COSMOFACTORY

[00:00:00] This episode is about global brand building. It's about the connection between consumer perception and design. It's about the surging significance of the UAE within the global fragrance industry, and it's about the intersection of digital consumer behavior and fragrance commerce. with me. Here in the Cosmo Factory podcast recording booth at cosmoprof Worldwide. Bologna is Nami. Ta Srivastav, general manager for Bella Vita nta. Welcome to Cosmo Factory.
[00:01:00] Thank you. As I would like to say, since you gave such a beautiful introduction. Salam everybody, and namaste.
Lovely. I appreciate that. Now it's, it's really so nice of you to join me during the show. I know cosmoprof is especially important, um, as an event for Bella Vita, so I'm glad you're here. It actually
is.
Thank you for having us on board.
Yeah, no, absolutely. And I'll say thank you as well. To everyone listening, we recorded our first Cosmo Factory episodes here at the 2024 edition of cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna last year. And whether you're listening for the first time or have enjoyed every episode, I am so grateful that you are here.
You have built a truly global community of listeners. The Cosmo Factory Podcast has been downloaded in more than 100 countries around the world, and it is. So wonderful to have the opportunity each week to connect with you and to share the ideas and innovations that are moving our industry forward.
Thank you for being here. Uh, if I may, Bella Vita is also a fairly new project. Uh, this company was established [00:02:00] just over five years ago, but if I may say so, uh, there was no intention of. Slow growth or waiting to be discovered? Absolutely not. Why would we, Namita, will you share with me the overall vision and strategy for creating Bella Vita as a global company?
Absolutely. It's, uh, my honor to be able to represent the story that I'm going to now talk to you about. As you rightly said, it's a 5-year-old company only, and I wouldn't call it old. We are rather young. Uh, it started with a vision of our founder who wanted to make perfumes. Accessible to the canoers of perfumes, as I call them.
You have to understand that just because you love perfumes and you admire the fragrances, you do not have to spend or empty out your pockets. And that's what our, uh, founder was focused on. It started from that vision and he did not stop. He did not stop. The company did not stop. And we are where we are today.
With the intention of growing even further. That's why we are here at Cosmo Prof to go further again. Yes.
Yeah, no, that's fantastic. And if I'm correct, there are [00:03:00] three fragrance brands. Can you quickly describe each of them for everyone listening, just so we have a bit of context?
Absolutely. So over the past years that we've been coming to Cosmo Prof and uh, various such additions in our industry, we've been realizing that the consumer, the consumer minds shift.
And there are always trends in the industries that shift from certain to certain, and we have been seeing a huge growth of Oriental fragrances being recognized, being appreciated, and being wanted in different parts of the world. Having understood that we have created three international brands within the Bella Vita brand, as we can call them, and we cater to each of the consumer segment.
We cater to the likeness of someone who wants to make it more accessible, let's say, in parts of Africa. And different parts of the world. So if I'm talking about the three brands, they range from mass to prestige and we cater and we intend to cater across the globe with that intention. So let me start with our premium.
The prestige brand, which is Emba Rouge, the name has been derived from the dunes of, uh, the [00:04:00] buy and it stems from the buy it's made in the byproduct. And, uh, it caters to the premium fragrances to the conno of perfumers, uh, perfumery who enjoy having great sense at luxurious prices, at luxurious sense, and all that comes with it.
Then we've got Bella Vita Luxury, which is an affordable, if I may call, so for people who enjoy French and Oriental perfumery, but at an affordable price. And then we have something called s Canals to cater to the mass segment. Now the differentiation between all of these three brands while we were creating them.
Was purely based on the consumer insights. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So we intend to understand consumer insights. We are a digital first company and we intend to take those insights and create something from there. Mm-hmm. Which is why we are able to cater to many other continents across the world.
Yeah. And can you share with me how those consumer insights, or maybe what I might think of as consumer perception Yes.
Has driven like the. Physical design process, what it has, what your [00:05:00] fragrance looks like, if that's something we can say about fragrance.
Yes, you definitely can. So we are a digital first brand. We have an expertise of taking it across the globe as we speak. We are, uh, chartering as number one on various marketplaces across the us, Australia, uk, and a couple of more countries that we've launched in.
