Raj Shamani plans to launch more creator-led brands, in talks with 20 influencers

Entrepreneur and content creator Raj Shamani talking about building creator-led brands

Entrepreneur turned content creator Raj Shamani, who last year launched House of X, a platform that helps content creators build brands, now has plans to onboard more creators after launching two creator-led brands.

The platform so far has launched two brands — Blanko with creator and rapper King, and YFL (Your Food Lab) Home with celebrity chef Sanjyot Keer. Shamani said that the initial response among consumers for the two brands has been good.

Blanko has emerged as a notable perfumes brand, whereas, YFL Home offers recipes, kitchen appliances and other related solutions for home-based cooking.

"We have started with two creators and we have spoken to 100. There are 20 in the pipeline which are going to be launching soon. But right now, the idea is to be focused with two (brands) for another year to understand the nitty-gritty of the business better before we launch more brands," Shamani told Moneycontrol.

He added that they are testing the market with Blanko and YFL Home. "When we launched, we sold Rs 1,50,000 worth of inventory in the first 45 days. And with YFL Home, we are out of stock. We were sold out very quickly. We are still testing the market. It takes 18 months for you to test products among customers. Early signs are good. The retention rate in the fragrance industry is 15 percent. For Blanco, the retention rate is above 30 percent. Customers returning products is one challenge. But our product returns are under 10 percent for Blanko."

The House of X founder said that creator commerce is just getting started. "The two biggest industries that have disrupted Indian business are e-commerce and creator economy. Combining the two will surely disrupt the market as discovery is happening online and there are more online purchases."

He said that when they reach out to an influencer, the idea is to know whether they understand the needs and wants of their audience. "While creators understand the community they have built, we understand business. We give them the infrastructure to create a brand. We do sourcing, marketing, ideation and operations, whereas, creators focus on storytelling."

Also read: From founder to creator: The rise of a new breed of influencers in the creator economy

Shamani noted that there are three things they work on while launching a brand. "We are product first and not creator first. So, we figure out the white spaces, take data from Amazon and MSME platforms, study the data and identify the product. Then, we focus on how to differentiate the product and when once that is locked, we look at who is the best person to communicate about this product to their audience."

Shamani gave the example of chef Sanjyot Keer. "Sanjyot has a YouTube channel and we wanted to build a product for home chefs. Now, home chefs are home celebrities. We went on to understand the depth of what they want. One is that they want compliments from their family that their food tastes like that of a restaurant. Then we found out who is the right creator for this. Sanjyot, 7 years back, had started his YouTube channel saying that he would help his audience to make food at home that tastes like that of a restaurant. The emotion and branding matched."

He said that the turnaround time from ideation to launching a brand is around 7 months. "Before we talk to a creator, it takes us 5-6 months to decide on a product. After that, it takes us a month to finalise a creator and once that is done, it takes us 7 days to launch the brand. The website (subsequently) goes live, and people can start pre-ordering."

Also read: Creator Economy Summit: Content creators are becoming the enterprises of today, say VCs

On creator earnings, Shamani said that it mostly depends on how well creators serve their audience. "If the influence is deep then they can build big businesses. There is a yoga creator, who is an Indian, serving the US market and sits out of Chennai. She has 50,000 followers and teaches post pregnancy yoga. She is earning over Rs 8 crore a year."

Along with content creation and building brands, Shamani has also backed startups. While he is looking to back more startups to support new businesses, there is one category he is excited about. "I am excited to see men's beauty becoming big. There are brands that will enter this category. I am waiting for someone to enter this space.