Today’s post is special as I’m publishing it on the day that Juicy Chemistry launches their makeup range- Color Chemistry.
Juicy Chemistry was one of the first brands I ever collaborated with (back in 2014/ 15) and I have seen their brand grow from strength strength. I remember reading once about how every relationship needs some time apart before getting back together. That is how I feel about my relationship with Juicy Chemistry. There were a few years in between where I didn’t use a lot of Juicy Chemistry products, however in the last year we found our way back to each other, and how! I got a visit not one, but two of their physical stores – one in Chennai and one in Coimbatore.
In the last year I have had a chance to revisit a lot of their old products and try a whole bunch of new ones! I have a whole bunch of reviews of their products and store visit videos up on Instagram. This is my small way of showing my support for a brand that chose to work with me even when I was a newbie blogger. Juicy Chemistry will always be special in my heart for that reason.
Okay now let’s get into the juicy interview!
Hey Megha and Pritesh.
It’s been close to 7 years since our last interview. A lot has changed since then and I thought it would be fun to do an updated interview and just talk
When you started out 8 years ago, what was the vision you had for Juicy Chemistry? Have you achieved it? Have you gone beyond it?
Juicy chemistry was co-founded by Pritesh and I, back in 2014 after an eye-opening visit to the mall. Pritesh was approached by a salesperson with a brand-new product launched into the market, claiming that it was all natural. While checking the product, he figured a few of the ingredients were used as raw material at his petroleum products plant. Baffled, he handed the product back to him. On our way back, we discussed how the front of the label was screaming natural and organic and the label behind was hushing preservatives, parabens, mineral oils, synthetic colours, perfumes and more. The entire episode got us thinking that, there has to be an alternative, a genuine personal care brand that cared!
We started looking out for pure and natural products but it was all in vain. As we shared our thoughts with family, friends it increasingly became clear that there was either very little awareness about the chemicals present in skincare products and their adverse effects on us or there was no alternative available for consumers to switch to a skin care brand that was truly natural. Either way there was an obvious gap in the market.
To fill in this gap, we brought Juicy Chemistry to life with a goal to provide effective skin care products formulated with the purest and the most nutrient rich ingredients the nature has to offer. We are moving towards our goals.
Do you feel a difference in the way organic and natural skincare is perceived today as compared to 8 years ago. How has this affected Juicy Chemistry as a brand?
Well, truth lies at the backside of the label, not the front! One must look for the complete ingredients list and not just fall for “key” or “main” ingredients. Read up about the ingredients and their impact on over all heath as well as the environment. Lastly, look for certifications and their implication as well as validity. While we constantly make efforts to educate our audience about ingredients through various social media platforms, we strongly urge customers to make informed decisions and ask questions wherever possible. Do not try on a product just because it is marketed as “safe”. Even when you are sure, a patch test should never be avoided.
Organic skincare has started to boom in the past few years. Do you feel the market has gotten saturated? What challenges has this presented for you ?
There’s definitely a lot of competition in the market right now and it does seem at times that the term ‘clean beauty’ has completely lost its meaning. Having said that, now more than ever brand ideologies are being put to the ultimate test. Consumers are a lot more informed than they were previously and are able to identify brands and products they resonate with. If you’re true to yourself, you’re still able to cut through the clutter. But yes, since clean beauty didn’t have a clear definition, to begin with, it has gotten distorted along the way. I still do feel there’s a lot of potential in this sector, if there weren’t you wouldn’t have so many brands pop up! There’s no denying it, consumers are certainly more conscious about what they ingest or apply to their bodies. The term ‘clean’ has definitely caught on in the consumer’s minds.
Is there any product that has been a personal favourite for you that you felt would be a hit but it didn’t take off as expected?
This is not a fair question as its really hard to pick one. Each product is made with a lot of love, care and passion. Yet still, if I can pick only one, it is going to be the Hibiscus, Onion & Bhringraj shampoo bar! In the current market scenario, a shampoo bar is not regular conventional product. It is surrounded by a lot of scepticism but you may quote me here, this one has changed the hair care game for me and many others too.
You are now entering the field of colour cosmetics. How do you feel about it?
We’ll be honest , like Juicy chemistry’s product range, we are entering in to an unknown territory, while this was exciting , we had to do it right. We had to go back to the drawing board and start form scratch. Almost a Juicy chemistry 2.0
Its been 2 years of ideation, research , formulations , trials, testing , rejections , iterations, branding, packaging , paperwork , compliance , certifications and countless hours spent in frustration and now it feels surreal that we are on the brink of launching this dream project
To change how organic makeup is perceived and show just how high-performance it can be without damaging your skin.
We are beyond excited to announce the launch of Color Chemistry, where organic meets makeup. A certified-organic makeup brand that marries performance, pigment and skin-loving ingredients.
When we put together a team to lead the project we were asked a brief on the product line and whats the difference between Juicy Chemistry and Color Chemistry? It instantaneously hit me that Juicy Chemistry is efficacious because the product line is organic , Color chemistry will be efficacious inspite of being natural & organic.
This became our core philosophy while building this product line
Needless to say, the Chemistry is going to be colorful with this one.
What is the vision for the next 5 years? Maybe expansion into more sustainable lifestyle products?
Given the nature of our products, forward integration will form an integral part of our growth strategy and we plan to start our exclusive stores in Kerela, Hyderabad, Bangalore & Mumbai soon.
A large percentage of our clients prefer to shop online and this is an area we will look to strengthen. We are working with multiple online platforms who share a similar synergy to retail our products and widen our online customer base.
We currently have channel partners in Goa, Bombay, Chennai , Coimbatore, Trichy and Pune and we further plan to extend our reach. We will further look to strength our retail reach Tier 1 and Tier II cities.
At JC, sustainability has always been at the core of our brand. We want to create products that are kind to you and the planet. To that end, as a brand, we have taken steps to ensure our supply chain is ethical, transparent and sustainable. From soil to shelf, we’re always thinking about our environmental impact and that’s why a wide majority of our products are packaged in glass bottles, biodegradable packaging, or recyclable PET bottles. We want to stress the concept of reusability and recyclability. The beauty industry makes a significant contribution to the already-growing waste problem and we want to counter that while providing our customers with the best of organic beauty.
Editor’s note- If you are not aware, then Color chemistry will be launched at the time of publishing this post. I am particularly intrigued their foundation range, the lip and cheek tint and the baked compact.
A huge thank you to Megha and Pritesh to taking the time from their uber busy schedule to do this for my readers and a bigger thank you for Amrit Amy Kaur, who helped me coordinate the entire thing.