We do boast good digital numbers and which helps us understand consumer insights they give us, uh. A, a sneak peek, as I may say to consumer preferences, and you may realize that, uh, as much as you love perfumes, the ac the understanding of the notes or, or rather, the trends are very different across the world.
So what the co company does, or rather, my very, very accomplished digital team. Does is that it gathers and takes all the data. That's the beauty of today's digital world, right? Yes, yes. I mean, that's the beauty. You get all the data, you analyze all the data, and then within, within, uh, we have a turnaround.
We have a record turnaround time, and we are able to get to all of those trends across the world. We've [00:06:00] just launched. If I may, uh, um, you know, boast a little bit out here, please. Yes, yes. In, uh, just about seven days, we were able to sell 8,000 pieces of a certain collection called the Mont Collection, which we've launched and launched in the us.
Mm-hmm. And that essentially came just about, uh, I, I think about 40 days ago where that trend of Mont Perfumery was picking up in us. We quickly hopped onto that. Created something wonderful. We have a great perfumer onboard and that's it. We launched it out in the market. Mm-hmm. So data is what works for us.
That's our expertise.
Yeah. No, I love it. And you've mentioned being, you know, a very digital, first digital forward business. Absolutely. We are with, with a company like this, you could be located almost anywhere in the world. We know a lot of digital nomads these days. Absolutely. Um, and previously the Bella Vita perfumes were made and bottled in India.
But I know you've chosen to position the brands that you've described now. Uh, as UAE based brands and as fragrance made in Dubai? Yes. Is it correct that you've relocated your production and filling facilities to this? We have, I guess, [00:07:00] highly populated, right? Absolutely. Ultra modernly city,
absolutely. So, um, if I may, uh, you know, explain that a little bit.
We do stem from India proudly. That's what made us what we are. Sure. And as I was mentioning previously, because we are venturing to different parts of the world and we realize the importance that the buy plays in the whole perfumery market that we see right now, the oriental sections, the the beautiful ingredients that stems out of there, the wonderful industry that there is.
We realize that to cater to the global market, we need to be present in the hub of that which is right in the center of the Bay. Mm-hmm. Which is why we represent the ba. I mean, I come from the Bay and I could go on all day about it, but when it comes to the industry, and you will see here at Cosmo Prof as well, you will see a surge of companies coming from Middle East.
Yes. That's the demand, that's the love that the oriental fragrances hold. I mean, it's not just limited to oo than Amber as it was previously. Now we are coming up with beautiful collections, olfactory experiences across Flo Orientals as well. Mm-hmm. [00:08:00] All that stems from the Dubai, which is why we have made the strategic decision of creating made in Dubai fragrances, which are much more, um, if I may, uh, if I may use the correct way, which I'm much more, um, olfactory oriented.
So that's the intention of moving the base to the Dubai for the international brands. Mm-hmm. And the three brands that I was introducing earlier, they're all made in the Dubai. Yeah. And of course, you cannot deny the lovely packaging that comes from there as well. So yes, that's the intention.
Yeah. Do you wanna say a bit about the packaging?
Oh, yes. Um, thank you for giving me that stage to do that. A lot of thought has gone into the packaging. There was a whole bit of research that was analyzed across the globe. We had to look into brands, uh, consumer needs and preferences, as we just discussed, based on the data. And a lot of it was based on what the a, uh, a, a plus brands have been doing.
Having said that, the packaging there is very different to what comes from the buy and what comes from the international markets, and we need to compete with that. So you've got the niche [00:09:00] perfumery across the world. You've got your A level brands across the world, but you also got brands that have loved, rather loved for their packaging.
We did a research on all of that, and there was a whole period of three months that went into it. And that's how, if you see each of our fragrance across these three brands, a total 60 SKUs, if I may Yeah. Yeah. Are all inclusive of each other. They're, uh, rather exclusive of each other. Not inclusive.
They're exclusive of each, uh, each other. My bad. But, uh, the collection, yes. The collection. Yes, you have that uniformity across it, but the beautiful packaging that has come out of it, the boxes and everything. Oh, I love each one of them. I mean, I do. So I'm sure you would do.
