Sahuri is an upcoming makeup and beauty service brand which primarily focuses on customized makeup solutions for young women of Bangladesh. The Brand owns the mind of the consumer with the tagline “Rediscover Yourself” where the brand urges a sense of rediscovering them like never before with the power of beauty. Sahuri benefits its customers by rendering various customary makeup solutions with primarily four products that is the customized foundation, lipstick, a smartphone application and service outlets across the capital of Dhaka.

The service brand is unique in terms of its business appeal as we have induced various social and cultural values to it with a mix of socially sustainable ideas that will prove that the business plan is viable in the long run.

Considering the investment and the risk associated with the service brand, Sahuri has a huge potential for Bangladesh where the TG is mostly focused on foreign makeup brands which are imported by local people evading various taxes and ultimately, losing out on the end of superior customer and after sales service.

Customization is the most unique attribute to our makeup brand since the customer can ask for a very personal approach to our brand where he/she can apply their own ideas from the basic foundation, lipsticks to the ultimate packaging through our highly algorithm based smartphone app. Or she can visit any of the service outlets across the capital and work tie to tie with our ‘Sahuri Makeup Artists’ and work through the whole service process.

The business model is highly viable considering limited risks with a social business model where the investment is minimal and the rate of the return is comparatively higher for a collective culture like Bangladesh.Introduction

Foundation makeup is used almost every day by thousands of girls around the world. Foundation is skin colored cosmetic used on the face and surrounding areas to create even skin tone and cover flaws.

It can be oil based, powder based, water based, silicone based, or mineral based. However, the question is how is this possible? How can there be makeup that perfectly covers flaws and evens skin tone? The answer lies in chemistry and how it is formulated.

However in Bangladesh big makeup retailers like Sephora and ULTA don’t have a platform. This has caused quite a struggle for Bengali women who are makeup users. Especially when it comes to finding their perfect shade of foundation it is always a dilemma. Why it is a dilemma?

Most stores in Bangladesh aren’t certified distributors for the big companies so they bring in intact products that they feel will most likely be purchased by customers. But the problem is not all skin tones are same so one foundation shade won’t work for all.

Also intact products don’t come with testers so customers can’t really understand if they are purchasing the right shade or not. This is where we come in as a company. Sahuri is a company who will customize your foundation formula just for you! We are a dedicated team of people who will prioritize your needs to get you your flawless look. We aim to make foundation formula by using the most advanced technology to detect your skin type. We will be having a team of experts to assist you in getting you your shade.

Brand Strategy: Rediscover

As a young brand, Sahuri owns a tagline which says “Rediscover Yourself” where we are asking our TG to simply rediscover their notion on makeup. Sahuri as a Brand will be highly warm, colorful and compaissionate to its customers where a sense of pride and belonging will begin just at the very touch point of the service via the smartphone application.

The smartphone application is the basis of the brand which gives the whole service a tangible factor and gives the brand a purpose in the mind of the TG aged around (18-30) years old.

The strategy will also incorporate the following keypoints given in the diagram below:

Brand Values

1. Delivering ‘ wow ‘ each time that you get the touch of your very own brand ‘ Sahuri ‘
2. Let’ be amazing. Build an amazing product, tell a story. Share an experience.
3. Sahuri is empowered to create unique, memorable and personal experiences.
4. Embrace and Drive Change
5. We satisfy, delight and nourish our customers.
6. Medically tested to slow down aging.
7. Organic touch in each experience with Sahuri.
8. Sahuri strives to deliver results.
9. With pace of rediscovering yourself, find Sahuri.
1 We take the ownership to look at you from your eyes.
1 Smooth pigmentation that rays the touch of confidence to your soul.
1 Custom made to meet your demands.
In trust, and quality. We believe.
Affordable and easy to use.

Smartphone Application

Considering that we have termed Sahuri a service brand rather than a product based brand due to the customization uniqueness, we have thought of a smartphone application which primarily focuses on the service blueprint where the TG can benefit from the whole process without any necessity to visit our brick and mortar stores.

The application will be available at both android and apple platforms. The smartphone application will redefine the brand as the application comes with a new service blueprint accessible by the TG right from their fingertips.

Market Analysis

After doing a preliminary and screening we believe that there is a market for our product. The online survey that we did showed us that the age group which is using foundation the most is from 21-30. We surveyed 54 females. Where out of 54 respondents 50 has said they use foundation either every day, sometimes or on special occasions. 36 females said they have difficulty finding their shade of foundation and only 7 people can find their accurate shade without much hassle. That left out 47 females who struggle to get their foundation shade.

