Mira Kapoor seeks to spark honest conversations for Akind skincare brand

Growing up, Mira Rajput Kapoor would observe her mother's beauty rituals, which were simple and effective derived with natural ingredients like rose petals. As she grew up, her own skincare routines gravitated to the philosophy of ‘less is more’.

While crafting Akind, her own skincare brand, she drew inspiration from those early memories and her journey into beauty, which always intertwined with wellness, recognising the fact that what one applies on the skin is a reflection of one’s overall health.

“In addition, my skincare journey hit its stride when I finally started realising what my skin was trying to tell me. It's been a journey of discovery, with plenty of trial and error along the way. But through it all, I've found what works for me, and I wanted to share that with others who are on their own quest for a glowing, healthy skin,” she revealed.

Turning passion into her business venture

Tira, Reliance Retail’s omnichannel beauty retail platform, launched the Akind skincare brand, which is co-founded by Kapoor. Many know her as actor Shahid Kapoor’s significant other, who has also emerged as a social media influencer with over 5 million Instagram followers.

While she has enthralled netizens with her workout videos and fashionistas with her fashion-forward sartorial tastes, few know that she is also an angel investor. Her investment in startups like Sarva Yoga, Wellbeing Nutrition and Zama Organics, reflect her belief in holistic wellbeing.

The launch of Akind marks her entrepreneurial debut, where she will have to push the envelope beyond her celebrity status to capture the attention of a customer base that places onus on authenticity over glamour quotient. After all, while celebrity endorsements have been a popular marketing strategy, brands are realising that engaging consumers' attention and time with just a big name is getting tougher. TV ads featuring celebrities dropped by 10% between January and June 2023, according to data compiled by AdEx India, a division of TAM Media Research, an audience measurement and advertising research firm.

 

 

 

 

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In a world where attention is a scarce commodity, Kapoor is banking on authenticity and relevance to make her brand’s presence felt. “With Akind, I'm not just endorsing a product; I'm sharing my personal journey and passion for skincare. I would like to seek the attention of consumers by being my authentic self and encouraging them to be their authentic self,” she told Campaign India.

The gen Z generation, Akind’s core target audience, expect genuineness in the people they follow on their social media and seek a true connection between the celebrity and the product they are endorsing. Kapoor admires this belief, which mirrors her personal philosophy and will try to foster that real connection between herself and the brand’s audience.

“Thanks to social media, we are able to have open and honest conversations and cover the entire gamut when it comes to embracing differences in each other and celebrating the uniqueness in everyone. Social media is a strength when used correctly in educating the audience, getting honest feedback, engaging with them in an as authentic way as much as possible,” she opined.

Not skin deep anymore

Kapoor is enthusiastic to see how committed the younger generation is when to comes selfcare and skin routines. This shared passion has helped bridge the gap between celebrity and consumer and also spawn a legion of celebrity-led beauty and wellness brands, from Katrina Kaif’s Kay Beauty, Kriti Sanon’s Hyphen or even Masaba Gupta’s Lovechild.

The Indian skincare market is expected to reach $3.73 billion by FY2031. Image source: Pixabay

There is a reason why these celebrities are making a beeline to launch their own product lines. According to a report by Markets and Data, the country’s skin care market was estimated to be worth $2.56 billion in FY2023 and is expected to reach $3.73 billion by FY2031, growing at a 4.82% CAGR between FY2024 and FY2031.

The industry has also graduated from a luxury to an aspiration to a must-have product category, and celebrities have always fronted the campaigns for most of the brands. Introducing brands that headline their persona just makes better business sense as they can leverage their existing brand equity and diversify their commercial interests.

However, getting a toehold in a market where popular actresses and models are the face of the brand is likely to be challenging for Akind. To set itself apart from other celebrity-led skincare brands especially, the company will lean on having conversations around simplicity.

“The beauty world can be overwhelming with all its trends and advice flying around. We believe in listening to your skin; it's like having a chat with your skin and giving it exactly what it's asking for—no more, no less. The unique selling proposition of Akind lies in its unwavering commitment to simplifying skincare…offering straightforward solutions tailored to individual needs,” Kapoor emphasised.

The brand will concentrate on its ethos of keeping skincare relatable and uncomplicated. To ensure this, Kapoor will play an active role in that Akind goes beyond just being a co-founder. She claims to be deeply invested in every aspect of the entity, from curating the product formulations for its nine SKUs to shaping its overall vision and will also work closely with Reliance Retail’s Tira brand team.

For now, she is excited to connect with Akind’s user community, to share her own skincare journey, and to empower others to feel confident and beautiful in their own skin. “We are looking forward to our customer voices, testimonials from customers who have seen amazing results with our products, a behind-the-scenes look at how our formulations were created, etc. Ultimately, our goal is to build trust and loyalty with our customers, so they know they can always count on Akind for skincare that works,” she summed up.