“It is important to have a strong brand reputation in order to launch a product line.”

Throughout my career, the Hairdressers Journal magazine has always been a great inspiration to me and I am so happy to see the magazine grow and develop into a very inspiring read here in India too. All the best, and here’s to many more years to come.

Adhuna, Co-founder & Creative Director, BBlunt India, talks about salons introducing its own product range, impact of the pandemic on the salon franchise models and the beauty industry in the New Year 2022.

TELL US ABOUT THE HIDDEN CHALLENGES OF BEING A CELEBRITY HAIRSTYLIST? ANY TIPS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE UPCOMING HAIRSTYLISTS?

I firmly believe that there is no such thing as a celebrity stylist! A hairstylist may have many celebrity clients. At BBlunt, we like to celebrate all our guests equally, irrespective of their careers. The challenges of a hairstylist are many, from working long hours, to standing on your feet all day to erratic food timings, to demanding or confused customers, customers running late for their appointments, back pain, varicose veins, should I go on? (Laughs)

For someone joining the hairdressing industry, or for someone who is trying to create a career for themselves, I would say push yourself out of your comfort zone, try new things, don’t just stick to what you know, if you want to grow. Build up your portfolio of work, use social media as a tool to showcase your work and find people whose work you like, follow their work and adapt what you like from that particular style to create your own. Keep experimenting with new things, don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t work out the first time... practice is key!

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” - Henry Ford

BBLUNT HAS VENTURED INTO PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT. TELL US ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF THIS MODEL, AND AT WHAT POINT CAN A SALON OWNER STEP INTO THIS ARENA?

Producing our own line of products was a dream we had from the day we opened our first salon door. We were in business for 15 years before we managed to produce our first shampoo! When we teamed up wit GCPL (Godrej), we set out to create topquality products, at affordable prices, for all hair types, suitable for use on Indian hair and in the Indian climate. Using the expertise of both our salon team and the development team at GCPL, I think we have managed to accomplish a range of products that are unique to our brand!

Introducing our product range and teaming up with GCPL helped to create awareness for our salon brand, the packaging design, being heavily involved with the research and development of the product itself and finally working with them on our salon floors, on film sets and everywhere that we go! The concept is of salons, products and expertise all under one umbrella. The products have been marketed extensively and we have thousands of stores across the country stocking the BBLUNT range. It is important to have a strong brand reputation in order to launch a product line, collaborate with a partner to produce the product. Some people start a product line and play to a niche audience, and do not wish for the products to be seen everywhere, that is a personal choice and depends on your vision for the brand. We wanted to be accessible in terms of cost and offer great quality in order to get the best results, giving our customers the value for money.

YOU HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY RUNNING A SALON FRANCHISE BUSINESS. ANY EXPANSION PLANS IN THE COMING MONTHS?

Yes, we have been in the franchise business for around a decade now. We have seen our best success in Mumbai and Bengaluru with this model so far, though we do have branches in other cities. Franchising has similar challenges to opening your own salon, finding the right partner and team members is essential for the success of the salon. We will grow this vertical in the future through company-owned and franchise doors in combination.

Pro ducing our own line of products was a dream we had from the day we opened our first salon door.

DID THE PANDEMIC IMPACT SALON FRANCHISE MODELS, AND HOW?

The pandemic affected our business in just the same way the rest of the service industry was hit. We had periods of time when the salons were closed completely, and periods of time when restrictions were in place. We still have restrictions today, like working with lower capacity and restricting the number of people in the salons at any one time. We continue to make our best efforts to keep our team and clients safe. During the lockdowns, we had to go very hard on all costs, and were lucky to have restrictions lifted for our industry quite early on. Unlike some others, the salon industry was able to start earning again reasonably quickly, which helped us continue to make payments and honour financial commitments. During the lockdown, so far, we have had to close down one of our company salons and a couple of the franchise salons, which has been hard, though we are pleased to see that business is coming back to pre-Covid levels and we are hopeful that we will be able to keep things moving in a positive direction.

WHAT’S GOING TO BE EXCITING FOR THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY - SALON OWNERS, HAIRDRESSERS, SKIN EXPERTS, MAKEUP ARTISTS, BRANDS, ETC - IN THE YEAR 2022?

I believe that we are all hopeful that we have seen the worst phase, and that we can put the pandemic behind us and start looking at the here and now. The sentiment of our clients has really been enabling, we are grateful to them for their unending support. There is a positive feeling in the air, businesses and countries are opening up and getting back onto their feet. If there is one thing that these last two years have taught me – it is to seize the moment that is right in front of me, and consciously try and make the most of it. I feel that there is lots to look forward to for all of us.