Yes. Yes. Um, you've mentioned having this really digital first approach, um, some differences that you've noticed in each region or market that you're expanding into.
Can you say more though, about how digital data and sort of that knowledge of the digital consumer is helping you with market expansion?
Oh, absolutely. So you have heard all the Hula [00:10:00] Boo about, you know, AI is taking over the world, et cetera, and there's a lot of debate on that. I'm not gonna get into that.
But when it comes to our company, we place technology first. We place digital first. We are experts in e-commerce. If I may, uh, be, you know, confident enough to say that we are experts in e-commerce, we get the data out from there. And that's exactly how we take it to the different parts of the world. As of now, as we speak, we only create.
Fragrances, which are research based, and that research comes from a data. We launch a set of perfume, or rather a collection. We've just launched a beautiful Zodiac collection, which is absolutely taking over the world as we speak. I mean, it caters to each of your zodiac signs and brings out your character traits, et cetera.
The whole point is. It is technology based too. There's a collection we've launched right now, which is the pheromone based collection, which as everyone understands, you know, it, it sets your mood, right? It, you wear the perfume and you know, it gets highlighted to your mood that that's how you want it. You have [00:11:00] something called a magnetic there, you have something called, uh, essential there.
So fantasy, you know, if you want someone to be attracted to you, that's your intention for the day. But the whole point is that this technology is something we are proud of. It's something we know. And we do know this because of the research that we do. So we always have a prototype collection. We launched it, launched it in a certain market.
We invest heavily on the digital side. Mm-hmm. And we understand the consumer needs and preferences. And then we go back to our desks and we sit and we analyze what worked and what didn't and what can be better. And that's how we then launch the entire collection and then we launch it to the different markets.
Having said that, we are not always right. Absolutely. Yeah. Those are the learnings we get. Uh, when we launched in US, it did not fairly, uh, you know, was successful Right in the first go. We learned. We learned that's what we do. Data helps us and while we learn through all the consumer insights we got in different trials and errors.
Now we are in less than nine months. We are at, at the top of our game.
Yeah.
Same [00:12:00] goes for every country. We have a very strong team who knows every bit of the perfume industry. We are proud of that. So we've got our digital. We've got our offline experts who've been in the industry for, you know, for a good 30, 35 years.
We have a perfumer who comes from the background that we can absolutely show off about. We have the expertise. Why? Because we have the passion to do this so. So our company, it's an amalgamation of, you know, passionate people that have come together to build something for the consumers.
Yeah, yeah. No, that makes good sense.
And if we can think about an example just a little bit further, you mentioned, um, the Zodiac collection frame instance. Absolutely, yes. So I'm curious, how long do you expect this collection to be in the marketplace? If it, if it was sort of born of a trend, will you keep it? On the shelf as it were, for a year, for two years.
Do you have a sense of, of sort of the, so to be very honest, longevity to, I mean,
change, uh, change is inevitable, right? Right. Okay. So [00:13:00] we have also come five years ago. I mean, if you ask a company which was more prominent five years ago, they wouldn't be expecting us to like take it over. Right. So we are absolutely okay with the change.
That's, that's one thing we love ourselves for, is we are okay to learn and to grow. Mm-hmm. If the trend doesn't work, we're gonna, not gonna put it on the shelf. Obviously we don't work in such a way that we are gonna push a consumer to get something they do not want. We are a trend first company and that's always gonna be a motto.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. No, that's so interesting. Um. So we've talked quite a bit about e-commerce here. Yes. I believe your brands do have an offline presence, uh, in retail as well, very strongly. Yeah. When do you decide to take a, maybe a collection or a market and move from, you know, online retail? That's, that's very simple answer.
There's something
good. I mean, that is something I love the questions by the way. I'm making it complicated. I bet you have a simple answer. No, no, no. You're not making it complicated at all. In fact, I'm glad you're asking the right questions. So just yesterday we were having a conversation and we wanted to launch a certain collection.
I can name it right now, [00:14:00] but, uh, a certain collection into a different part of the world and we wanted to take it offline through our distributors and retail channels and, you know, all that follows within. And then we decided whether, you know, how are we gonna go about the planning of the product, how many sqs would be needed, and things like that.
