Luxury Ayurveda brand to focus on burgeoning men’s grooming segment

The organic wellness market is set to grow to about $10-12 bn in the next few years. Ayurveda is a subset of the organic wellness industry and Kama as a brand functions within this space.

Ratika Bhargava, Chief Marketing Officer & Retail Sales Head at Kama Ayurveda tells us, “We have as many as 47 stores across 11 cities in India, with three of them in Chennai itself. The city is vital as a market as the Ayurvedic journey started from the south. So, all markets here including Kochi and Hyderabad are key to our growth.”

On the manufacturing front, a significant range of oils and soaps are sourced from Tamil Nadu, which adds to its value in the overall pie. The spokesperson mentions that raw materials are sourced from regions that specialise in the large scale harvesting of specific varieties of produce. For instance, roses are procured from Kannauj, UP whereas almonds and saffron are brought in from Kashmir. The south is a hotspot for flowers.

Currently the brand is positioning itself in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities as well in a big way, mostly via retail stores in airports. Bhargava says, “We have launched outlets in Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Varanasi, Indore and Raipur as we have seen major traction coming from small towns as well. Our wedding checklists have found an encouraging response across demographics.”

She adds, “We launched seven new products this year. Our customers are primarily women, but the men’s grooming category is seeing a major uptake in products like face scrubs, night creams and shaving foams, which is why we will be introducing new products on that front as well. Soon, we will be expanding the soaps and oils range for babies, which are part of our baby care range.”

The brand, which will be opening two more stores before the end of this year, in Hyderabad and Punjab is keen on maintaining a steady growth rate, both physical store wise, as well as on the online front. “We are looking at 50 to 60 per cent growth in the number of stores next year,” Bhargava says.