Launched in 2014, personal care brand Juicy Chemistry - alongside their makeup range Colour Chemistry, aims to bring in new trends in the organic personal care segment. Co-founder Megha Asher shares what led to the brand's birth and how their social media strategy has taken shape.
Eight years ago, the organic personal care industry saw the birth of skincare and haircare brand Juicy Chemistry (JC) that serves a palette of informative content, reminding one of the ancient Ayurvedic tips.
Having experienced troubled skin, co-founder Megha Asher wanted skincare and makeup products that could help others like her find the right solution. This is what shaped her belief in the healing powers of organically grown and naturally occurring ingredients in personal care.
Since then, she has tried to bring natural ingredients and introduce new processes and raise awareness about the organic industry via social media platforms and their website alongside her partner, Pritesh Asher. What started as a personal care brand has also segmented into makeup with Colour Chemistry (CC).
They procure ingredients from organic farmers in 20 countries and have raised $7.5 million in funding from a bunch of investors so far. JC has generated INR 29 Crore in revenue and sold nearly 75K products every month.
With their farm-to-shop approach, JC operates in India's direct-to-consumer (D2C) market, which is likely to reach a size of $100 billion by 2025. The rise in number of young consumers, the increasing need for transparency and the rising support for vocal for local are some of the reasons why this industry has grown so rapidly.
We dissect the narrative built with the chemistry products through their social media strategy as Megha Asher walks us through them and understand how D2C marketing plays a role in shaping a brand's image.
Behind The Chemistry
JC aims to not just bring new trends in the organic personal care segment but to introduce their consumers to a simple and sustainable means of living.
“Juicy Chemistry is a friendly, intelligent, and quirky nerd who loves nerding out about personal care, science, life, and everything in between,” shares Megha Asher, Co-founder and COO, as she talks about the brand’s simple and direct approach towards breaking down complex concepts by breaking them into question-answer form.
This holistic approach has shaped the brands’ marketing strategy as well. JC’s social media journey first began in 2017 on Instagram, followed by YouTube and Pinterest and the communication tactics were nothing short of ‘nerding out’ as Asher calls it.
Their social media feed is filled with consistent behind-the-scenes meant to assure the consumers of information on each product’s development.
A mix of mini videos showing the employees working on the creations and setting up informative carousels that signify the place of origin behind each ingredient used and the benefits of using them seems to have worked like a charm for the team.
One look at their Pinterest board and one can find short videos creating anticipation for new product launches and bright colours that attract users.
Their page even gives clarity to consumers by testing it out on the founders themselves. Both Pritesh Asher and Megha Asher regularly get featured on the page where they test out the products, give an insight into a pick of their choice and answer queries from the public.
Many newly launched D2C brands have used this approach where the founders and people behind the brand are featured in campaigns to build trust and improve transparency.
About using the D2C method in social media marketing, Megha Asher said, “Our only strategy to engage them is to make all the information about our products easily accessible through our social media platforms, website, blogs, and emails. We also strive to evolve our content format with the ever-changing trends to connect better with our audiences.”
Similar to their Instagram, their YouTube is a window to detailed information about the usage of their products, reviews and more.
For their makeup range, Colour Chemistry, they have been keeping up with the latest makeup trends, sharing hacks and more to provide information on applying makeup that suits one’s skin the best.
Currently, Juicy Chemistry’s Instagram page accounts for 227k followers, while Colour Chemistry has 12.1k followers. JC’s Pinterest and YouTube pages have seen 3.8k followers and 4.27 subscribers respectively.
Providing Support Via Causes
JC got their Ecocert certification as per COSMOS standards in 2017 and they have also been talking about environment-friendly methods while creating their products and packaging. This effectively helps provide reach to their target audience.
“Our target group consists primarily of women aged 18 to 44, residing in Tier-1 metropolitan cities and possessing a high disposable income. They’re also an aware consumer and are health as well as earth conscious,” said Megha.
Whether it is supporting the 'vocal for local' initiative by giving their packaging orders including accessories like baskets, loofahs, soap stand, wee spoons and more to local vendors or championing for protecting the Earth via giveaways, the brand is up for using different techniques to root for the environment. They are also keen on spreading awareness on illnesses, especially cancer.
JC’s values are also reflected in their stores, which try to offer an earthy and organic look. Their stores almost look like a spa, which seemingly offer a soothing vibe.
95% of Juicy Chemistry’s sales happen through the digital route but they have been now working on expanding their retail presence.
Collaborations To Amp Up The Game
The brand has featured multiple nano and micro-influencers who care about organic skincare, haircare and makeup. A plus point for the team is associating with influencers who believe in their products which brings out their true testimonials.
They have also joined hands with big names in the fashion industry like Harper's Bazaar’s Best of Beauty show in 2018 and the Wedding Junction show with Manish Malhotra alongside collaborations with like-minded brands such as Phool.
Celebrities like Malaika Arora, Karishma Kapoor, Soha Ali Khan, Shilpa Shetty have used their products and posted about the same.
The motivation behind their collaborations isn’t to just build reach, it's the conscious effort to inform people about sustainable personal care products. What’s more? JC drives engagement by educating people via their giveaways as well.
They have actively tried to acknowledge their consumers and don’t shy away from sharing honest reviews from them. Every anniversary is an occasion to acknowledge the hard work provided by the employees and the newest product launches and flagship stores in their arsenal.
What started as an e-commerce journey on Nykaa has their very own website and app today, where both Juicy and Colour Chemistry set the foundation for conscious, informative content meant to encourage their consumers to do the same. JC is also trying to cast their net wider by aiming to open 10 retail outlets this year and installing 20 kiosks in metro cities.
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