ByIANSlife Features

September 12, 2019 (IANSlife) There is no dearth of Indian make-up and Ayurvedic beauty brands in the market. But, new to the shelves will be Jeannot Ceuticals, a skincare brand with the ‘ Make for India’ focus that promises natural ingredients backed with international standards of science and technology. IANSlife discovers what it’s all about in a conversation with Ravi Mittal, Managing Director, Ekta Cosmetics and Jordi Morcillo, CEO, Skeynder SLU.

Indians are partial to traditional beauty methods and home remedies. Do you feel that it was high time an Indian company made an entrance into the beauty skincare market with a focus on science rather than Ayurveda?
RM: Ayurveda itself is based on science. You will be surprised to know that the ingredients we have used in our products are all natural. We have used science to arrive at truly unique blends by testing and studying various combinations and enhance the efficacy of the products. That way, we are not too different from the principles of Ayurveda. And we have used science as a research tool to innovate.
Do you feel your line will revolutionize the professional skincare market?
RM: We have been studying the market very closely. Lots and lots of people demand the premium skincare products, but are held back by the prices. So, if a brand like Jeannot Ceuticals can give them premium results in affordable prices, then I don't see any reason why it should not be a revolution. Yes, we had to invest a lot in research and development, but we can recover that quickly given the response we foresee for the brand.

Explain to us how this collaboration with Ekta Cosmetics came to be.

JM: Ekta has already been marketing Skeyndor very successfully in India. So when they talked about the growing need for a mass premium brand, and were ready with an exhaustive research, we decided to be equal partners behind Jeannot Ceuticals.

How important is India as a market for Jeannot Ceuticals?

JM: India is rapidly becoming very lucrative. Every brand wants to tap the great middle class here. And it's for them that we have come up with this brand. That itself stresses on the importance we give to India.

The brand is a "mass premium brand that fulfilled the needs and aspirations of the growing middle classes", please elaborate.

JM: The aspirations of the middle classes are rising, but they value their money and don't indulge themselves blindly. Meeting the aspirations of the masses affordably is mass premium.

The ingredients are dermatologically and allergy tested; can you tell us if it is animal free testing.
RM: Absolutely. Skeyndor, the parent company, has never believed in animal testing. It has always professed complete ban on the practice and set an example for the industry with its own practices.

The skincare line focuses on glow/hydration and anti-ageing, it also has a whitening line, do you think that in a time when colour is being celebrated all over the world a whitening line is outdated?
RM: We too celebrate all colours. The whitening line actually enhances the natural skin tone of a person born with. There is a huge demand for it and as marketers we have to meet those demands. We never promise to turn an Indian skin into a white European skin.

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Editing by Parul Soni and N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe