their first media event to promote the film. 

After showing off the brand’s products, Padukone launched a product named ‘Gotu Kola Dew’ in the video. What better way to launch a product than getting Khan to try it himself, right? 

“As a direct-to-consumer brand, we put emphasis on our marketing strategy, which is planned for the entire year. However, we also seek to leverage key moments in Padukone and Shah's journey to create high value for our consumers, with engaging content,” explains Shah. 

“After the incredible success of ‘Pathaan’, we recognised a rare opportunity to introduce our newest product, the ‘Gotu Kola Dew’ toner serum, to our audience. The one-of-a-kind brand video took the Internet by storm and garnered worldwide attention.”

Shah mentions that this collab (with Padukone) made sense, due to the camaraderie between her and Khan. There is no thumb rule, when it comes to celeb collabs. The brand is looking at things through multiple lenses.

Whenever a brand is launched by a celeb, they automatically become its endorser. 82°E is led by Padukone, but will we see the brand partner with other celebs in future? 

“Yes, we will see a different brand ambassadors. But it won’t happen any time soon. A brand should have an independent aura, separate from a celeb.”

This year, Padukone was one of the presenters at the 95th Academy Awards (Oscars) in Los Angeles. She was yet again representing India at a global event. Padukone shared pictures of her outfit for the prestigious event, and also showed off a neck tattoo that read ‘82°E’. 

What was the idea behind this? Shah shares, “She is depicting her love and passion for the brand, as well the hard work that went behind building it. All this helps in creating brand awareness, curiosity among customers and positive impact.” 

Premium pricing and distribution strategy 

After the brand’s launch, fans rushed to the website, after there was a lot of chatter around the pricing of the products. According to many consumers, the cost of basic skincare products like sunscreen (Rs 1,800) and moisturiser (Rs 2,700), is too high. 

For some social media users, overall, the brand and its products were at par with international brands. 

Elaborating on the premium pricing of the products, Shah explains, “It was a conscious call to keep the pricing premium. Our products have high-quality as well as dermatologically and clinically tested ingredients.” 

According to a Unicommerce report, in 2022, the beauty and personal care segment witnessed a strong growth rate of 143% in order volumes and 132% in order value. Online marketplaces like Nykaa, Myntra and Purplle accounted for most D2C beauty and skincare product sales. 

One can buy 82°E products from its website only, as of now. The brand doesn’t partner with any e-commerce marketplaces. 

Shah states, “Marketplace platforms make more sense for brands that are yet to be discovered. For us, discovery was never a problem. But in future, we’re looking to follow an omnichannel strategy.”