The Long And Short Of A Beard

Call it the Virat Kohli effect or Ranveer Singh cult, a new trend has emerged in the male grooming world where many can be seen sporting a stubble or beard of different lengths. This has also thrown an open box for entrepreneurs into the beard grooming category. Facial hair is no more uncouth, untidy or a sign of poor grooming, but men today feel instead of removing it, beard should be kept neat and tidy. This is where the beard care products come in, forming a bridge between hair care and skin care. Male grooming products like facial hair oils, wax and conditioners are flooding the market. Though critics assume that the trend will fade away with time, several start-ups are building an industry around the beard.

- Sugandh Bahl

The blades are out

From David Beckham to Kit Harrington (a.k.a John Snow), the bearding styles have invaded salons and barbershop. Men can be seen sporting a stubble, a goatee, a flowing beard, a gruffy, a french even in the suave circles of corporates. It is so, that according to Associated Chambers of Commerce of India, the male grooming business is projected to reach $20 billion mark by 2025.

Working as a chartered accountant in London, Karan Chadha could wear his beard to office, provided it was well groomed. This triggered the idea of launching a beard grooming platform in India, called Gangs of Beard. Karan recalls, “It actually gave me an idea to get such grooming products in the Indian market for men, who would like to keep beard.” Growing and grooming a beard is fun when it’s a new experience in life. Grooming start-ups are targeting the audience between 18 and 35, as men in this bracket are usually more conscious of their appearance. While the white space created in the male grooming market is quite enormous, the existing sector holds immense potential in the women’s space too. Looking at the opportunity, Chandigarh-based Siddhartha Oberoi launched Lets Shave in 2015- the first such platform in India. With over two lakh customer in one-and-a-half years and almost 40 percent repeat customers, Lets Shave aims to go head-to-head with Gillette.