‘Young buyers of tier II, III markets have become very aspirational’

According to a report by Grand View Research, the Indian herbal cosmetics market is expected to reach $4.7 billion by 2026, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.5% from 2019 to 2026. Right in the midst of this exploding market sits T.A.C - The Ayurveda Company, founded in 2021 by Param Bhargava and Shreedha Singh. In 10 months, the company achieved a growth of over 300%.

For the e4m D2C Revolution series, Bhargava spoke to e4m and spoke about how he feels that a sustainable approach towards building the business played a key role in the immense growth. He also attributes the success to the experience that the team carries (from legacy brands), and combining the same with the new age hustle.

T.A.C is also aiming to increase its presence in tier II and III cities in states like Gujarat, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, among others. It recently opened an exclusive store in Indore.

“Young buyers of tier II, III markets have become very aspirational,” Bhargava shared, as he explained how consumers there are looking for new brands and are ready to experiment. “In a tier I city, you have access to a lot of brands. As you move to the tier II and III markets, the brands are less and the consumers are thus more aspirational and open to testing newer brands,” he added.

This is why T.A.C is bullish about ‘Bharat’ consumers, Bhargava noted.

“When one thinks of reaching young consumers, a textbook method is to go down the digital route, because most of them are there. However, T.A.C decided to take a different approach, to reach the young consumer base.”

Leveraging television as a medium, the brand sponsored shows like MTV Roadies which has a large volume of young viewers. “MTV Roadies has a very niche cohort, and properties like this largely help to build trust in the brand,” Bhargava said.  

Explaining why T.A.C didn’t straightaway spend on television ads and instead took the sponsorship route, he mentioned that TV ads are largely for products. The brand’s aim was to build connections with the audience and position Ayurveda as a cool concept.

Bhargava acknowledges that right now the brand’s digital spends are higher, owing to the high cost of advertising on platforms like Meta and Google along with a high influencer marketing cost. “TV ads make sense when you have a larger distribution in place,” he pointed out.

However, this festive season (November onwards) T.A.C will be out with television ads as well. “The films have either been shot or are in the making. But as of now, 70% spends are on digital and 30% on TV,” Bhargava shared.

Watch the full interview: