Like any top-notch entrepreneur, the journey of Suraj Vazirani, Founder and CEO, The Beauty Co, has been full of ups and downs.
The challenges, however, never deterred him. Instead, he chose to take them in their stride and make The Beauty Co one of the top-selling brands in the country — within two years of launch.
Vazirani started the women’s beauty products company in 2018. The first products he sold on Amazon -- charcoal teeth whitening powder and coffee scrubs -- became instant hits.
The beginnings
Vazirani, who was born and brought up in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, started the company by borrowing Rs 65 lakh from friends and family.
In its first year, -- that is in 2018-- the business earned Rs 2.46 crore in revenue. Now the company’s revenue stands at Rs 11 crore.
He tells Moneycontrol that during the lockdown, after the initial hiccups, The Beauty Co managed to do roaring business.
Vazirani, 36, a commerce graduate, has been part of the e-commerce ecosystem since the days when only eBay existed in India. He is very well-rooted in this business, more so as he has handled imports, exports, retail, multi-retail, and a chain of retail stores of branded electronic items.
His first company – RHV Enterprise -- stepped into an online business in 2014. That is when he realised the potential of online business and that it was the perfect time to pivot. The rest is history!
He is also the man behind brand-building and operations strategy of Beardo, which was recently acquired by Marico.
How did Vazirani’s dream of private label turn into a reality?
Milestone 1: Being an e-commerce brand partner or distributor
Vazirani started a small electronic business in 2002, after which he wanted to explore the e-commerce space. He started an e-commerce platform maniacstore in 2006.
In 2014, RHV Enterprise was incorporated. Initially, the company distributed branded electronic items like mobiles, tablets, storage devices etc.
Vazirani gathered confidence after RHV, a pioneer in e-commerce business, witnessed Rs 100-crore turnover, prompting him to move to the next level and was keen to do pivot.
That was when Beardo was launched.
Beardo founders, Ashutosh Valani and Priyank Shah, were looking for something that can scale up their e-commerce business. RHV was on the lookout for a good private label business. RHV and Beardo complemented each other, and there has been no looking back since then.
“We collaborated with multiple brands such as All Good Scents, Say It Loud, Uber Urban, Charms, Rasily, and many more. In a nutshell, we started exploring various categories in private labels, which led to the enormous growth of RHV,” Vazirani tells Moneycontrol.
Milestone 2: Development of an in-house software
Although RHV Enterprise put years in the e-commerce business, Vazirani always had a pain point. Issues like revenue leakage, accounting, GST tally data entry, and multiple marketplace single inventory/data entry in inventory proved to be irritants.
Hence, he decided to develop an in-house software, which ultimately became a brand and a company called Don’t Scratch Your Head – DSYH. This company was later acquired by Vinculum, which served as a breakthrough and milestone.
Milestone 3 and the biggest – Launch of The Beauty Co.
Vazirani is definitely not one who would rest on his laurels.
In fact, he wanted to create a brand of his own and be a part of its journey and success from the beginning.
After considerable research, he realised that with a market value of Rs 80,000 crore, the beauty industry has a significant stake in India. With the flourishing e-commerce business, the market is only growing.
Despite the presence of countless beauty brands in the market, there were still a few crucial yet untapped segments in the women’s grooming industry.
That’s how The Beauty Co. was born.
In nine months, The Beauty Co. could easily boast of launching multiple products in categories such as Skin, Hair, Body, and Oral care through aggressive online marketing and social media campaigns. The products are priced between Rs 150 and Rs 1,450.
“In an age where new brands come up, fail to make a mark, and are soon forgotten, The Beauty Co's graph has been quite impressive,” he said. The company does not fear competition.
The Beauty Co. products are currently available on the company’s own website and on Amazon, Flipkart and Nykaa.
What Next?
Vazirani plans to scale up The Beauty Co. and is looking to raise around $1.5-2 million.
“We are in talks with multiple venture capital funds, investors and investment bankers. We want to dilute a small part of our stake to raise funds,” he said.
He is optimistic about the outlook for his company and expects revenue to double to Rs 22 crore by FY21. In the next few months, Vazirani is planning to launch 36 new skin care products.
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