The Unstoppable Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Celebrity Capital

Anomaly, the brainchild of global icon Priyanka Chopra Jonas, recently made its India debut exclusively on Nykaa. Founded by actress, producer, activist, and author Priyanka Chopra Jonas, in partnership with global beauty incubator Maesa; Anomaly now brings its powerful hair solutions to Priyanka's home country. Committed to making more sustainable choices in her personal life, Priyanka was motivated to channel her passion for the environment into her brand. Here's the investor, and entrepreneur sharing more about her startup.

What led to the idea of Anomaly?

When the pandemic hit us and we were all in lockdown, I had time to sit and think about things that interested me and what I could do in that space. I had always been conscious about beauty as a category… So I started to think about what was the gap in the market, and the gap that I think I found was - creating a product with superior formulas at an affordable price and being environmentally conscious… and that's how Anomaly was born.

We built this brand on the idea that great hair starts first with great care, something I learned from my mom and grandmom during regular oiling, deep cleaning, and conditioning routines. With this in mind, and alongside my partners at Maesa, we developed a collection of products formulated with powerful and effective ingredients that love your hair from the root to the tip. Anomaly was created to democratize beauty by making it affordable and yet having a superior product that you would pay 4X for otherwise!

How involved were you in areas like developing the formulations, packaging of the brand, and other aspects of the business?

I founded the brand, so I had to be extremely involved. From the fragrance to testing the formulas, to make sure my friends and family and team tested the formulas, to going back and forth with what the textures were, to the font, to the packaging, and to marketing, I have been involved in everything. This brand comes from my heart and is the first one that I have founded myself, so I am very hands-on.

What's your goal for your business for the next three years?

When it comes to Anomaly's positioning in the Indian market, it is interesting because of the way consumer preferences have evolved here. I believe that the value we offer and the fact that all the products are available at Rs 1,000 and under, which we believe is a great offer price for a specific target audience that is already spending this or more on beauty. My goal for Anomaly for the next 3 years is to make it a home brand for hair and to make it available to everyone around the world. When it comes to my other businesses, my intention is to expand my portfolio as an entrepreneur, an investor, and as a founder. It will be very exciting to see the growth of Sona Home, Sona New York, and Perfect Moments - where the business side of my career is going to go in the next few years.

What led to your partnership with Nykaa for retailing the products in India?

From the moment of the inception of Anomaly, I knew I wanted to bring it to India. I wanted to make sure we had the right partner to bring Anomaly to India and we found that in Nykaa. I also believe our thinking and beliefs matched. They are disruptors in their space and so are we… both anomalies in our own right. They have a deep understanding of the Indian consumer and the beauty and hair care market. They understand us as a brand and are a great partner in helping us achieve the plans we have for India. They are market leaders…and I also love that it's a female-founded company… kudos to Falguni for creating and building Nykaa into what it is today.

As a producer and investor, what kind of stories and ideas do you like to support?

I always say that Ideas are the currency of the present…I invest in brands that I feel have a trajectory, that is unique, and that I can follow their growth or be a part of their growth. I like to invest in brands that I think have found a gap in the market. When it comes to my company, Purple Pebble Pictures, the idea of Purple Pebble Pictures is to invest in new filmmakers and diverse storytelling, specifically South Asian females. With Purple Pebble Pictures - the inception of the company started with trying to magnify the voices of filmmakers in regional films - we took the same ethos of expanding and giving opportunities to filmmakers and talents from around the world and to help them showcase their work and materialize into a global scale. As a producer, what I really enjoy doing is finding material that really travels and I love cross-pollinating stories.., so taking a story for a particular culture to the rest of the world.

As an artist what satisfies your creative urge?

As an artist, my creative urge is never satisfied. I wake up every day wanting to do something disruptive and hopefully do something that surprises the people that have now known me for the 22 years I have been in entertainment. I am driven by wanting to create constantly and hopefully, that will last for a while!

Where do you look for inspiration? Who has been your ideal?

Everywhere! As cliché as it sounds… There is so much happening in the world today, so many new opportunities, old systems being broken down, and new technologies carving new paths… basically, the world is our oyster… how can you not be inspired by that.

How intuitive are you to read consumer aspirations and tastes or do you bet on your own creative instincts?

I listen to everyone and everything, I keep my ear to the ground, I listen to reviews, and I listen to the needs of the TG that I want to cater to, with my brands, businesses, or my movies. It's an amalgamation of my creativity. I am a pragmatic person so I do like to have information. I am a student of life… I like knowledge. I am a data girl - so I make sure I gather all my information and then make an informed decision - with my instinct as well as my homework!