And then the discussion was that, hey, it's easy. You know why? Because let's launch it digitally first in that region. So I, I mean, uh, I would be wrong if I say easy. It's not, there's a lot of calculations, a lot of regulations and compliances that go in the background, but simply put, we launch it digitally first.
We see, uh, we understand like, you know, we test the waters and then we take it to offline. And currently we are seeing a long and amazing surge, which is coming from digital to offline.
So the same customer is following you? Is that what you're saying? Or, or, yes. Or you're just having a lot of, it's a,
so once the trend starts and online, you hear someone talking about, let's say the collection that I was talking about, and they're like, oh, this mango fragrance is amazing.
I saw it online, blah, blah, blah. And they go to the retailers and they're like, do you have that collection? And then [00:15:00] the retailers come back to us and say like, Hey, we wanted in our stores, so we are connecting online to offline immediately. Yes. Yes. So we're creating trends online because it's a world of digital, you cannot deny it.
I'm sure you have a whole following of, uh, followers on your Instagram and everything. So that's the world we live in. Yeah, we get the sense of everything that's, that's the global brand we are building, and that's the global audience we have. So we have easy and understanding or an access to any consumers across the world, in any country.
At this point, I could be sitting in Dubai, which I am. And getting access to consumers right here in Italy. I mean, we are here for Cosmo Pro, right. But, you know, digitally we understand that and that's it. That's how we launch.
Yeah, no, lovely, lovely. And remind me, and, and maybe for, um, folks thinking strategically in their own businesses, do you, you have stores that are owned by Bella Vita, or are you working distributors as well?
Talk about that. So we have both the
concepts. Okay. And, uh, in fact, we haven't left any stone unturned, if I'm gonna say, if I'm be, if I'll be honest. So we did start digitally of course, and uh, we did venture into some of our retail [00:16:00] stores too. But our presence is online more and now, uh, you will see a huge, uh, demand when it comes to retailers.
So we are going to, uh, go the distributor route and cater to more comp, more countries that way.
Yeah,
you will see some of our own stores as well. But it's gonna be more distributor based.
Right. Interesting. No, thank you for that. And, and still thinking about listeners who might be leading or on a team that is building global brands, are there learnings from Vela Vita that you can share other folks might find useful?
Hmm. Lots of it. Do I want to, um. So one thing that I can, um, talk about, and this is not Bella Vita centric, uh, when it comes only to perfumery, if you are a passionate perfumer, uh, perfume, um, fragrance lover, or if you, if this industry excites you in some way. There is something always, which, uh, Bella Vita has for, uh, followed is passion, whether you come from the industry or not, to be honest.
And, uh, that learning, [00:17:00] um, let me put, let me put it simply, I think I'm making it more complicated. Just follow the passion in the industry. That's what Bella Vita does. We are a bunch of, uh, nomads who put all our ideas and thoughts together, and the only way we go forward is the cautious way. Mm-hmm. So we launch very loudly, very strongly in one country or one industry.
We take the learnings. Once we have those learnings, we really sit down, we break our heads, we sit down. We take all the learnings that come from there, whether it is the preferences, whether it was the regulatory compliances, whether it is supply chain or whatever it is. We correct that and then we move on to the next one.
So we know the learnings that have been there. And then when we move on, we are fast, then there is no stopping. And of course with time, uh, it may seem like a short period of time. And to be very honest, I'm very proud to say that as well in a very short duration of time. Our turnaround time, our learning time, our lead time is a lot.
Mm-hmm. So if I have, I mean, I'm not in the right place to give advice to anyone right here, but if you're listening and if you think there's [00:18:00] one thing that the perfumery companies can do is build your digital presence, you know, it's, it's content. It's the content that speaks. And I think nobody understands that better than you here, Dianne.
I'm in the content business for sure. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Well, NAMI ta, this was quite interesting. I thank you again for making time during cosmoprof to speak with me here on the Cosmo Factory Podcast.
Thank you for having me. And on behalf of everyone, I think Dianne, you're doing a great job. Thanks for having us here as well.
And it was a lovely session. Lots to learn. Uh, not to know about it right now, but thank you so much for having me. No, that's very kind. You're
welcome.
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