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Franchise with beauty and wellness
With an endeavour to become a distinguished name in the beauty world and to bring back the eternal golden era of beauty therapies, Nandita Sharma, CEO, Nandita's- The Beauty Zone, plans to take her brand to new heights. In a candid conversation with Ekta Verma, she shares the future aspirations of the brand via the franchise road.

Share with us the inception of your brand.
I started my journey in 2003 and have recently completed ten years of success. I felt there was a lack of standard beauty services and having the knowledge of beautification, triggered me to open my own spalon, Nandita's- The beauty zone. Our brand's USP is Reviving, Restoring, Replacing, and Ruling. Reviving the ancient Indian beauty rituals and restoring the tranquility of nature while replacing the conventional way of beautification and ultimately be able to create a separate beauty entity world-wide that is ruling in beautifying lives.

With umpteen beauty brands mushrooming in the market how does your brand stand out amongst the crowd?
Beauty Industry is currently one of the most lucrative industries in the world. Every aspirant wants to be a part of it. Where other competitors are striving to go ahead with westernised beauty ideas, we have taken a unique approach to bring back the Golden Era. We have set ourselves apart in bringing and developing organic beauty which is more result oriented and long lasting. Excellence has always been our promise. At Nandita's, we look back to hold ourselves accountable and proudly celebrate our accomplishments. We look forward to embrace the challenges ahead and achieve our vision to meet the excellence in the beauty field.

Enlighten us about your franchise business models.
Nandita's- The Beauty Zone, has two models- BIO and Organic Beauty Boutique. Our Organic Beauty Boutique is ideal for providing premium beauty services. The concept of this model is bringing back the Golden Era. We are bringing back the ancient, secret beauty therapies which are not only divine and harmonious with nature but have the ability to be a catalyst towards eternal youth. Organic beauty has a wide range of exotic treatments which are not only soul soothing but can also leave behind any modern-day so-called futuristic treatments. Our second model is BIO (Beautiful inside out). BIO caters to the need of value for money. It is a neighbourhood salon which has a lesser investment. BIO model promises to give the best grooming, wellness and beautifying services of International standards with Indian essence at the most realistic prices.

What are your expansion plans?
We plan to market our brand pan-India on the basis of our unique features. We also plan to create awareness through programs like Indianised salon and wellness Industry. We plan to open franchise units in cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Lucknow.

According to you, what is the market-size of the beauty industry in India?
Indians are becoming more aspiration driven which has led to the evolution of the concept of beauty and wellness in both men and women segment. According to a FICCI study, the wellness services market is currently estimated at $2.3 billion, which would sustain an annual growth rate of about 30-35 percent for the next five years.

What are the opportunities, training and support that your brand offers to the franchisees?
One of the many things that we take pride in is our training and support system where we not only help a franchisee from setup phase but from designing fixtures, staff recruitment and software training to day to day operations. At Nandita's The Beauty Zone, we have developed a total design and salon decor package proven to work. We have a three-fold training model, first one being the soft skills required for a service Industry, management training to the franchise head and team leader to run the show smoothly, and a rigorous technical training to the required staff. We will work with the franchisee to ensure that the salon is nothing short of perfection before opening and with each passing day, we make sure that success becomes a journey all through.

Shed some light on the challenges you have faced till now in this industry.
Initially, like any other firm, we had zero fame and name in the market. The real challenge was to bring in the confidence of people and we got an excellent response with regard to our services. We also have worked thoroughly on the negative feedbacks given by people and implemented them positively for enhanced services. Nandita's Beauty Zone was started in a small city of Mysore, where people don't have the benefit of lavish spending habits but in spite of this, the story of our superior services and value for money got familiar by most of the people in a very less time and public accepted us with open arms.

What are the major growth drivers of this industry?
I believe enhanced awareness with exposure to foreign media and international travel is driving the growth for spa and wellness services in India. In current scenario, hectic lifestyle and lifestyle related diseases will only accelerate the demand for Health and Wellness Industry. Also, availability of consumer credit, increased disposable income and higher discretionary spending has given impetus to the beauty and wellness industry.

Franchise Facts
Investment: Organic Beauty Boutique: Rs 40-45 lakh
Area: 1,500 sq.ft. onwards
Investment: BIO (Beautiful Inside Out): Rs 20-25 lakh
Area: 1,200-1,500 sq. ft.
RoI: 35-40%
Breakeven: Two years
Franchise units: 5