Who isn’t aware of the dread that the Covid-19 pandemic brought upon the world? However, as the pandemic forced economies around the globe to come to a screeching halt, jeopardising livelihoods, it also paved the way for innovation, new ideas and business opportunities.
Tarun Saraf, a Mumbai-based businessman, too, was in a fix when Covid-19 wreaked havoc, bringing mankind to its knees. Amid this, Saraf, who was in the business of importing and local distribution of foreign scents, found himself too feeble to sustain his livelihood as his business, rocked by the pandemic, first dwindled and then hit a proverbial cul-de-sac.
Anxious to keep his raft afloat during this period, Saraf had a plan for the Indian perfumes and deodorants market, which was also crying disruption.
Speaking with Inc42, Saraf said that before the pandemic, he supplied a range of exotic scents to various companies engaged in manufacturing and distributing perfumes.
However, as back-to-back lockdowns started hitting the country, demand for several goods, including perfumes and scents, nosedived. His business was impacted as manufacturers slashed consignments amid a steep fall in demand for these products.
Interestingly, Saraf, sitting with his supplies waiting to get dispatched, thought of ending this meltdown by launching his own brand. Besides, he had always wanted to restore the panache of affordable premium and exotic fragrances that was otherwise missing in the market.
“At the time, I observed that while there were many scents in the market that were being branded as classy perfumes, almost none had the packaging that could trigger people to flaunt. These perfumes lacked panache and just couldn’t be made a wardrobe decorative,” Saraf told Inc42 about his eureka moment.
The entrepreneur then started working on his new project and launched La’ French in September 2020. However, Saraf still had a major obstacle to conquer on the way.
How La’ French Perfumes Reached End Users During Peak Pandemic
Following the launch of the brand, the next step was to take the product to its users. However, the only bump was that offline markets were either completely shut or restricted to selling essentials only. With this, the founder decided to take the direct-to-consumer (D2C) route, effectively making La’ French an online company.
Since then, La’ French has been able to make a place for itself in the market dominated by new players like Bella Vita (incorporated in 2018) and The Man Company (2015), and more established players like Vini Cosmetics and McNROE’s Wild Stone.
Since its inception, the brand has catered to over 10 Lakh consumers. It sees an average footfall of 40-45K customers per month. After registering a total revenue of INR 15 Cr in FY23, Saraf claims to have garnered INR 24 Cr in FY24 revenues.
Talking about the USP of its brand, the founder said that the oils used in its products are all imported – either from France or other Western nations. In addition, Saraf is inspired by how elegantly luxury brands like CHANEL, DIOR, and Hermès package their products — a playbook that the La’ French founder has tried to replicate.
Tracing La’ French’s Journey
One of the biggest challenges for Saraf and his team was to find a niche for their products. They started doing this by dividing the market into three segments — high-end premium (over INR 1,500), mid-premium (up to INR 1,500), and budget brands (sub-INR 1,000).
“We chose the mid-premium segment because we saw a big growth opportunity there,” Saraf said.
Using his experience, Saraf then identified the scents Indians liked the most. Some of his top picks were similar to popular international perfumes by Tom Ford, Yves Saint Laurent, and Balenciaga.
By adjusting their formulas, they reduced the cost from an INR 10,000 product to INR 500-600, without compromising on quality.
Next, the startup focussed on the look and feel of its products. Saraf hired an in-house design team to create the bottle designs and packaging. The team made prototypes, which were finalised after much deliberation.
To stand out, the La’ French released scents in a themed format. For instance, one of their most popular product is named after characters from the popular Netflix series Money Heist.
Despite witnessing the healthy adoption of its products, Saraf, along with his team, is always on his toes to constantly update his product portfolio. This is because, according to Saraf, the Indian market is quite challenging as perfume preferences are highly personal and can vary greatly.
“Understanding diverse market preferences is key. India has about 20 different regions, each with unique scent preferences. For example, South India prefers stronger scents, while the North likes fresher scents and more subtle fragrances,” Saraf explained.
As of now, the company sees of its a majority of sales in the regions of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, and West Bengal. The startup is now revamping its influencer marketing strategy to reach people in different markets.
While influencers boost visibility, converting the same to sales has been tricky for the La’ French team. To resolve this, the startup is now focussing on influencers with strong regional followings.
What’s On La’ French’s Horizons?
The company had to launch its products online due to Covid-19, which turned out to be successful. Saraf said most of their business comes from online marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, and Meesho.
Among these, Flipkart sees the highest customer engagement for its products, followed by Amazon and Nykaa.
“On Flipkart, we have a high rate of repeat customers, which is a strong indicator of customer satisfaction and loyalty. With Amazon, various factors contribute to growth, but Flipkart’s audience for products under INR 1,000 offers significant room for growth. Meesho has also been a good platform, but it seems more suited for cheaper products,” Saraf said.
The company has also moved its offerings beyond the aforementioned online marketplaces. Saraf humorously pointed out that arranging gifts last minute is a common trait among Indians. Hence, the company offers its gift packs on quick commerce platforms D-Mart Ready, BigBasket Now and Zepto. This has helped the startup fetch new customers.
Since normalcy has restored in the market, Saraf has set his eyes on offline expansion. The company launched its first offline store in Mumbai two months ago, which, as per the founder, has been a hit among shoppers. In the next two to three years, Saraf desires for a pan-India expansion.
For 2024, the company targets an annual revenue of INR 24 Cr. Saraf expects two-thirds of this revenue to come from online sales and hopes the offline expansion will contribute INR 6 Cr.
If successful, the startup plans to attract investors to fund further expansion across India.
For now, what will be interesting to see is how the startup competes with more established legacy players and newer brands like Bella Vita in the Indian perfume market, which is projected to become $1.32 Bn opportunity by 2027.
[Edited by Shishir Parasher]
