Juicy Chemistry recently opened its first store in Chennai. And beauty buffs, influencers and shoppers galore thronged the 425 sq foot store when its doors opened on launch day at Phoenix MarketCity in Velachery. We, of course, amid the buzz and excitement, were most keen to catch up with the founders, husband-wife duo Megha Desai Asher and Pritesh Asher who have started the skincare brand known for its ‘clean formulations’ and innovation like the use of ‘cellular extraction technology’ (active plant nutrients) in their serums. Counting down to their eighth anniversary in the industry, come August, we find out that 2022 is packed with exciting releases and might be their busiest year yet. Excerpts:
Congratulations on your new store in Chennai. How long has this been in the works?
Pritesh: About two months. This is our second store in India and we have a lot lined up, including visits from dermatologists for live consultations in a section of the store to cater to individual requirements, recommend products and to document their progress.
What are the products in the pipeline for 2022?
Megha: We have a summer range of certified organic aloe vera juice for skin which is light and cooling. There are two options, one with a thickener and one without depending on the consistency you prefer. We are also trying to get into a whole new category that is wellness-related because we strongly believe good skin comes from good sleep patterns, a relaxed mind and so on. This, we are hoping to launch this coming June.
Tell us about the products, what are some of the wellness aspects they will cover?
Megha: Restlessness, sleep deprivation, insomnia, they can also be used by elderly people, athletes, pregnant women... this has been under R&D for two years with our partners in Europe and we are launching with three products to begin with.
Given your focus on innovation, we’re curious: what are some of the gaps in the market you have your eye on?
Megha: One of the biggest gaps that we have identified is that there are big players and drug store brands that have plenty of inclusive foundation shades but we don’t have anything made specifically for the Indian skin tone. Like a foundation formulated for skin tones in Africa, for instance, may not be a good fit for skin tones in Southern India.
Are foundations created for the Indian skin tone on the cards next?
Megha: Yes, we have 18 foundations that we are looking at launching in August, in time to celebrate our eighth anniversary. We are calling it Color Chemistry — this will be India’s first certified organic make-up line. What we understood is that people like organic, they like safer and better but they (organic products) have to be efficacious as well. Not only is this line skin-loving and for use on a daily basis without damaging the skin but we have also tried to simplify the colours and tones in a format where it is very easy to pick out the shade.
What else is planned for this range?
Megha: We are looking at lipsticks and cheek tints in the future to complete the line. But there is no dearth of those. The gap we found is for a good quality foundation that is organic, skin-loving, nourishing but at the same time is effective as well. The idea is to create an organic prototype for foundation that will cater to the Indian mass market.