8 mins
THE VEGAN WAY AHEAD
From ‘I-don’t-understand-what-it-means’ to ‘I-want-to-be-a-vegan,’ world citizens have come a long way since the term vegan was coined, back in 1944. What began as a dietary option has today become a lifestyle choice. As the International Vegan Day approaches in November, Kanishka Ramchandani brings a fresh perspective to the rise of vegan beauty and its future.
Vegan beauty is a concept that is fast garnering attention. A-list celebrities and top-notch influencers are seen promoting the pros of vegan beauty. Ahead of the International Vegan Day in November, we look at the impact of the movement on the beauty industry.
Fact file: A vegan beauty product is devoid of any ingredient that is sourced from animals. The cruelty-free tag on products refers to the fact that the product has not been tested on animals. It does not mean it has no animal product. Similarly, a vegan product does not imply that it has not been tested on animals.
Creating awareness
Mauli Teli
According to Mauli Teli, CEO and Managing Director, IBA Cosmetics, many brands are moving towards clean beauty – natural, vegan, organic and cruelty-free. “These are ethical brands, which are responsibly sourced, produced and marketed. There has been a huge influx of brands – both home-grown and international – to ride this ethical consumption wave. A subset of this new and fast-growing clean and ethical beauty category is halal-certified cosmetics. Products that are so certified contain no alcohol, pig fat, harsh chemicals like sulphates or parabens or animal-derived ingredients. Everything, from sourcing to manufacturing, is tightly regulated.”
The concept of vegan beauty is relatively new in India. While the consumer is growing more aware by each passing day, she is also overwhelmed with marketing gimmicks and jargon. Keywords like herbal, natural, naturebased, plant sourced, marine and cruelty-free are already crowding the communication channels. Veganism, therefore, needs to find a stronger footing and send out a clear message. Here is what brands have to say about their efforts at creating awareness.
Pushkaraj Shenai
Pushkaraj Shenai, Head, Unilever ProBeauty, says, “Dermalogica has been a clean, professional-grade skin care brand since its inception in 1986. All but three of our products are vegan. Our formulas are free of artificial colours and fragrances, mineral oil, lanolin, SD alcohol, parabens and microplastics. We are recognised cruelty-free by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Leaping Bunny. We are also working towards making all our packaging sustainable – the paper and cartons we use are FSC certified to be sustainable for forests. We ensure we communicate this to our customers at the onset of their journey with us because we want to reassure them that what they are putting on their skin is not just safe for them, but also for the environment. Education is one of our key pillars, both for our skin therapists as well as for our consumers, and communicating the fact that our products are vegan and clean is imperative.”
Sneha Maskara
Sneha Maskara, Co-Founder, Boujee Beauty, reveals, “At Boujee Beauty, it is one of our USPs to have 100 per cent vegan products. We try to promote this aspect as much as we can. Clients are also interested in understanding what is in it for them, therefore, we highlight for them the benefits of using vegan products and how it is beneficial for them in the long run.”
Harsukh Pathar
Harsukh Pathar, Managing Director, Ocea Marine Cosmetics, opines, “Both our brands – Thalgo and Perron Rigot – are not completely vegan but they are majorly vegetarian with no animal products in them, and they are also cruelty-free. There are a few SKUs, which are vegan, made as per the current trend of veganism. It is to satisfy a certain section of the market, which demands vegan products. We highlight such vegan products through social media platforms and our online platforms. Also, during the training sessions and the sales pitch, the vegan products are highlighted and explained.”
Teli adds, “Study of the market revealed to us the opportunity in Halal Cosmetics, which further primary and secondary research corroborated to be a large niche within the beauty sector. Muslim women experienced restrictions and guilt in the pursuit of beauty due to unavailability of halal certified cosmetics and personal care. And so IBA Cosmetics was born. We launched in 2014 with two exclusive stores in Ahmedabad and presence on Amazon and with a range of over 60 products across skincare, hair care, makeup and fragrances.”
Professional approach
While consumer brands are making the most of this trend, the professional beauty industry is not far behind. Salon, beauty spas and freelance professionals are taking into account consumer preferences while opting for vegan products.
