To a majority of women, beauty is everything. But the perception of it has evolved. Rather than looking for external solutions to enhance aesthetic appeal, people are focussing on scientifically-led, intrinsic solutions instead. Micro-needling, vitamin therapies, muscle building and more, Taniya Pandey, Vice President of Marketing – Beauty, Wellness & Skill Development at VLCC, takes us through treatments that the modern consumer is seeking out.
Edited excerpts…
Tell us about the vision VLCC was founded with and the milestones in its journey so far.
VLCC was started in 1989, with a one-store unit in Safdarjung, New Delhi, by the visionary Vandana Luthra. She wanted to bring a lot of science and cutting-edge technology into the country with the vision of transforming lives. In any context, if you look a certain way or feel a certain way, it gives you a certain level of confidence. So the vision of the brand is to truly transform a consumer’s persona by shaping their confidence.
In the early 2000s, we started to create exclusive products for weight management and body shaping. By the late 2000s, beauty solutions like permanent makeup, laser hair removal and anti-ageing started to pick up pace. And as we started to expand, manpower became of the essence. That’s how the VLCC Institute came into being in 2004, where we now train over 10,000 students a year.
How has the narrative in the Indian beauty market changed? What newer trends are attracting people?
Beauty has moved from something seasonal or occasional into our day-to-day lives. People are also looking for intrinsic solutions to enhance their appearances. For example, rather than facials, they’re looking at IV therapies. Or what was weight loss has now become muscle building. Consumers are scientifically aware and are open to trying new technology.
How has VLCC’s approach to marketing changed to meet the new demand?
We’ve come to realise that when someone comes to the clinic for weight loss, at the core they either want to look younger or feel better. So our conversations around beauty have become more solution-oriented. We also push people to come in for personalised consultations where they are empowered with knowledge. Our marketing nudges are mainly to get people to meet with our experts. Because these are the people who can guide the customer.
Has there been a shift in the kinds of demographics that come to avail of these permanent beauty solutions?
The younger audience of 17 and 18 mainly come in for laser hair removal. At 21 and 22, hair treatments become a key category. Things like microchanneling, micro-needling, hydra facials, vitamin facials and vitamin IV therapy have become the new facial.
With the onset of obesity earlier in life, people in the 22 to 25 age group are also coming in for weight loss and muscle building; for which we do a therapy with high-intensity microwaves that stimulate your muscles. It can give you a workout equal to 30,000 crunches in 30 minutes.
From the age of 30 onwards, people start to open up to immunity-boosting and anti-ageing services too.
With mainstream media flooded with talks about self-acceptance, have you seen the sentiment reflected on your consumer base?
Beauty used to be a sort of cardboard cutout with most people wanting a particular body shape or eye or lip shape. It was well-defined and most customers would have similar perceptions of beauty and expectations from their bodies. Surely more people today are okay with how they look. However, they are also accepting of the fact that maybe there is something they do not like and are open to changing it. The ideals of beauty for every individual in India are very different.
How is VLCC eyeing future expansion?
For about 30 years of operation, we had 30 company-operated clinics. But in the last year, since we were acquired by the private equity firm Carlyle, we started engaging with consumers more proactively and opened over 60 clinics. This helped us increase our customer base by 60 per cent and we’re looking to expand extensively across the country.
