These Entrepreneurs are Using Their Engineering Minds to Disrupt the Beauty Market The company is bringing international products to India and holds an early-mover advantage in the beauty space
By Komal Nathani •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Manish Taneja, co-founder and CEO of Purplle.com always believes, "Discovering beauty shouldn't be hard."
An engineering mind was bitten by an entrepreneurial bug, giving birth to a unique idea of connecting technology with beauty.
Aiming to disrupt India's INR 83,210-worth beauty market, two engineering friends began their entrepreneurial journey in the segment, which was till then untouched by the technological evolution.
Months of market research helped Manish Taneja, Co-founder, and CEO of Purplle, understand the challenges of the beauty market here. From his friend, Taneja came to know that India never had a tech-driven marketplace, where searching for a beauty product is an easy task.
This led to the setting up of Purplle.com, a technological invention in the the segment.
Bringing International Brands to Indian Market
Taneja wanted to start a business that will never die and laid the foundation of the company in 2011. "We were looking forward to starting a business that would remain undeterred by any sort of socioeconomic hurdle," said Taneja.
The company is bringing international products to India and holds an early-mover advantage in the beauty space.
It is acting as an access point to a host of international brands, producing skincare, fragrance and makeup products, with which it has signed deals.
"Technology and Customers' Trust Paving Our Way to Success'
Taneja confidently said, "Technology and sales strategies differentiate us from other players. We don't see either Nykaa or Amazon bringing in this ease in selling beauty products in the online or offline market. Our personalized Product Discovery Engine (PDE) helps consumers search items according to their needs."
The company is using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to give consumers a wide view of all the products available online.
Taneja informed Entrepreneur that Purplle has a buyer-friendly website. Each product is categorized intelligently to help people select them on the basis of their occasion.
It has achieved the Top Met Promotion Score for providing the best customer experience in the beauty space. It has attracted marquee investors like Blume Ventures, IvyCap and JSW Ventures in very little time and its revenue has grown 15 times in the past three years.
"Changing the Way Consumers Buy and Sell Cosmetics'
Taneja's company aims to change the way people buy and sell cosmetics in India. "We are using "Product Discovery Engine'to make international brands digitally native and personalized in India," he said.
With over 5 lakh consumers, the company claims to be India's No. 1 beauty destination and plans to open brick and mortar stores in future.
Taneja has no plans to diversify into apparel or accessories businesses, at least for now.
