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Remember the time when the Indian beauty industry was dominated by international brands? Although Nykaa made a bold move into the Indian beauty scenario in 2012, it wasn’t enough! People were in dire need of an Indian makeup brand. Wonder why?
Not every International brand had products that suited the Indian skin tone. And, as a result, people often had to make do with whatever was available. That’s when Sugar Cosmetics founder Vineeta Singh came into the picture, acknowledging the need for an Indian cosmetic brand.
The wearability of most of the established brands under Indian weather conditions was questionable back then. Most of them formulated their products keeping lighter skin tones in mind. Understanding these pain points, Vineeta focused on building a cruelty-free cosmetics brand that will suit every Indian skin tone.
And the rest is history! Vineeta’s Sugar Cosmetics was able to build a trusted user base in India just 5 years after launching. Today the brand is India’s most-followed beauty brand on Instagram with over 2+ million followers. The brand is giving tough competition to established International brands today.
So, how did the IIT IIM graduate end up being the Sugar Cosmetics CEO? There’s more to the life of the Sugar Cosmetics founder than you think. Read this article to learn more about this amazing woman!
Early Life and Career
Vineeta completed her schooling at Delhi Public School, R. K. Puram. She was intrigued by entrepreneurship since her teenage days. She completed her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from IIT, Madras. Later, she completed her MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad in 2007.
She worked as an intern at Deutsche Bank while pursuing her MBA. Despite being offered an Rs.1 crore salary package, Vineeta rejected their job offer. She wanted to start a lingerie business at first. However, this plan of building a consumer brand for women did not take off at that moment due to funding issues.
She launched her first startup ‘Quetzal’ in 2007. But, the idea of doing background verification checks for recruiters didn’t thrive in the cost-driven market. She co-founded her second startup Fab Bag in 2012. Fab Bag used to be a subscription platform that availed monthly beauty products to women consumers.
The idea for her next startup was born while working at Fab Bag. This experience of working with a variety of women and understanding their beauty preferences and needs inspired her to launch a beauty brand. In 2015, she launched a direct-to-consumer cosmetics brand ‘Sugar Cosmetics’.
What is Vineeta Singh’s age? Where is her hometown? The following table discusses Vineeta Singh’s biography.
| Name | Vineeta Singh |
| Age | 40 years |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Delhi, India |
| Educational Qualification | Post Graduate |
| Alma Mater | IIT Madras, IIM Ahmedabad |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur- SUGAR Cosmetics |
| Spouse | Kaushik Mukherjee |
Founding of Sugar Cosmetics
Vineeta, who was fascinated by business, always wanted to create something with women as its core consumer. Working with over 2,00,000 women via her beauty subscription company, she learned about the beauty preferences of Indian women.
Women struggled with getting the right shade of cosmetics that suited their skin tone. They relied on outsourcing beauty products from international brands. Hence, they had to settle for products that catered to lighter skin tones.
Most of them did not thrive under the Indian weather which is mostly hot, humid, and rainy throughout the year. Thus, Vineeta embarked on this journey of building makeup products solely for Indian women in India.
The brand was launched with two products- a matte eyeliner and a Kohl pencil. Today, Sugar Cosmetics sells a variety of products including foundations, concealers, bronzers, eyeshadows, mascara, lipsticks, nail paints, and highlighters. They have every beauty product that enhances the face, eyes, lips, and nails of every Indian.
The products from Sugar catered to all Indian skin types. Although it started as a brand with Indian women as its audience, it did not stop there. Today, the products from Sugar Cosmetics serve both men and women. The brand has now become a household name and competes with international brands.
However, it wasn’t always a cakewalk for the Sugar Cosmetics founder. Raising the capital was one of her major roadblocks as many considered digital-first beauty as a small market. In an interview, she revealed she was told that competing with FMCG companies without raising hundreds of millions of dollars was impossible.
Being a woman in business, the Sugar Cosmetics founder had to face a few other difficulties. She was granted funding only under the condition that her husband joined Sugar full-time. The Sugar Cosmetics founder was able to overcome all these obstacles with her hard work and determination.
Her husband’s constant support is another contributing factor to her success. The Sugar Cosmetics founders have set the example of a power couple. While Vineeta takes up the role of Sugar Cosmetics CEO, Kaushik handles the tech department.
Growth of Sugar Cosmetics
The company raises funds of millions today. They sell over 6,50,000 products every month. Since its launch, Sugar has gained millions of followers on Instagram and its app also has over a million downloads. Additionally, the Sugar Cosmetics founder opened 35,000+ retail stores in over 130 cities across India.
They earned a net income of Rs.130 crore in the year 2021. They were also able to launch the SUGAR X WONDER WOMAN collection in collaboration with Warner Bros. It received huge popularity among consumers.
So, how did a company that started with just Rs.30 lakhs in its bank account receive a valuation of 3000 crores? What worked for these Sugar Cosmetics founders? Take a look at some of the components that played a significant role in Sugar Cosmetics’s success.
Affordable products
Sugar Cosmetics was the first ever Indian brand to acknowledge the gap in the price range. For instance, let’s assume you go with Maybelline and Lakme products. Any product bought from this brand would cost you around Rs.300. Now if you are going with higher-end products (Mac), that will cost you over Rs.1000.
