“Tier-II cities have been leading our online marketplaces sales”: Eiti Singhal, Vega

Be it Sonam Kapoor earlier, or Ananya Panday now, beauty and personal care appliances brand Vega has been using Bollywood star power for its ads for quite some time now. The beauty and personal care segment has transitioned from an unorganised to an organised one.

“There has been a huge paradigm shift in the way beauty is perceived today, and what it was when the brand was launched 20 years back. Our understanding of the market intelligence and a strong product foothold sets us apart,” Eiti Singhal, CMO, Vega, tells afaqs!.

The brand aims to create a specific kind of persona and simplify grooming for Indian households. Singhal believes that associations with Panday and cricketer Rohit Sharma will enable the brand to do that.

The last three years have seen a shift in Vega’s marketing spends, as it has now transitioned towards digital. The brand also enjoys a strong retail presence - it currently has about 40,000 retailers. However, Singhal believes that being available on major beauty e-commerce platforms, like Nykaa, Purplle, Trell, etc., is also important for the brand.

“The idea is to capture the consumer across all these touchpoints. We are currently focusing, 50 per cent each, on both these channels. In the beauty category, a lot of searches happen on e-commerce marketplaces before the final conversion. So, we are trying to complete the full funnel of marketing by being present on all major online marketplaces,” she mentions.

As far as the online market is concerned, a lot of consumers from Tier-II cities are purchasing Vega products. During COVID, the brand saw sales from metros and Tier-II cities becoming equal. Tier-II cities have been the leading ground for the brand for its online marketplaces sales.

The category is cluttered with many international players, like Philips, Dyson, Nova, to name a few. Singhal shares that what sets Vega apart from these brands, is its constant focus on DIY (do it yourself) as a concept in grooming and beauty space, beyond just conventional features and products.

The brand has also been using lifestyle and beauty influencers across its social media platforms. As per Singhal, 86 per cent of people, especially Gen Z, are open to receiving information about specific products and brands on social platforms.

“Influencers and social platforms go hand in hand. Going forward, we will involve many tech influencers, as well. Currently, we have travel, lifestyle and fashion influencers. Next year is going to be about tech and being abreast with the latest technology.”

Sharing some dominating trends in India's grooming and styling industry, Singhal says that consumers these days want to own more than one operational device or appliance. “In the beauty space, only 33 per cent of the consumers are loyal to one brand and the rest is all the opportunity that exists. So, the idea is to innovate and catch up fast with the needs and requirements of the consumers.”

The brand also offers male grooming products under Vega Men category. These products are made to cater to the Indian man's grooming needs. Singhal says that diversification is one of the big leaps that the brand is going to take this year.

“Given our product lineup, we are definitely going to see an increase in our male TG this year. We want to make the brand universally acceptable by virtue of product launches and category expansions,” Singhal signs off.