Gone are the days when the term ‘beauty and wellness’ was synonymous to luxury meant only for the upper classes. With the growth in lifestyle awareness and income, it is no more so.
Gurgaon-based Kamal Gulati noticed the shift in trend and expanding customer-base in the beauty and wellness sector. He realised that while there was no lack of establishments which provide these services, a comprehensive database where people can search for establishments which cater to their beauty, wellness and health needs, was missing. While there were directories available online for the same, they lacked certain essential information. Apart from providing basic contact details, they barely offered anything else. Often the customer would go through them and leave confused or dissatisfied. That was when the idea of ‘The Makeoverz” hit him.
Kamal realised that there needs to be more in terms of offerings. He had always been impressed by Zomato. After studying their business in detail, he realised that by offering real pictures and exclusive information like detailed menu and reviews, Zomato was not only able to create trust in the customers, but made it convenient for them in every step of the process.
With this knowledge in hand, Kamal reached out to a couple of salon owners. Their eagerness and enthusiasm was enough for him to launch The Makeoverz, an effort to bridge the gap between the growing need of information related to beauty and wellness industry and the lack of it.
It is to be noted that despite the jolt in 2012, the Indian wellness industry is showing no signs of slowing down. According to a FICCI-PwC report on ‘Imperatives for growth – the wellness industry’, the sector is expected to touch INR 1 Tn by 2015 from INR 700 Bn in 2012, growing at a CAGR of 15%-17%.
How It Works
The Makeoverz is an online directory for one’s beauty, wellness and health needs. Each category provides the customer with basic, but essential information such as address and contact details, facilities and features available, reviews and current offers coupled with rate lists and photographs of the establishments. Till now, the website claims to have served over 1000 customers and growing at a monthly rate of 20%.
Currently, the website offers its services in the Salons, Spas, Makeup, Skin Centres, Gym, Fitness Studios and Trainers & Dieticians category. It claims to have over 2100 vendors listed on the website.
The website has started bookings and selling offers on its website recently.
As of now, the website sells offers on commission for spas and salons. It provides salon appointments on a commission basis and charges separately for basic and premium listing.
Competition Landscape
The beauty, health and wellness sector is flooded with businesses that are vying with each other to tap into this lucrative market. Among them the most well-known name is Justdial. The company has been around for several years and provides information across various categories.
Other names include Purplle, Ziffi, Vyomo, Zapluk, Stylofie, ManageMySpa, Qurly, VanityCube etc. Through their app or website, these offer comprehensive knowledge about beauty and wellness services across India.
Several on-demand home services marketplaces such as Urban Clap and Local Oye have also ventured into this space.
Groupon, CouponRaja, CouponDunia, Shop Pirate and Cashkaro are platforms that provide exclusive offers on several services.
In the fitness sector alone, startups like FitMeIn, Plank, MyFlexipass, Gympik.com, Fritternity etc. offer fitness services to their customers across India.
However, Kamal is of the opinion that unlike others, Makeoverz, as of now, is the only platform which caters to all categories in beauty, health and wellness. According to him, no other company has a comprehensive directory of all the services put together and this in itself places The Makeoverz leagues ahead of others.
Future Plans
The company is looking forward to expansion in other categories, including services provided by Makeup artists. Currently active only in the Delhi-NCR region, it plans to expand pan India in the near future.
Kamal reveals that by next year the company will launch its mobile app as well.
Editor’s Note
While the beauty, health and wellness industry is expected to grow at a rapid pace, it doesn’t come without its challenges. The market is now cluttered with several players who are eyeing the same crown.
In this jumbled up space, The Makeoverz through its comprehensive approach wants to become the one-stop solution for all beauty, wellness and health needs. According to Kamal, the uniqueness about the platform is that it offers the much needed information in not just one but across all categories. The road is congested with traffic and the going will not be easy The Makeoverz unless it ups the ante to distinguish itself from the rest.
