WHEN college friends Aashka Goradia, Ashutosh Valani and Priyank Shah launched Renee Cosmetics in 2020, they disrupted a ₹1,50,000 crore market which had brands such as Sugar and Nykaa. International brands such as MAC, Maybelline, L’Oréal and Colorbar were also reasonably successful, while the country’s oldest homegrown brand, Lakme, was becoming a digital-first brand. But disruption wasn’t new for either Valani or Shah. After all, they had built male-grooming brand Beardo, which they sold to Marico in 2020. They launched products such as Renee Fab 5 Matt, a five-in-one lipstick. Similarly, there is Renee Fab Face (a three-in-one make-up stick which has eye shadow, blush and lipstick) and Renee Madness PH Stick (a black-colour lipstick that turns pink when applied). “Unless you are different, you can’t change the market,” says Ashutosh Valani.
“We thought the scope of building a brand in a ₹1,50,000 crore market was enormous,” says Priyank Shah, co-founder, Renee Cosmetics. “We are looking at closing FY24 with ₹400 crore,” Shah adds.
While the Beardo co-founders bring to the table finance, operations and distribution skills, former TV actor Aashka Goradia looks into formulation of products. She also takes care of marketing and communication. Renee gets 50% revenue from offline stores.
— Ajita Shashidhar