By Puja Gupta

New Delhi, Jul 30 (IANSlife): The knee jerk disruption caused by the pandemic and the months of lockdown which followed, has left every sector with a lot of challenges. As sales and profits took a huge dip overnight, the bounce back is tough for all. The beauty industry is no different.

However, as things get back to normal, players in the beauty business were quick to realise the changes required in the current scenario given the shift in consumer demands.

IANSlife spoke to industry veteran Samir Modi, Founder and Managing Director of Colorbar, to know how the industry is positioning itself in accordance with the changes in consumer behaviour and the way forward. Read excerpts:

Q: How do you think the pandemic has impacted the overall beauty market in India?

A: For the entire industry it has been a time of massive repercussions across the value chain. We saw the following changes:

Change in business formats, as opposed to the way we were doing things before the lockdown. For example the biggest learning of our times has been the clear shift from traditional selling points to activating digital spends, as retail business was the most impacted since the very first lockdown back in March.

Investing into Skincare based solutions as an extension of the existing portfolios

Rise in the Essentials category and Personal Care products

Various Digital initiatives yielding better fruits. We at Colorbar have also had to re-look, reset and re-imagine our business model, since customers today have become very conscious about their safety and health. We've developed many statements of hygiene and safety ensuring Colorbar has the safest environment out there, for both the consumers and our staff.

Q: As most brands are going vegan and sustainable with a nominal carbon footprint, is Colorbar also planning to do so?

A: Colorbar is also working in the same space. We have also been concentrating and investing in the skin category, and have come up with solutions based skincare products over Color cosmetics, with greater emphasis on clean beauty. To name a few products, those are: Colorbar Go-To-Partner, Timeless Lift range of Anti-ageing product range, Bubble sheet mask, soon to be launched 'Water Bomb Collection' in the coming week. We are also looking into Sustainable packaging as way forward.

Q: What does clean beauty actually mean and what is its importance?

A: When we say clean beauty we mean that the products are natural, and do not incorporate methods that are harmful to the environment. The products are dermatologically and ophthalmologically tested. This concept is now trending globally as more and more people are embracing it.

We at Colorbar have also been working in this space and are evaluating clean beauty for both Color Cosmetics category, as well as putting greater effort in the Skincare category by launching various products as part of our growing Skincare portfolio. Today Colorbar's Skincare range makes a 10 percent contribution to our total portfolio and I see this increasing rapidly in the coming years. Our unique one of a kind clean beauty range is finding greater traction than ever before.

Most importantly, our products are 100 percent cruelty-free and dermatologically tested. It has the WHO-approved GMP (Good Manufacturing Processes) certification, and it meets the stringent EU/US/JP/FDA quality standards.

Q: Digital is the way forward? How is Colorbar growing digitally?

A: Our strategy for 2020 is to give the safest and most hygienic experience to our customers and to be able to replicate the offline experience online. Hence, we are focusing on the digital nature of our promotional strategies in a bigger way.

While the digital space had always been relevant to us, it has gained substantial importance now, and we are working towards it in the following manner:

Colorbar Virtual Makeover App: We will very soon be introducing this App in this quarter, whereby the customers are able to try out various colors on their face, 'digitally', i.e the colors will reflect on the digital impression of their face, doing away from actual make-up done by a make-up artist.

Introduced initiatives like: Virtual BA and an Affiliate programme to do interesting tie ups with the influencers and blogger community, which will further strengthen us offline as well.

E-brochures, linked to a QR code: are now more important than ever to communicate important product knowledge and application tips, along with sharing make-up tutorials