In an interview with BW Businessworld, Malini Adapureddy states that consumers now prefer use-case driven products over generic ones
Highlighting growing consumer awareness about skin types and specific concerns, Malini Adapureddy, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Deconstruct, a science-backed skincare brand, has stated that they are going for a use case first product rather than generic products. Adapureddy states that now consumers do not want just a face wash, they want an oil-control face wash.
Emphasising that maintaining a good product for the consumers consistently remains crucial, the Founder noted that a good quality product with extensive research and development (R&D) and testing forms the base of winning the consumer trust. The CEO added that the brand is aiming to achieve Rs 500 crore annualised net revenue in the current fiscal year (FY26).
In an interview with BW Businessworld, Malini Adapureddy shared insights on the company’s growth plans, the evolution of the skincare industry, key trends driving the growth as well as the plans for FY26. Edited Excerpts
Skincare is a very sensitive industry and people are conscious about the products they use. How is Deconstruct catering to the demand while ensuring that the trust factor remains intact?
We have access to extensive testing and research and development (R&D), thanks to the pharma industry that is developed very widely in India. It is not that R&D or testing do not happen with the direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands. The first and foremost important thing is maintaining a good product for the consumer and maintaining it consistently and from a good quality perspective across batches of products.
Apart from that, you need to walk the talk. When we say we are an effective and gentle brand, are we to give that from a formulation perspective to the customers is also important. With the extensive R&D network and testing we have, that is something we always provide to the consumers. I would rather say that a good quality product with extensive R&D and testing is the basis of winning the consumer’s trust.
What were the key categories or segments that drove the growth in the previous fiscal?
Three sectors work for us. One is sunscreen. I think sunscreen as a market is something that has done very well for most of the brands that are there. We actually claim the entire market for sunscreen for oily skin and our gel sunscreen is a hero product over there.
There is a vitamin C serum. Again, we are a pioneer in the vitamin C serum space as well. Then we have an innovative product called lip balm with SPF because until now, lip balms were just for hydrating elements, but we actually got a lip balm along with a sun protection factor, which kind of made us an innovative brand in the market… These are the products where the growth came through.
Deconstruct also managed to cut down the customer acquisition costs recently. Can you elaborate a bit more about the current status on that?
Giving a quality product means that once a customer buys your product, they keep coming back to you. So you do not need to put in money for the customer to return to you. A lot of people actually spend the same amount of money on acquiring the customer again and again, because the quality of the product is not up to the mark and other associated factors. That is where we take a lot of care that the product is consistently on the right quality every time you purchase it.
I think that’s basically what has increased our repeat rate. The repeat rates of the brand stand as high as around 40 to 50 per cent, and that basically puts us in a place where we do not need to reinvest in marketing to those consumers. That is exactly how our customer acquisition costs are always in control, and they continue to be the same.
The brand recently raised Rs 65 crore. where is it being utilised? What is the update on this aspect?
As of now, it is not being utilised yet because we are continuously profitable. Now, where will we be utilising that? It will be in improving our entire R&D capabilities. R&D is one of the most important aspects and the backbone of what we give to the consumer. We want to go a little bit further concerning our R&D capabilities. And also we would like to experiment with international expansion and offline retail market.
What has been the distribution strategy for Deconstruct? What is the proportion of sales coming from different channels?
We are currently completely online. We do not have any presence offline per se. So this basically what we will be doing in this fiscal year (FY26) as our first set of experimentation there. We will be expanding offline.
What is the current status of the new product offerings by the brand?
Gel sunscreen is a hero product in the sunscreen category. We have two more innovative sunscreens. There is a fluid sunscreen for dry skin, and there is an invisible water sunscreen with encapsulated technology. Encapsulated technology means that there is a slow and steady release of the sun filter. By these filters, you do not need to reapply sunscreen every two hours. So that is a unique product we brought into the market. Then, apart from that, we have an oil-free moisturiser, which we are taking very seriously.
What is the revenue target that Deconstruct will be targeting this fiscal year? What is the expected growth rate?
We would like to continue our streak of growth, whatever happened over the last year or so. We are looking at achieving Rs 500 crore annualised net revenue by FY26. This is the target for us as we exit March 2026.
What are the three key trends that will drive the growth in this industry going forward?
One is about the consumer itself. At one point in time, personal care and skin care was supposedly a very female predominant industry. We see a lot of males also adopting this. That is a really welcome change because it is hygiene and it is like grooming. Earlier, grooming meant just beard grooming. But then, even skin care is equal to that of grooming and being presentable.
Number two is proactive protection of skin rather than treating the problems later and the entire sunscreen penetration we are seeing because rather than working on dark spots later on or removing the pigmentation later on, one would rather apply sunscreen, so they do not even get into it.
Number three would be the overall way in which consumers are purchasing products.
Now, they know their skin type and the problem that they are facing. They are actually going for a use case first product rather than generic products, like they do not want just a face wash, they want an oil control face wash.
