Covid year gives boost to vegan cosmetics | Economic Times

Vegan cosmetics and personal care brands in India saw a jump in demand in 2020-21, a year that saw conversations around sustainable choices peak, catalysed by the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 originated in wet markets that sell live, wild animals. Brands like Plum, MyGlamm and Juicy Chemistry, whose product portfolios are wholly or partly vegan, say sales surged, at times up to 2x, in the last one year, thanks to a growing interest in and greater awareness about veganism and conscious living among consumers, largely among millennials and Gen Z.“We believe that being cruelty-free and moving to 100% vegan products is going to soon become table stakes for all beauty brands. The consumer is moving towards clean beauty and vegan products are an integral part of the same,” says Darpan Sanghvi, founder & CEO of MyGlamm. Sanghvi says sales of the direct-to-consumer brand, which in March raised Rs 175 crore from investors, including Amazon, grew 200% in the last one year. About 90% of its product portfolio is currently vegan, which means it contains no ingredient derived from animals.Body Shop India, a pioneer in offering cruelty-free products – those that have not been tested on animals -- attests to this. “Today, there is greater awareness about the ingredients in products and customers make choices based on this knowledge,” says Harmeet Singh, vice-president, marketing, merchandising and ecommerce, Asia South, The Body Shop.Ingredients extracted from animals are common in many cosmetics -- from beeswax in lip balm to carmine, a bright red derived from crushing an insect called cochineal, which is used in a range of coloured products. The increasing interest in vegan cosmetics, a niche segment in the $14-15 billion Indian beauty and personal market, mirrors what’s happening in the West, where celebrities like singer Ariana Grande are vocal ambassadors of the vegan lifestyle. Research by market intelligence firm Mintel showed that one in five Indian consumers defined a sustainable beauty product as one that uses vegan ingredients.“When we launched in 2014, we weren't sure if those who were using our products would be only vegans or if it would be everybody with a silent appreciation for the vegan way of life -- fortunately it turned out to be the latter,” says Shankar Prasad, founder of Plum, possibly the first 100% Indian vegan beauty brand. Plum’s sales grew 2.5 times in 2020-21, and the company is just short of an annualised run rate of Rs 200 crore, according to Prasad.The paradox of the growing interest in veganism in a country that is the largest producer and consumer of milk isn’t lost on Pritesh Asher, who cofounded Juicy Chemistry with his wife, Megha, in 2016 but, understandably, he’s not complaining. Though the company had vegan products right from its launch, it is only over the last two years that it started promoting this aspect of its portfolio. “As awareness grew, we kept getting requests from customers to give them vegan options and we realised that since the majority of our line is vegan, we should promote it to the vegan community,” says Asher, whose company raised $6.3 million in a Series A round last month. Much of the marketing for these brands is via social media, particularly Instagram, keeping in mind their target audience. “Millennial customers are the major consumers of this particular beauty segment since they are more inclined towards trying innovative products,” says Smita Baishakhia, head of product development at MyGlamm. Making a shift to vegan cosmetics is also less of a hurdle than something more dramatic, like dietary changes. “It’s easier to make sustainable choices in terms of beauty and fashion so we are seeing a lot of people who may not be vegan by diet but are taking steps in that direction,” says Desiree Pereira, who cofounded vegan beauty brand Disguise Cosmetics in 2018, along with two of her colleagues and fellow-scientists at L’Oreal. Pereira says sales rose over 70% in 2020 compared with the previous year.Plum’s Prasad is thankful that in India, awareness about sustainable choices has grown simultaneously with the acceleration of conspicuous consumption. “The larger theme of conscious consumption is going to be a lasting one,” he adds. “The only thing to watch out for is lip service.”