NYKAA - Brand Strategy
The Beginning
Nykaa is an Indian E-Commerce website offering beauty, wellness, and fashion products. Falguni
Nayar, a former managing director at Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, founded Nykaa in 2012.
She realised that the Indian beauty sector was very unorganised and decided to fill the gap by
introducing a multi brand retail format.
What started as a beauty company has now expanded to health and wellness, fashion, and much
more. They’ve also launched their own label brands— Nykaa Cosmetics, Nykaa Naturals.
Today, it is valued at $4.5 billion, boasts a portfolio of over 3 lakh products and has partnered
with more than 1,500 brands.
What made the brand catapult to the top?
An early adopter of E-Commerce in India, Nykaa has truly changed how women buy makeup and skincare products. It is a one stop shop which is accessible to women all around India.
The USP of brand is definitely the wide product portfolio it offers, from big brand names to niche and cult favourite brands to new indie brands, it truly has it all. You can often see Nykaa partnering up with brands exclusively in India, over the years it has gained trust in the minds of the consumers and ensured authenticity which has been a difficult task to manage even for giant behemoths like Amazon and Flipkart.
Distribution, Competition Analysis and Communication Strategy
Nykaa’s brand image has developed through a strong customer trust and has a high brand recall.
1. Product Offering:
With more than 3 lakh products to choose from ranging from categories like Hair, Makeup,
Skincare, Beauty Appliances, Natural care to name a few, there is something for everyone:
beauty giants like Loreal, Lakme, Mac to niche brands like Elf beauty or Tony Moly, the options are endless.
2. Inventory:
Nykaa stands out from other E-Commerce players because of its inventory-led business model.
Products are bought from brands and distributors, and then sold directly to the customers.
Unlike a marketplace model, where third party sellers list products, Nykaa has a stronger hold on
what it sells, which arrests counterfeit products from making it to the platform. This ensures
authenticity of products and competitive pricing.
3. Competition Analysis
Nykaa is the clear winner in all the 3 categories. It has become synonymous with beauty shopping destination in the country.
4. Social Media Presence:
The company also has a high social media presence and has been successful with connecting with its customers through channels like YouTube and Instagram with more than 5.6 Million followers across them. It has a strong following of millennial and Gen Z customers.
They have positioned themselves with a relatable, girl-next-door vibe which Nykaa’s customers
have lapped up and can really relate to.
These factors couple along with the company’s 150-strong customer service team and a
delivery network across 70K pin-codes in India, have built Nykaa’s brand reputation.