Colour-coded recall, quirky collabs, and digital-first marketing: Foxtale’s playbook for scale

Foxtale, a skincare brand, has often found itself in the spotlight with its offbeat celebrity collaborations, the latest being with Emraan Hashmi for its lip balm ad. Known for his bold roles in Hindi films and earning the moniker 'serial kisser', Hashmi fronting a skincare ad instantly struck a chord with millennials who grew up watching his movies.

The collaboration highlights the importance of lip protection, especially among the male demographic, in a fresh and humorous manner – and it’s difficult to ignore how the timing coincides with the actor’s popularity soaring after the release of the Netflix drama series Ba***ds of Bollywood, where he plays an intimacy coach for the film's lead actors.

While the coincidence may seem almost too perfect, Anindita Biswas, the chief strategy officer at Foxtale, says that there was no intentional alignment.

“We finalised this campaign much earlier. The release of Ba***ds of Bollywood and our lip balm launch simply overlapped,” she says. Despite repeated enquiries, Biswas maintained her position: "It's just a coincidence."

Still, she acknowledges that the Netflix buzz gave the campaign an unexpected boost. “The reach it got was definitely higher than what we had anticipated otherwise,” she admits.

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While Hashmi does not appear very frequently in advertisements, his endorsements span across a variety of brands, including French Crown, COBRA fragrances, and Summercool Appliances.

Quirky collaborations beyond Hashmi

The Hashmi collaboration isn’t a one-off. Recently, the brand has collaborated with filmmaker Farah Khan and her chef Dilip for its Diwali campaign. Other collaborations feature Bollywood actors Neena Gupta, Rohit Saraf, and Orry, along with a varied selection of digital creators.

These partnerships aim to create advertisements that blend humour, relatability, and product storytelling.

In January this year, the direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand successfully raised $30 million (approx. Rs 250 crore) in its Series C funding round. Biswas expresses optimism regarding the brand's ability to replicate its growth figures from the previous financial year, targeting a triple-digit year-on-year increase in revenue to scale the Indian skincare market.

According to Biswas, these collaborations are designed to “break the clutter” in an already crowded skincare market.

“We pick personalities who bring their own flavours of authenticity and humour while ensuring that the product narrative doesn’t get lost,” she explains.

Foxtale brand & positioning

In a crowded D2C skincare market, Foxtale’s challenge has been to stand out. “Everyone was saying the same thing. Without defining our ‘only’, you just get lost in the noise,” Biswas notes.

The brand contends with rivals such as Dot & Key, Minimalist, Pilgrim and Mamaearth among others.

This year, the brand leaned into a new positioning: neither strictly clinical nor only “fun”, but at the intersection of art and science.

“Our ‘only’ is that we bring art to science and science to art. We focus on consumer-first formulations, making products effective and enjoyable.”

The brand’s most popular product is the Skin Radiance Mask, which is often referred to as the "purple Foxtale mask". While Foxtale has begun exploring body washes and lotions, Biswas says that the brand will continue to prioritise skincare, even as the parent company expands into hair, body, and makeup.

Foxtale's revenue for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2023 (FY23) was Rs 14 crore, which saw a significant increase to Rs 83-84 crore in the subsequent fiscal year, ending 31 March 2024 (FY24). This represented a substantial surge of around sixfold in operating revenue.

According to the IMARC Group, a market research consultancy, the size of India's skincare market was valued at $8.4 billion in 2024. This market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.80% from 2025 to 2033.

Advertising spend & influencer strategy

Biswas reveals that the brand's advertising channels include Meta, Google, affiliates, marketplaces, and influencer collaborations, with a recent expansion into YouTube and Google ecosystems.

Foxtal’s campaigns are primarily digital-first, with television playing only a minor role. “Television isn’t a major focus for us currently since we see stronger ROI from digital-native channels and OTT platforms,” she adds.

She says that festive seasons attract the most marketing spending. “Our spending is strategically higher during key shopping windows like the festive season. This is when consumer purchase intent peaks, so naturally our allocation here is larger compared to other quarters.”

On the distribution front, influencer marketing continues to dominate. “We approach it as a full-funnel ecosystem – mega, macro, micro, regional, and nano creators,” she notes.
Roughly 20–25% of influencer spending goes to nano creators. Campaign size can range from 50 to 150 influencers across platforms for large-scale launches, while smaller pushes involve fewer but carefully curated names.

The brand notably collaborates with a diverse range of creators beyond the beauty sector, including finance experts, chefs, and lifestyle influencers.

“The aim is frequency and familiarity – users should see Foxtale repeatedly in authentic contexts,” Biswas explains.

Men in skincare

The increasing awareness among individuals regarding personal grooming, coupled with the rising impact of social media beauty trends, is a key factor driving the growth of the skincare market in India.

Foxtale sees skincare as gender-neutral. “Skin concerns like hydration and excess oil affect everyone,” says Biswas.

According to her, approximately 20–30% of direct-to-consumer (D2C) skincare consumers are men, although actual usage might be higher. This is largely because men often utilise skincare products available at home, which are typically purchased by the women in their households.

Furthermore, Foxtale consciously avoids depicting men as “heroes” in need of skincare; instead, the brand positions its products as integral to everyday life.

The brand employs a straightforward approach to packaging, using distinct colours to differentiate products: red for lip balm, yellow for sunscreen, and so on. The use of bright colours enhances instant recognition among consumers.

“Many users tell us that they remember products by colour before the label. That’s a big compliment for us.”

Biswas asserts that "skincare is both emotional and personal."

"Ingredients come and go, but emotions endure. Consumers have only about seven minutes for skincare in their routine, so solutions must be simple, memorable, and seamlessly integrated into their lives.”