Shenai elaborates, “Over the past few years, customers have increasingly become more aware about sustainability, clean beauty and vegan brands, and this concern has only increased with the pandemic. People want to know and understand what they are using and investing in, and it’s heartening to see the industry respond positively to this demand. At Dermalogica, we are committed to educating not just the skin therapist community, but also our consumers about skin health and the importance of using the right products and services in a routine. The beauty and wellness industry is vast and every contribution towards sustainability and veganism counts.”
“With customers getting more and more educated about what they are consuming and the ingredients used in the product, salons nowadays have become more conscious about the products they are using on their clients,” clarifies Maskara.
Pathar pointed out that there is not a big demand for vegan products just as yet in India. Vegetarianism is an age-old concept being followed in India with the western countries now beginning to follow. Major chunk of our products are vegetarian and are all crueltyfree. In both these sections of society, we have not yet seen a lot of demand for vegan products or that the vegan products are doing better sales than their non-vegan counterparts. Hence, we do not yet see a major change in the salon industry from the perspective of a distributor of brands.”
What are the benefits of having vegan products for in-salon treatments?
Pushkaraj Shenai, Head, Unilever ProBeauty: Whether in-salon or retail, vegan products are safer on the skin and are suitable to different skin types and textures as well. This means that with our retail products and in-salon services, we can cater to a wider audience, assuring them of a clean and safe skin health experience. As they are plant-based and free from harmful chemicals, it lowers the chance of any possible skin reaction. The natural botanical ingredients present in vegan products are gentle on the skin. Also, vegan products are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants that promote healthy skin, something that we strongly abide by.
Harsukh Pathar, Managing Director, Ocea Marine Cosmetic: We do not believe there is a major demand for vegan products either for in-salon or for homecare. It is always a win-win situation to have vegan products in the distributor’s portfolio as well as the salon’s menu so that catering to all types of clients will be an added advantage for the service provider.
Sneha Maskara, Co-Founder, Boujee Beauty: Speaking of Boujee Beauty products in particular, using vegan make-up brushes can be beneficial for clients with sensitive skin or acne-prone skin since the vegan bristles are softer than animal hair brushes and blend effortlessly. Vegan brushes are more durable, too, so the investment made by salons in good vegan make-up brush kits goes a long way.
Veganism the way forward?
Veganism in the professional beauty space will be helpful to brands if they see clear cut profit margins. However, revenue is not the main concern for all brands. As Shenai clarifies, “More than us benefiting from being a vegan brand, our customers benefit from us being a vegan brand and, in turn, we earn their trust and loyalty. Being a vegan brand was always a priority for Dermalogica, even before it became a trend. It’s not something we are because we want to benefit from it, it is who we are that forms the foundation of our brand ethos.”
Pathar adds, “It is a growing trend and is always good to be ready with all kinds of products as per the demand from the market. In a country where being vegetarian has been an ancient tradition, we are able to fulfill that demand as well and the fact that we are cruelty-free is a big advantage.”
Maskara also looks at the less tangible positive aspects of being vegan. She affirms, “As a vegan brand, we get to educate our clients about how to consume responsibly and how vegan products are preventing animal-cruelty.” Teli comments, “The USP of being vegan, cruelty-free and Halal-certified sets us apart from competition and also creates a different mind space amongst consumers. We are able to give consumers a chance to give back to nature by not harming sentient life in any form while still aspiring for the purest form of beauty. We are a D2C brand, which earlier used to cater to our consumers via offline stores largely but our efforts have largely moved online in keeping with trend post-pandemic. We regularly reach out to consumers via social media, advertisements, direct communication via mailers, and SMS, and also participate in forums pertaining to our category of operation.”
Being vegan is an ideology, a lifestyle choice and it comes with an added responsibility. When a brand takes on the onus of being vegan, it promises a certain level of transparency and quality to its customers. Shenai points out that apart from the ingredients in the products, 100 per cent of all the packaging of vegan brands has to be recyclable, reusable or compostable, and derive majority of the plastic in its packaging from recycled material or plant-based material.
Vegan and cruelty-free are thought processes that are trending but they are really the need of the hour. For a more sustainable future, the beauty industry needs to look at veganism as a viable option, both for the benefit of the customers and the greater good of the planet.
This article appears in the Oct-Nov 2021 Issue of Professional Beauty/ Hairdressers Journal India
If you would like to view other issues of Professional Beauty/ Hairdressers Journal India, you can see the full archive
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