Cover Feature

p HER: VU DUONG ALBUM HAIR, TORONTO | CA; p HOTO GRA

BUSINESS BUSINESS

Building a

Pan-Indian Brand

27 states and 86 cities across India in three years — KT Professional, from the stables of Ccigmaa Lifestyle, is charging across the country and building its presence in every corner.

The 50 year legacy of Ccigmaa Lifestyle is dedicated to manufacturing and exporting hair care products and tools to 75 countries across the globe. Three years ago, the award-winning company ventured into the salon space with KT Professional, offering innovative hair care products and services such as the latest ‘Hair Botox’. The rapid growth of this promising brand across the country with a short span of time is a commendable feat few others can pull off. Beauty Launchpad spoke to Dhruv Sayani, Director @ Ccigmaa Lifestyle about the brand’s pan-Indian journey so far and the next steps in business.

Which areas of the country do you cover and what are your plans to reach out to the target market?

KT Professional is just about three years old and we are currently present across 27 states and 8500 salons in India. Our business is spread in 86 cities in the country, predominantly in the western region as we are headquartered in Mumbai. We are well placed in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Central India. However, we treat all markets with an equal level of interest — be it East, South, or North. I am happy to share with you that we have an investment of staff even in a city like Jammu, where not many venture due to the political climate.

In the South, the market mostly favours skin than hair. As you are mainly in the business of hair care products and tools, what is the strategy for such challenges?

Yes, skincare is the dominant market in South India. This is because comparatively, skincare companies have taken more efforts in reaching out to the consumers in this region and starting conversations. At least 25 international brands and over 47 Indian companies have a strong presence in the skincare market in the south. As for the hair segment, there aren’t enough brands servicing this zone — even for hair smoothening or straightening when in fact, frizzy hair and curl management is a major haircare concern in the region. We see a major gap here in addressing the consumers’ need for services that help manage unruly hair. Keeping these factors in mind,

KT Professional has introduced a variety of products and services that cater to salons, such as Keratin, Cysteine, smoothening, straightening, hair protein, hair botox, hair spas, oils, shampoo and conditioner, etc.

INNOVATION

KT Professional recently introduced Hair Botox. It’s called ‘Fibre Botox Treatment’ and is a 2-in-1 service that combines the benefits of both plex and protein services. It is an add-on service for salons — for example when a client has thinning hair, they wouldn’t opt for a straightening service. So, what can we do to increase their quality? This is the opportunity we identified and tested the product for a year. And, I am happy to share that within two months of its launch, we have received phenomenal response for the Fibre Botox treatment.

KT Professional is present in 8500 salons across India. What salon category are you focused on and what is their scale?

Our range of products goes all the way from A-plus to C-plus and we have different price points. So, we cater across all categories of salons. Even our shampoo & conditioner ranges and treatments come in two or three variants to cater to all types of salons — be it corporate, stand-alone or salon chains.

As you have a strong presence in the Western region, would you like to share more about your salon associations there?

We have been working across various salons in the West. Our Cysteine Plus Treatment is doing very well at LOOKS Salon. Some of our services are provided at salons like Jawed Habib and Kromakay, to name a few. Our protein service is being offered by Affinity Salons as well. Besides these, we also work with standalone salons as I believe, these days consumers value the quality of services offered than just a brand name. And, that is the focus of our company as well.

What challenges do you see for hair services, particularly?

Earlier, hair services were all about straightening. Then, it shifted to Smoothening, Keratin, Protein, and so on. Innovation is the key to moving forward. India is still very raw as a market, as compared to western countries. They have more options and exposure — but, we keep forgetting that we are a country of 1.35 billion people and hair texture changes with every 100 km. While there is the humidity and frizz issue in Mumbai, in Kerala, hair is much more nourished but unruly, and in Punjab, hair is silky and long but high maintenance.

Sustainability is a hot topic across industries these days. What is your take on it?

A lot of brands are taking up the initiative. Sustainable packaging is only the first step — in the long-term, awareness is what matters. People are conscious of sustainable practices now and I think, this consciousness is definitely going to define the way forward.

At KT Professional, we take sustainability very seriously. In 2020, we will be innovating not only in terms of packaging but also in terms of eco-friendly and sustainable products.