The Body Shop is growing in double digits: Shriti Malhotra

The health and beauty industry is growing aggressively, and The Body Shop (TBS) is one of the key beneficiaries of this trend. In a conversation with Shriti Malhotra, COO, TBS, highlighted the key trends in this sector.

The health and beauty industry is in the midst of a boom. Kindly share your perspective on this trend?

The growth of the health and beauty industry has been ‘exponential’ over the past five years, and the entry of several international brands has contributed significantly to this development. In addition, consumers are gaining increasing awareness on the latest trends in this industry.

We are also actively ‘engaging’ with our target audience, and the response at various social media has been encouraging. For instance, we had an online question – ‘How to brighten up a girl’s future?’, and the overwhelming response was ‘education’. This encouraged us to launch the campaign, Support Her Education (SHE).

Apart from that, the demand for skincare and allied products from men is also expanding aggressively.

Consumers in smaller towns are also purchasing an array of health and allied beauty products. Do you have a special pricing strategy for tier-II and smaller towns?

We are present in 40 cities on a pan India basis, and our brand is also well known amongst consumers in smaller towns. Our products offer value for money, and along with our ‘ethical’ sourcing of raw materials, it has helped to ensure the relevance of our brand with our target audience.

Which is your bestseller product in India?

Our skin care product range is our bestseller.

What are your expansion plans?

We plan to launch new products every month. In addition, the expansion of our retail network across the country has helped us to grow in ‘double digits’ for the past several years, and we are aiming to ensure a similar growth in our sales, going forward, too.