Earlier there wasn’t a brand that addressed this price gap. And then, Sugar Cosmetics dropped their products, pricing them between 300-1000. They were affordable and of high quality. This quickly caught the attention of customers.
Good Packaging
Although Sugar Cosmetics sells mid-range products, their packaging screams expensive. So, even if you cannot afford expensive products, you get the premium look in addition to good-quality products with Sugar. The packaging not only looks attractive but is also durable.
Inclusivity
This is a major plus point for Sugar Cosmetics when it comes to product promotions. Vineeta has said on many platforms that it was her passion to start a business that served women primarily. However, Sugar never restricted its audience to women only. Its doors are open to all genders. Since their products aren’t gender-specific, the Sugar Cosmetics founders did not find the need to launch a separate brand for men.
Influencer marketing
Well, every other brand does influencer marketing! What’s so new about it? When it comes to influencer marketing, Sugar’s unique ways set them apart from other brands. In addition to roping in influencers for marketing, they turn their customers into influencers.
When you love a product, you will not mind flaunting it. Sugar has encouraged its customers to post reviews on products and uploaded them to their feeds. A happy customer will recommend the product to others. This way, they have also used word-of-mouth marketing to their advantage.
Hybrid Model
Until 2017, Sugar Cosmetics was a digital-only brand. They used to sell their products through their websites and leading e-commerce platforms. Today, along with selling products through Sugar Cosmetics, Amazon, and Nykaa, they have also opened retail stores in various cities. They have over 35,000 stores across the country.
Digital Marketing
In the new marketing world, people prefer watching crispy informative product videos over reading long blogs. Thus, the short video format on Instagram and YouTube has worked wonders for them. These videos help consumers understand all the product specifications within a few seconds. The Sugar Cosmetics founders used these short videos to their advantage.
Impact and Awards
As discussed earlier, beauty products available back then were either around Rs.300 or Rs.1000. This gap in the price range was not addressed until Sugar Cosmetics’ founders introduced their products. Selling products between 300 and 1000, Sugar became the first ever brand to bridge this gap.
Additionally, the international brands that you relied on earlier were based on global skin standards. Getting in touch with women, Vineeta understood they didn’t suit the Indian skin type. The pollution and the brown skin tones weren’t taken into consideration while launching those products.
However, considering all these factors, Sugar Cosmetics founders introduced products that enhanced Indian skin types. Their products can withstand Indian climatic conditions. Above all, Sugar Cosmetics has helped people feel confident in their skin.
Over the years, Vineetha and Sugar Cosmetics have received the following awards:
Start-up of the Year award by Entrepreneur Awards, Delhi (2019)
- W-Power Award by Forbes India (2021)
- BW Disrupt 40 Under 40 Award by Businessworld (2021)
- Fortune’s 40 Under 40 (2021)
- World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leadership list (2022)
Future Prospects
Now, the focus of Sugar Cosmetics founder is on strengthening both offline and online presence in the best way possible. Vineeta and Kaushik have plans on increasing their retail stores. They are also trying to expand their business globally. Sugar already has a great online presence in the USA and Russia.
The company intends to cross Rs.300 crores in SUGAR Cosmetics revenue. Vineeta has hinted about venturing into the hair care category very soon. Apart from that, they aim to increase their consumer base on mobile applications.
From Passion to Success
Both Vineeta Singh and Sugar Cosmetics have come a long way since the brand’s launch in 2015. The company is one of the fastest-growing premium beauty brands today, attracting makeup enthusiasts.
The brand produces quality makeup products that complement the Indian skin type. Their products are cruelty-free and are available at a fairly affordable price. This makes people fall in love with the products even more.
In addition to the entrepreneurial challenges, being a woman in business, the Sugar Cosmetics founder had to tackle many issues like gender discrimination. However, she has proved with her story that when you are determined to work towards your passion, anything is possible. Vineeta’s journey shows that all the stones can be turned around when you are willing to work toward them.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
Vineeta Singh is the co-founder of SUGAR Cosmetics. Often, when the question “Who is the founder of SUGAR Cosmetics?” is asked, people only refer to Vineeta. Her husband, Kaushik Mukherjee is the other founder. Together, they established the beauty brand which provides quality cosmetics products to Indian skin types in 2015.
Reports say that Vineeta’s income in a month is around Rs.7 to 8 crores. Her income for the year is about Rs.100 crores. Vineeta Singh Sugar Cosmetics’ net worth is estimated at around Rs.660 crores. She owns two cars- a Mercedes Benz 350-D and a Skoda Octavia which costs Rs.80 lakhs and Rs.28 lakhs respectively.
Vineeta Singh married Kaushik Mukherjee in 2015. He is also a co-founder of Sugar Cosmetics. She met Kaushik while she was pursuing her MBA at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. The couple is blessed with two sons. While Singh leads the company as CEO, Mukherjee heads the tech department.
Kaushik Mukherjee, the co-founder of Sugar Cosmetics, is the husband of Vineeta Singh. The couple got married in 2011 and have two sons. Kaushik worked as an Applications Engineer at Oracle Corporation between the years 2004 to 2006. In 2012, he established a start-up with Vineeta Singh called ‘Fab Bag’. Together, they launched SUGAR Cosmetics in 2015.
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