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Manish Gupta, CEO – Fragrance & Fashion Accessories, Titan Company, talks about Skinn’s Rs 1,000 crore ambition, premiumisation, evolving consumer preferences and the company’s strategy to expand fragrance adoption in India

 

India’s fragrance market is witnessing a shift as younger consumers experiment with premium products, differentiated olfactives and new formats. Against this backdrop, Titan’s Skinn is looking to expand its consumer base from around 2.5 million units last year towards eight million units, with the brand potentially crossing Rs 1,000 crore depending on its portfolio mix. Manish Gupta, CEO – Fragrance & Fashion Accessories, Titan Company, talks to BW Retail World on the growth levers behind the ambition, the rise of premium fragrances and how Skinn By Titan and Fastrack are being positioned across price segments and consumer cohorts.

Skinn By Titan has an ambition to cross Rs 1,000 crore in revenue by FY30. What are the key growth levers that will help the brand reach this target?
What we have been aiming for internally is to largely count the number of customers. It is deductive logic from the units and volumes. Last year, we were at about 2.5 million units and change. This year, at this rate, we will certainly cross, hopefully, four million. We are looking to serve eight million units.

If we approximately calculate, because we do not know the mix, we have an estimated mix of the Skinn By Titan and Fastrack brands. It may touch Rs 1,000 crore. Hopefully, it touches Rs 1,000 crore. But in our internal world, we are trying to focus on the number of customers that we are able to reach. So, the Rs 1,000 crore story is basically eight million customers. It may touch Rs 1,000 crore depending on the brand mix.

How do you see the fragrance market evolving in India?
We started in 2013, and at that point in time we were imagining it to become 30-40 per cent of the market. Fragrance adoption in general is significantly lower in India compared with Europe and the US. What we are seeing now is a significant lift among younger consumers, and adoption is far larger. Fragrance penetration has improved significantly as time has passed and the industry is growing at a very rapid pace.

It is important to understand what we mean when we say “industry”. When you have a metal can, like a deodorant, gas-based or non-gas-based, it is largely considered a deodorant product. The average price point could be anywhere between Rs 250 and Rs 350. Nielsen monitors this category, and it is roughly around Rs 5,000 crore annually.

Then you have a small segment called body mist. Whenever you pack it in a PET or plastic bottle, like Bath & Body Works or Victoria’s Secret, those are mists. In our opinion, the mist category is very small, perhaps Rs 300-400 crore.

Then you have fragrances or fine fragrances. Whenever we use the term “fine fragrance”, it means it comes in a glass bottle and is much more evolved in terms of olfactives, longevity and performance. That category is roughly Rs 4,400-4,500 crore.

Overall, the market may be around Rs 10,000 crore, and we believe it has not reached its full potential. There are huge numbers of consumers who are either not using fragrance at all or are only using deodorants and can be upsold into fine fragrances.

What are the key consumer trends driving this opportunity?
When we conduct consumer insight exercises, we find consumers saying they use deodorant when going to the gym because it serves a functional purpose and the performance requirement is shorter. After the gym, they come home, take a shower and use a fine fragrance.

That is how the market is evolving.

When we say why we believe we can serve eight million customers in the future, we focus on the fine fragrance segment.

How are you segmenting the fragrance market, and where do Skinn By Titan and Fastrack fit into it?

When you fragment the market, there are four key trends that we see. There is classification. The hero pack is 100 ml. Below Rs 1,000 is the value segment. Rs 1,000-Rs 3,000 is masstige. Rs 3,000-Rs 8,000 is premium. Above that is prestige or luxury. Each segment behaves differently.

From a channel perspective, e-commerce is the fastest-growing channel and may account for 45-50 per cent of the organised fine-fragrance market, including quick commerce.

A large share of the value segment sits online. Consumers spending Rs 500 on a pizza do not mind trying a new fragrance at Rs 500-800. It is relatively low involvement and generates trials.

Masstige is also strong online but extends into other channels. Skinn By Titan was created 13-14 years ago in the masstige space. Fastrack perfumes are aimed at the value segment. Luxury and premium fragrances, however, are largely sold in retail, including airports, Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Sephora and Parcos.

What is the strategy for Skinn By Titan and Fastrack going forward?
The overall strategy is to establish a very strong perfume lineage within Fastrack. Fastrack is already a strong youth brand through watches, sunglasses, backpacks and more. We want Fastrack perfumes to live within that youth ecosystem.

The value segment is large and largely online. That is where Fastrack is focused.

In the premium segment, we are focusing heavily on creating innovative, desirable products with international appeal at one-third the cost of global brands.

We launched Nova and Aura in February-March and Amalfi Riviera in May-June. We are premiumising our offerings and packaging while creating globally relevant olfactives.

