Indian beauty aisles used to reward the global label on the bottle. That assumption is cracking. ETBrandEquity reports that shoppers are increasingly choosing homegrown brands not just because they cost less, but because they promise local relevance, visible efficacy and a low-risk first try.
The trial-risk unlock
Price has become a conversion lever, not just a positioning statement. A Rs 3,000 serum from an unfamiliar brand can feel like a gamble. A Rs 599 or Rs 999 serum removes much of that hesitation. If the product delivers, the brand wins a repeat customer; if not, the cost of discovery is low.
That changes the math for D2C marketers. Affordability is best used as a way to reduce first-purchase anxiety while you compete on formulation and results.
From shelf to screen: the compressed funnel
Discovery now happens on screens. A creator recommends a product, a shopper searches, reviews are scanned and checkout can follow within minutes. Honasa Consumer CMO Nilesh Kotalwar told ETBrandEquity that the classical AIDA model still exists but has shrunk: ‘Awareness to action can happen in minutes now instead of weeks or months earlier.’
For growth teams, that means creative, reviews and price information must be built for decision speed. A recognisable global name may still create awareness, but it does less to close the sale if the product cannot justify itself quickly.
Content-first, not product-first
Esha Joshi, DGM marketing and communications at Shoppers Stop, Global Beauty Brands, highlighted a structural shift: for many newer beauty brands, the first consumer encounter is not the brand but a creator, review or piece of content. ‘The content speaks for the brand first and then there is a product,’ she said.
That explains the heavy spend on creators, performance marketing and affiliate content. The goal is not just visibility; it is to push product into the consideration set with enough social proof to make purchase feel safe.
What D2C founders should do
- Engineer the first trial: Use an accessible entry price to lower risk, then let efficacy drive retention.
- Win the 60-second review: Prioritise creator-led content, ratings and claims that a shopper can verify instantly.
- Pick a concern, not everyone: Clutter is rising; brands that try to be everything risk becoming nothing.
- Learn faster than you spend: Digital-first brands can read search behaviour, content response and repeat purchase signals to iterate quickly.
The next retention challenge
The Rs 599 serum can win the first purchase. The harder job is earning the next one. As Anurag Kedia, co-founder of Pilgrim, put it, Indian beauty brands are winning because they are ‘at par with the best in the world in terms of formulations, efficacy and innovation’ while pricing for easier trial.
For marketers, the takeaway is clear: use pricing to lower trial risk, use content to compress the funnel and use product performance to keep the customer. A global logo no longer does that work for you.
Source: ETBrandEquity.com