Why they have difficulty? Because in most cases Bangladeshi stores don’t have the right shade for these females and they have to guess and assume the shade they fall into. When we asked if they wanted them if they could customize their shade would they do it? 70% females responded say they will and 24% will consider an option.

Marketing Strategy

Let customers know us (Website)

Good relationships are built on trust. So it's natural that customers want to learn as much as they can about a company and the people that stand behind it. Women shoppers, in particular look for deeper information when deciding on which company or service to choose. Having a company website is a smart and affordable way to convey in-depth information about our service business.

We will use a hosting company to create our own site. Showcase our service benefits on the main page. Include our company’s story, photos, staff bios and affiliations. And show how well our company delivers on its promises by providing testimonials, case histories or work samples.

Digital Marketing

The business and marketing landscape have drastically changed in recent years however. Traditional methods that were effective before may not be as effective in this current market powered by the complexities – and the vast wealth of opportunities – by the Internet.

That is why it is very important that brands and businesses establish and maintain a very strong online presence to be competitive enough to reach out to targeted audiences.

As our brand is a new brand so we need to create awareness amongst our target audience. We will make use of digital marketing channels that provide strong brand awareness and development like the following:

Social media channels particular Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
Engaging with targeted audience through social channels.
Channels that promote visual elements like Instagram and Pinterest.
Channels that promote video materials like YouTube and Vimeo.
Promotional campaigns with coupons.
Joint venture marketing projects with other online businesses.
Participating in online and offline events.

WOM

Word of mouth is very important in a service business as services cannot be seen before experiencing it unlike goods. Our business needs customer’s trust as it’s a very sophisticated service. To gain the trust we need positive word of mouth. We need to make sure to give the customers more than their expectation so that they can be delighted by our service and spread positive word of mouth.

Cultural Analysis ( Hofstede Cultural Dimensions )

Individualism

Bangladesh, is considered a collectivistic society. The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group.

· “Trust” is the key here. So we need to focus more on gaining the trust of the consumers.

· Brand Communication in Collectivist cultures also needs to create positive feelings of harmony, family and group consumption.

Power Distance

Bangladesh scores high on this dimension which means that people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification.

· We need to communicate and appeal to social status.

Masculinity

Bangladesh can be considered as a Masculine society.

We need to be seen as ‘winners / prestigious / performers’ etc. in this culture. People consume for show in masculine cultures.
The ‘Larger’, ‘Faster’ or ‘Shinier’ the better chance of product success in masculine cultures.
Big bang launches are a must to get noticed.

Uncertainty Avoidance

Countries exhibiting high Uncertainty Avoidance maintain rigid codes of belief and behaviour and are intolerant of unorthodox behaviour and ideas. Bangladesh on this dimension a has an high score.

· We need to be seen as an expert and knowledgeable

Long Term Orientation

Bangladesh does not indicate a strong preference in either high or low direction.

Indulgence

Bangladesh has a very low Indulgence score. This makes it a restrained country. Societies with a low score in this dimension have a tendency to cynicism and pessimism.

Financial Viability

Sahuri is a highly financially viable business since the whole business starts with an application that gives a tangible outcome to the whole service. With a startup capital of around BDT 20 lakhs, the business can generate 30% of the investment by the next year. Considering the startup budget, the money will be used in the following manner as portrayed by a pie chart

Sustainability

The sustainability of Sahuri, is pleased to release the report “Beauty Faces up to Sustainability”. Sahuri offers valuable insight into the key environmental sustainability trends, opportunities, and risks impacting the strategies and operations of global cosmetics and personal care companies.

With sales of beauty products expected to rise 6% to $675 Billion by 2020, according to Reuters, cosmetics and personal care companies must prepare to transition to the new global economy.

Creating resilient, transparent and sustainable business models - based on relevant metrics – is a key step to ensuring these global operations survive in a resource-constrained world.

The report takes a look at top issues and provides business case examples of actions and efforts being implemented by beauty, personal care and fragrance companies and provides a survey of the key drivers and progress made by the top 200 brands surveyed.

• Environmental Foot printing

• Unique and a pioneer in the Bangladeshi market

• Material Issues & Brand Risk

• Packaging

• Toxicity

• Product Labelling

• Water Risks

• Sustainable Procurement

• Science-based Targets

• Designing for the Circular Economy

• Valuing Natural Capital

Conclusion

So we can conclude that Sahuri will definitely have market for customized foundations. By bringing this service to Bangladesh we will be able to help many women feel empowered through our campaign which focuses of women feeling both beautiful from inside and outside and helping them to boost their confidence level.

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Ahnaf Ahsan

Sahuri: A Business Idea on Customized Makeup and Service Brand