According to Research and Markets, India’s men grooming market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 11% to cross $1.2 billion by 2024, and much of this growth is expected to be driven by online platforms. For the industry that’s booming at a rocket speed, what scope does it offer for a niche player that’s focused on a community bonded by its spirituality?
Launched in the year 2015, Singh Styled is the world’s first grooming and styling platform for today’s Sikh gentlemen. Envisioned as the ‘Dressers for Singhs’, the platform currently focuses on three specific categories that cater to the essential styling needs – Turbans, Personal Care, and Style Advisory.
In an exclusive interview with the founder, Charanjeev Singh, he tells us about creating a brand that’s addressing the practical problems of its spiritual customers.
So Charanjeev, tell us where did it all start?
Sometime in 2014, gathered around family and relatives, we were discussing how a significant number of Sikh gentlemen are moving away from their Guru-given identity. As the discussion turned into a debate, it all boiled down to the fact that it was not easy for today’s youth to find quality and focused beard care products, as well as quality turban. Being the only GurSikh left with a turban and a beard in my family, I couldn’t have agreed more.
Their reasons were, and rightly so, the dearth of right grooming and styling products that caters to the specific needs of the Sikh gentlemen. For instance, even a city as populated as Mumbai had only one turban shop catering to its entire Sikh community, again, with a limited collection of three to four standard colours.
So I can say, it all began with a young Singh’s acute need for grooming and styling products to complement his modern lifestyle, yet keeping him close to what he cherishes the most – his unique Sikh identity.
What is the brand philosophy of ‘Singh Styled’?
The brand ‘Singh Styled’ looks at the two very basic aspects of grooming for Sikh gentlemen. One is the practical aspect and the other, the spiritual. A Dastaar, which is considered to be the crown, and a neatly maintained beard are the first visuals of a Sikh gentleman. They are a part of an identity blessed by our Gurus. For a Sikh, taking care of his beard and kesh is honoring the gift of the Gurus. Hence, each product that they use to maintain this identity must be carefully curated, and that is exactly what ‘Singh Styled’ does.
So what problem will Singh Styled solve? And how?
For a Sikh gentleman, his grooming regime right from washing beard to tying the turban is a time-consuming step-wise process. Most products involved in beard grooming, such as hair fixers and sprays contain unsafe ingredients that lead to problems such as hairfall, roughness, itchy skin, allergies, and more. Traditionally used hair fixer or ‘fixo’, as popularly known, to set beards, contains harmful chemicals that can permanently damage the hair follicles.
With Singh Styled, we bring an array of carefully curated and scientifically tested products for each step of the grooming process. Our products not only speed up the regime but also ensure that kesh, beard, and skin, are all, well looked after.
And lastly, for the styling needs, the brand offers turbans in a variety of shades and hues in different lengths, to suit different attires and moods. This makes dressing up enjoyable.
And what about the platform? How it is different from other men’s grooming platforms?
We understood that just having the right products wasn’t enough; we had to build a community that shares the same value that our brand carries.
We understand the pain points of a Sikh gentleman’s grooming regime, and what exactly they need. Hence, our platform offers them products pre-filtered as per their focused needs, making the shopping process quick and convenient.
What sets us apart as a D2C brand is that unlike others, we do not worry about launching a new range every week to compete. We refuse to be in a rat race that can digress us from our brand’s philosophy.
Each of our products takes around 8-12 months in formulation, testing, sampling, re-sampling before we launch. We test our products across skin and beard types, cities, countries for weather, and water conditions. Products developed on this data help us give confidence to our customers when buying and using our product.
What markets does Singh Styled cater to? And what are its expansion plans?
Headquartered in Mumbai and with manufacturing in Delhi, the brand offers all its products through its exclusive eCommerce portal ‘SinghStyled.com’ across India.
Globally, Singh Styled currently ships to 133 destinations which include Canada, the USA, the UK, Australia, the Far East, the Middle East, and Africa.
In 2021, we launched our operations in Singapore, which caters to the needs of Singh gentlemen across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia. Expanding further, we will soon start operations in the UK, Canada, and the USA.
Are you planning any new products and categories in the pipeline?
Currently, we are developing products for grooming and styling needs. Going forward, the vision is to help build the complete wardrobe, with the introduction of clothing and accessories. Furthermore, we will be launching the Jr. Singh category at the beginning of the new financial year.
