Jhalak Shah, Founder, Diam Beauty, shares the story of her brand’s origin and its path forward with Kanishka Ramchandani.
In the dynamic world of make-up, diversity reigns supreme as beauty is interpreted uniquely by each individual. Amidst this pursuit, make-up serves as a powerful tool for self-expression and enhancement. With innovations continuously shaping the industry, Diam Beauty is enthralling its audience with its niche offerings with fresh perspectives and cutting-edge formulations to meet the evolving desires of consumers. From accentuating features to uplifting spirits on dull days, make-up remains a go-to for achieving confidence and radiance from within.
Excerpts from an interview with Jhalak Shah, Founder, Diam Beauty
The inspiration
“I moved from Europe to India shortly before COVID and noticed a vast difference in the beauty markets. I had noticed a sudden rise in brands with a more inclusive range for people of colour such as Fenty Beauty. I didn’t see that representation of Indian skin despite India being such a large country. I wanted to have a brand that’s made not just for Indian skin, but also for Indian temperatures because a lot of the best-selling formulations globally don’t perform well here due to high heat and humidity. That’s how the idea for Diam Beauty was born.”
The name
“Diam is short for diamond, and diamond is the strongest material in the world, and also known as a girl’s best friend. However, this perception is changing now. Today’s generation doesn’t believe in saving their money to buy that one diamond, they are a lot more about self-care. And that is the message we want to reinforce to the consumer that you are the strongest for yourself and you are brilliant like a diamond. That’s where the name comes from!”
The plan
“When we launched in August 2021, it was a test run for about a year. We focussed on packaging, formulations and market response. We studied the response to our unique products such as liquid blushes and false lashes that could be glued with a lash liner. Once we got data, we were confident about our products and the brand. We rebranded and relaunched last June with new packaging that represented us better – we chose rose gold packaging to exude luxury on a budget.
We took a call about false lashes as we realised there’s not a good market for it yet. customers don’t want to invest in a 1400-rupee pack of lashes and then ruin them. The average Indian consumer prefers lipsticks and eyeliners, followed by blush and highlighter. So, we decided colour cosmetics was the way to go.
Currently, we’re a bootstrapped company and we’re open to hearing if there’s any interest from the investors.”
The offerings
“As a product category, liquid blush has picked up in the last two years. It’s a product that’s easy to use and is multifunctional as you can use it on your lips, your eyes and your cheeks. Our formulation has five actives, which particularly help with the cheek area. So, if you have acne-prone skin or pigmentation, it helps fight that as well. It has turned out to be our best-selling product for this reason.
Apart from the liquid blush, we have liquid lipsticks, wet lip glazes (lip gloss), glass tint balms and liquid highlighters.
We have two more launches coming soon in colour cosmetics.”
The customers
“Our customers, 9 out of 10 times, have come back to us. They are happy with our formulations and shades. Each time they give us feedback, we try to integrate it into our reworkings.
For instance, we got great feedback for our glass tint, but also some constructive criticism. We took that into consideration and reworked the formula almost from scratch to make sure that all the feedback was integrated. We realised, based on the feedback, that the original packaging was non-retractable, so we worked to improve on it. Now thanks to the new packaging, the customer has a little bit more control over how much product is dispersed and that also adds to the formulation of the product.”
The reach
“We’re available on our website as well as on Amazon, Nykaa, Purplle, Vanity Wagon, Minifield, Foxy and Tira.
Offline activations are definitely a part of our future plans. Before we jump into getting a store, we plan to have a lot more pop-ups, stalls and exhibitions.”
The marketing strategy
“We have a couple of cross collabs in the pipeline, which I believe is going to be beneficial for both us and the brand we’re partnering with, because it allows us to dip our toes in different communities, different markets. We also have the ‘I Am Beauty’ campaign. Our brand literally is D-I-A-M Beauty! We have a strong reinforcement of ‘I Am Beauty’, which helps celebrate each individual’s beauty in their unique form. Also, we encourage our customers to tag us on their stories on social media, which helps build more brand awareness. We give out stickers with positive affirmations. We have designed all of these activities to make the entire consumer experience memorable and help us build our organic reach.
We have WhatsApp and email marketing, but the primary source of marketing and outreach is through social media.”
The professionals
“We love sending our products to these big and influential make-up artists, in the form of PR or marketing. I think when professional artists are working on a bride, they have certain requirements to use XYZ brands. As and when our name grows organically, I am confident that a day will come when Diam Beauty will be a part of their bridal make-up kit.”