Identifying significant trends and addressing consumer needs through innovative products is central to Honasa Consumer’s, the parent company of Mamaearth, The Derma Co, Aqualogica, BBLUNT, and many other brands’ strategy and a key reason behind the company’s growth, as per Zairus Master, Chief Business Officer of Honasa Consumer.
In a conversation with Marketing Mind, he emphasised that innovation is crucial for the company, stating that by continually understanding consumer trends and developing products that meet those needs, they will sustain their growth.
In May this year, Honasa Consumer, the parent company of Mamaearth, acquired the cosmetic formulation brand Cosmogenesis. This new diversification of business adds to the company’s history of multiple acquisitions.
Master detailed the company’s new business diversification and outlined its broader priorities, saying “Each acquisition must align with our organisation’s strategy. What sets us apart is our ability to recognise consumer trends and provide solutions through our brands, enabling us to ride these trends and stand out in the market. Cosmogenesis, an R&D organisation with a historical collaboration with us, plays a crucial role in this process. Understanding consumer trends and needs is essential, and translating these into products requires significant research. To fulfil our promise of offering innovative products, an organisation like Cosmogenesis is indispensable.”
Furthermore, he added that challenges and setbacks are inevitable, but they serve to drive the company towards a deeper understanding of its consumers.
“Identifying significant trends and addressing consumer needs through innovative products is central to our strategy. Innovation is key to us and therefore if we continue to understand consumer trends, building products that answer those needs etc, we’ll keep growing. We are committed to consistently finding new methods to raise awareness among consumers about our unique proposition. By effectively communicating our message and value, we aim to drive business growth,” Master said.
“My primary focus is on achieving profitable growth. It’s not just about growth for its own sake anymore. Rather, it’s about ensuring that growth is sustainable and profitable. The days of prioritising growth over profitability or vice versa are behind us. Instead, the goal is to achieve growth that is inherently profitable. This approach necessitates being innovation-driven and consistently improving our ability to meet consumer needs. For our organisation, the central focus is profitability through sustainable growth,” he added.
Speaking about how Honasa leverages influencer marketing, Master said that they do not target only metro consumers. Naturally, due to population distribution, a large segment of their consumers will be in metro areas, but the company is not confined to that.
“Influencer marketing allows us to transcend geographical boundaries by focusing on interests. People follow influencers who discuss topics they are passionate about. This interest-based approach surpasses geographic location. The essence of influencer marketing is to facilitate conversations among people about their shared interests,” he added.
Recently, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) disclosed in its Annual Complaints Report for 2023 that Honasa Consumer topped the list for the most advertising violations.
Commenting on that, he said, “Each new form of media presents its own set of challenges. As responsible corporate citizens, we are committed to navigating this journey by finding effective ways to address these challenges head-on.”
When asked about the key factor contributing to Honasa Consumer’s growth and current success, Master emphasised that it is simply the identification of consumer trends and building innovation-led products to meet those trends.
He also highlighted that the Indian market is on par with the international market in every aspect.
“India has adequate innovation and management bandwidth, the capability to answer and Indian consumers are pretty well connected, even as they are very demanding,” he added.
