In conversation with Angad Bhatia, MensXP

Angad Bhatia is the founder of MensXP, Times Internet, and comes with more than a decade of experience in the industry.  With the launch of their one-stop lifestyle shop for the Indian millennial man, MensXP Shop, he shares his insights on the Indian men’s grooming industry.

Agency Reporter- How does the Indian men’s fashion and grooming market look right now and where does it stand in terms of revenue?

Men in India are embracing their desire to look good and follow a beauty and grooming routine to get there. On our natural private label beauty brand MensXP Mud, we get a plethora of questions daily from young men wanting to look good and invest in clean and natural skincare products.

According to reports, Indian men are spending upwards of 40 mins on grooming daily and are looking at products that collectively cater to body odor & sweating, greying, acne, hair thinning, and balding (appealing to over 56%) The male grooming market has immense potential and has been growing at a swift pace.

The market was valued at Rs 140.5B in 2018 and is expected to reach Rs 319.8B by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 15.14% in India. Some distinguishing products that have been on the rise are beard growth oils, beard masques, face washes, beard combs, deodorants, BB Creams, eyeliners, brow pencils, application masks, concealers, and cologne soaps in the male grooming market.

AR- Do you think that the demand in men’s grooming products has increased over the last few years? What could be the reasons for the same? 

The traditional definition of masculinity is now obsolete. Men are conscious about how they look and are willing to invest in products like anti-aging creams, body lotions and moisturizers that keep them looking their best. Additionally, with the penetrative reach of social media, rural and urban youth have been exposed to global beauty trends and influencers who simplify the routines and end up advocating products to them.

All in all, aspirational young Indian men are waking up to the realization that looking good is crucial in a media-dominated world. In a changing world, the rise of smartphones, social media, and spending power has only fuelled this trend.

AR- How has the pandemic in 2020 affected the men’s grooming segment?

It was a tough time globally, but it did drive home the importance of self care and it furthered awareness around product ingredients or ingredient-led skincare. Brands have had to reflect on product processes and in some cases invest in product innovation to stay relevant.

Men today are becoming increasingly aware of beauty products and how and where they are made or sourced from. With improved self-cafe habits and grooming routines, men are looking at clean and natural skincare products with specific key ingredients.  This has also led to a demand for more natural and DIY or homemade products.

We’ve also seen a quick recovery post lockdown. In fact, over the festive and now holiday season, we are witnessing a latent demand kicking in. And this is a broad trend getting reflected across men’s lifestyle categories.

AR- What products does MensXP offer in this segment? And what is the strategy behind targeting only millennials?

We have a powerful and growing beauty & personal care portfolio under our flagship brand MensXP Mud. We pioneered #BeautyForMen with the launch of BB Cream for men last year with 6 skin tones for the Indian men. We’ve doubled down on it with the launch of Concealer Sticks.

We’ve been hard at work trying to address customer concerns through targeted product launches. The recent launch of Clay Application Masks by MensXP Mud is one such example which was hugely successful partly because of its festive season launch.

We feel millennials are torchbearers of change in our society. They are the trendsetters who are normalizing conversations around beauty and skincare and helping dissolve the stereotypes of masculinity. Seeing them embrace the #menforbeauty wave is heartening and we have been rooting for this change for a while now.

AR- The male influencer industry is also booming in the country. How are you leveraging influencer marketing to drive awareness in this segment?

Being extensively rooted in this market, we understand the deep potential influencer-driven campaigns have and we’re all for it. Having our own network of content creators and talent (via  HYPP) gives us a chance to ride the flow on our own and also help other brands maximise their potential. We work closely with them to amplify existing conversations and to start new ones – conversations that help cement our brand messaging and keep furthering positive change and of course, entertainment!

We feel that our unique positioning and audience base allows us to uniquely capture the pulse of the audience. And with relatability being the theme of 2020, content creators to are leveraging this by going more raw, real, and relatable and sustaining their unique voice without compromising on their artistic integrity.

AR- What are your future plans to expand the distribution channels?

We will continue to tap into the digital demand via our own platforms as we build out our content-commerce ambitions. We’ll also continue to work with some of the partner platforms to scale up our private label brands.  We did have some plans for offline for some of our private labels pre-COVID, but we’ll be proceeding on those with caution.

AR- What trends do you expect to witness in the men’s fashion and grooming industry in the coming future?

From vertical stripes and layering to pastel pink, WFH wear and loungewear – 2020 has been quite a year for trends. Looking ahead, I see sustainable fashion and self-care as the key standouts.

I also feel men’s beauty will continue to see an evolution & will usher in self-care-centric trends like Vitamin induced makeup products and so on. I also feel the ingredient awareness will accelerate further.