This Nykaa-like platform aims to disrupt Bangladesh’s beauty ecommerce space

Falguni Nayar’s profit-making magnificence and private care startup Nykaa has received many hearts in India. Out there at our fingertips, India boasts of a number of manufacturers, together with SUGAR Cosmetics, WOW Pores and skin Science, mCaffeine, Purple, MyGlamm, and so forth., who promote many wanted merchandise on-line and in bodily retail shops.  

Nonetheless, the state of affairs in our neighbouring nation Bangladesh is sort of completely different. The wonder and private care, in addition to ecommerce sectors, are nonetheless of their early days with a handful of gamers. 

For instance, world magnificence model Revlon — which entered the Indian market in 1995 — was solely launched in Bangladesh in 2022 after an unique partnership with an area magnificence startup, Shajgoj. 

Dhaka, Bangladesh-based Shajgoj — which interprets to ‘to adorn or gown up’ — is a magnificence ecommerce startup launched in 2013 by Nazmul Sheikh, Sinthia Sharmin Islam, and Milky Mahmud. 

However it was solely in 2018 that it began promoting magnificence and private care merchandise within the nation — catering to virtually 400,000 prospects.

By means of its on-line platform and two flagship shops in Dhaka, Shajgoj sells 10,000 magnificence and private care merchandise from over 400 famend manufacturers. 

The Aha second

A former telecom engineer working in Nigeria, Nazmul obtained the thought of beginning Shajgoj throughout a go to to Dubai.

“My spouse Sinthia and I have been visiting the Dubai Mall when she discovered a cosmetics retailer and spent virtually two hours hoarding cosmetics. After I requested her what was so particular about them, she informed me that these merchandise weren’t obtainable in Bangladesh. And we realised the extremely undersized magnificence sector of the nation,” remembers Nazmul. 

In keeping with Allied Market Analysis, in 2020, Bangladesh’s skincare merchandise market dimension was valued at $1.23 billion, anticipated to garner $2.12 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 8.1 % between 2021 and 2027.

On the time, Nazmul says, as a bootstrapped firm, exploring a distinct segment market via content material was robust. 

Earlier than the founders might launch the wonder ecommerce platform, they needed to create the demand for its merchandise for nearly 5 years by repeatedly publishing blogs on matters, together with magnificence, hygiene, and skincare, for higher public consciousness. 

“The preliminary workforce consisted of fine content material writers who researched matters equivalent to magnificence and skincare routines, merchandise that go well with completely different pores and skin sorts, private hygiene, and others,” he provides. 

Right now, Shajgoj continues to create each video and written content material to realize extra customers. It competes with ecommerce web sites, together with Evaly, Priyoshop, and Daraz Bangladesh.

Lack of genuine merchandise

In keeping with Nazmul, ecommerce in Bangladesh is slowly however organically rising with the presence of Amazon, Flipkart, and Alibaba. Nonetheless, a distinct segment market like magnificence and private care wants extra devoted gamers.

Furthermore, lots of the magnificence merchandise bought within the nation are of substandard high quality. A 2018 examine discovered that over 50 % of pores and skin whitening lotions bought on-line in Bangladesh contained larger ranges of mercury than permissible. 

“In India, you may have Nykka, Flipkart, Amazon, Meesho, Myntra, and so many different ecommerce platforms that promote genuine magnificence merchandise. However, in Bangladesh, the apprehension towards ecommerce platforms is sort of actual. On this state of affairs, promoting genuine merchandise performs an important function in creating the belief for ecommerce amongst prospects, each previous and new,” Nazmul says.

Future plans 

Bangladesh’s magnificence merchandise market has witnessed huge progress and modifications, particularly amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Earlier, Shajgoj noticed a 60 % demand for make-up merchandise. The pandemic created a client behaviour shift, and at the moment, virtually 40 % of the demand is for skincare and hygiene merchandise,” Nazmul explains.

With 165.8 million smartphone customers in Bangladesh and virtually 28.8 % of the nation’s inhabitants accessing the web, the demand for magnificence merchandise is predicted to vary additional. 

Shajgoj plans to discover these modifications to develop by 400 %. Nazmul says the goal is sort of scalable because the firm projected a 5X and a 4X annual progress fee in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

“We’re planning to accumulate extra prospects, arrange extra shops, and likewise launch our non-public label,” he provides.

In the meantime, the startup’s 300-plus robust workforce sees almost 180,000 month-to-month orders on its ecommerce web site. 

 In March 2022, Shajgoj raised $2.15 million in its seed fund spherical from Surge — Sequoia Capital India’s fast scale-up programme — and SBK Tech Enterprise. 

On the time, Sonia Bashir Kabir, Managing Director of SBK Tech Ventures, mentioned, “Shajgoj’s mission to empower girls from all walks of life aligns very nicely with SBK Tech Ventures’ funding technique and assist for gender equality. We’re dedicated to investing in startups, which remedy large-scale issues by leveraging expertise, and we’re assured in Shajgoj’s stellar imaginative and prescient and gifted workforce.”

Platforms like Shajgoj are enabling girls from all walks of life to really feel lovely and assured in their very own pores and skin.