With the changing times, customers have moved on from basic salon services to more experimental ones. The salon brands in the business are changing for good and the modernization they are bringing in is taking the industry ahead. In a conversation with Manjul Gupta, Founder, Bodycraft, for our Indian Salon and Wellness Yearbook 2017, she shares with us her entrepreneurial journey, the plans ahead for the brand and many more
Kindly share a brief about your brand, Bodycraft.
One of the coolest and uber- modern salons in Bengaluru, Bodycraft spells a class and luxury when it comes to pampering beauty and rejuvenating the senses. The salon has over-powered top brands in the city with its signature services and sheer dedication towards its patrons. Standing tall on its principles of hospitality, loyalty, consultation expertise and service bouquet, the brand vouches of maintaining high-quality standards and ensures its clients get an array of services to choose from.
How has been your entrepreneurial journey so far?
Success isn’t an overnight drive and if it’s in a sector that’s long been explored, the challenge increases manifold. The journey from a small one- bedroom home at an army camp to eleven outlets spreading across major commercial zones of IT city is nothing short of a marvel and one that inspires women across generations. With my first clients were friends and neighbours, it was word of mouth publicity that had helped me market my brand in a city infested by national and international trademarks. Ever since its inception in 1997 with Nafisa Joseph inaugurating its first outlet in Frazer Town, the brand has grown rapidly.
Share with us the challenges that you and your brand have faced till now.
The hospitality and service industry is one of the most challenging and demanding industries to be in. Time and investment poured in honing the skills of its service agents, retaining them and ensuring they carried forward the brand values was the major challenge and commanded a helluva of patience and effort. Also, launching something new and innovative and having it accepted in the market was a herculean task, which the brand had to deal with in its initial days. We started at a time when the beauty industry in India was not seeing the boom that it has today. Hence, the availability of products and establishment of distribution channels was a battle we had to fight. We take responsibility of an aspect of a client’s personality, which is critical and we owe them the best.
What is the USP of your brand?
The brand facilitates state of the art equipment and employs over 650 professionals who undergo a well-defined and regulated regime of external and internal training.
Kindly let us know about some of your best moments with the brand.
The brand was recognized and crowned as ‘One of the 50 hottest brands of Bengaluru’ by Paul Writter, twice in a row. It was also awarded the ‘Best spa- salon Bengaluru’ at Asia Brand Excellence Awards 2017.
Any expansion plans for the brand to look forward to?
Bodycraft, currently has outlets in all the major commercial areas of Bengaluru, including Kormangala, Indiranagar, JP Nagar and Whitefield with two more at Lavelle Road and HRBR.
