This Global Cosmetic Brand is Tapping Business Opportunity in Rural India The company has sourced the latest cosmetic, skin care and hair care technology from all over the world.

The cosmetic industry has undergone sea changes in the past few years. Indian consumers are shifting from domestic to international names. High prices never deter people from using beauty products of international brands in most cases. The industry continues to be dominated by foreign players and it often gets difficult for a new brand to create a foothold and stand out in a crowded market with its unique qualities.

At the Asia's biggest franchising show Franchise India, 2017, Entrepreneur India got in touch with Stephanie Sherlock, CEO of Architects of Skin to know what sets them apart from other competitors in the beauty industry.

Architects of Skin was established in May 2015 and is solely focused on growth factor technologies and treatments for anti-aging, skin rejuvenation and hair restoration procedures. The company has sourced the latest cosmetic, skin care and hair care technology from all over the world.

From Medical to Cosmetic Products

In 2012, Stephanie and her husband started with a medical distribution company called Avention Global, a private medical and cosmetic distribution company headquartered in Sydney, Australia.

"My husband is a medical surgeon so we brought medical devices to Australia from other countries and that's essentially how we started to find out which manufacturers wanted to work with us from the cosmetic and aesthetic side of the business. The business grew so quickly in the cosmetic and aesthetic space that we had to create a new company called Architects of skin just to focus on aesthetic medicine," she said.

Avention Global still exists but the idea behind separation of Architects of skin was simply to minimize confusion amongst the surgical community and make it purely about cosmetic.

Thriving On Efficacious Technologies

The company is currently focusing on new growth technologies and treatments.

"Architects of skin provides not only provides cosmetic and aesthetic service to our clients but also provides other services like laser therapy, cosmetic injectable, skin rejuvenation, body contouring and hair loss treatment. The services are provided by nurses, aesthetician, and doctors inside the clinics," said Sherlock.

She strongly believes it is the reach outside in the business which matters the most. So 40 percent of the company's revenue comes from reach through sales.

Sherlock is regularly meeting clients and investors to sell her franchise. She has already found a number of keen clients who are ready to take her franchise in India.

"What excites me most is that the investors are coming from the areas one wouldn't expect. Typically you find investors from Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi but we have a lot of investors coming from rural parts of India.The rural population is desperately wanting these products and services," she stressed.

She believes people go towards the franchise model because they don't have to understand positioning and marketing. Its all done so they literally have to pay the fee and get educated in services they are offering and then open their door. It's a very well supported business model.

Sherlock concluded the Indian market is very positive and the growth rate is overall very high in the wellness space. The company is currently targeting Metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai.

With inputs from Nidhi Singh