We work with the top fragrance houses in the world, developing fragrances that are aspirational, sophisticated and aligned with global trends.

How important is trial in driving fragrance adoption?
For us, trial is our dharma. Over the last 14-15 years, we have invested significantly in trials. We have done airline sampling, hotel collaborations and extensive tester deployment. We estimate that 8-9 million consumers try Skinn By Titan annually across channels.

Skinn By Titan kiosks are a major area of focus. Today, Skinn By Titan is available across Titan World stores, Fastrack stores, many Taneira stores and other Titan retail formats.

We currently have 18 active Skinn By Titan kiosks and hope to end the year with 40, eventually crossing 100 kiosks. What we find is that 90 per cent of consumers at kiosks are new to Skinn By Titan, despite us being the number one fine fragrance brand.

The third growth driver is brand investment. We have accelerated our marketing investments over the last two years and have seen consumer trials increase dramatically. We continue to invest in both performance marketing and brand marketing.

Consumers are increasingly premiumising and experimenting with fragrances. How is Skinn By Titan adapting its portfolio and pricing strategy?
There is a very clear trend. Roughly 100 million consumers may be using deodorants three to four times a year. Around 30-35 million consumers may be using value fragrances, while approximately 6-8 million consumers are exploring masstige, premium and luxury segments.

In department stores, premium and luxury goods are growing faster than masstige. Consumers are increasingly willing to spend Rs 3,000-Rs 6,000 on quality fragrances. A lot of brands have significantly increased prices post-Covid. We have been more conservative. Consumers are seeking unique and differentiated fragrances and are willing to pay for them.

Are consumers also moving beyond conventional fragrance profiles?
One major trend is fragrance layering. Young consumers are creating their own signature scents by combining multiple fragrances.

We recently launched a gourmand collection under Fastrack. It includes four variants designed to tap into the growing popularity of gourmand fragrances.

When you use words like aqua and other olfactive languages, what I was trying to summarise is that the fundamental fragmentation of olfactives remains broadly the same. Half the fragrances in India may still be woody, 25 per cent fougere, and so on. That broad matrix does not change dramatically.

However, consumers are looking for twists within those categories. For example, if a person prefers woody fragrances, can you offer a woody fougere or woody marine interpretation? That is exactly what we did with one of the variants we launched.

There are niches possible at the second level of olfactive design that create a unique fragrance and help consumers stand out. Consumers are absolutely ready to pay for that.

Tell us about some of the innovations you are using to connect with younger consumers.
We have four variants of Fastrack perfumes ‘Carry Your Vibe’, 8 ml each, which come with a charm. It is available in blue and pink colours. Some consumers have pointed out that the colour coding is stereotypical, but consumers can carry any variant depending on their mood or occasion. You can replace the vial and hang it on a backpack as a charm, carrying it throughout the day.

The entire solution is available at a consumer price of Rs 449. It is built with Fastrack quality and backed by Titan assurance. We are very happy with this innovation, and we ran out of stock within two months.

We have also tapped into music culture. We partnered with Divine and the Gully Gang ecosystem. They have been the face of the brand for the last eight or nine months. We curated three special variants inspired by popular Divine tracks.

The idea is to connect with youth culture, music, self-expression and active lifestyles. We have also launched gourmand-inspired products with strawberry, berries and hazelnut notes, packaged in a style that resembles coffee boxes.

What consumer insights are shaping Skinn By Titan’s recent launches?
On the Skinn By Titan side, we observed growing interest in beach-inspired and marine fragrance notes.

After Covid, there was a preference for calmness and peace. Now consumers are seeking travel, beaches and experiences. Amalfi Rivera emerged from those insights. We continue to build in that space, and Sea Breeze, launching on 15 October, occupies the woody marine territory.

We have done a lot in this space and will continue introducing premium products. One interesting learning for us as brand marketers is the question of brand stretch.

How far can Skinn By Titan stretch as a brand?
For me, Skinn By Titan’s proposition is strong enough to stretch significantly. Consumers are not questioning higher price points. Skinn By Titan launched 15 years ago with a Rs 1,500 pack. Today we have products at Rs 3,000, and for the last two years we have been present at Rs 5,000 as well.

We are also building products in the Rs 7,000 range. I have yet to find a consumer who says the brand is too expensive. The products are beautifully made, the perception of the brand is strong, and brand health scores are very high.

Consumers expect Skinn By Titan to deliver differentiated olfactives and premium experiences. We are constantly engaging with consumers and using that feedback to shape new products. That will remain a key lever for our growth.

We see Fastrack operating in the value space, selected Skinn By Titan lines in the value segment as well, while continuing to expand Skinn By Titan further into premium and masstige categories.