Innovist’s Focus On R&D & Transparency Gives Personal Care A Much-Needed Makeover

The Origin Story

Rohit Chawla, the founder and former CEO of The Man Company, a grooming essentials startup, lived for a decade in the West. During his overseas stay, friends and family frequently asked him to bring back beauty products, believing those were superior in quality than the homegrown ones. Although the Indian market was flooded with such products, many failed to substantiate their quality and efficacy claims. To cater to a new-age, quality-conscious clientele, Chawla teamed up with Vimal Bhola, a former R&D scientist at The Man Company, and Sifat Khurana, who worked as a director there, to set up Innovist with a strong emphasis on research, clean (chemical-free) approach and transparency. 

The Differentiator

Innovist’s first brand was Bare Anatomy, which provided personalised hair care products to users after they took a quiz to determine their hair types and problems. Based on its R&D and efficacy proved through clinical data, the parent entity expanded its clean personal care range under three brands – Bare Anatomy (hair care), Chemist at Play (skincare) and SunScoop (sunscreen-only brand) – and scaled manufacturing. Its Manesar unit in Haryana handles the entire process, from R&D to production and quality control. Innovist follows EU safety standards and displays all derma and clinical testing results for complete transparency.  

The Growth

The brand sells its products on its website, ecommerce marketplaces (Amazon, Flipkart and Nykaa), quick commerce platforms (Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart) and offline across modern trade stores. It saw more than 3x revenue growth in FY23 and an impressive 15% improvement in customer experience in the just concluded calendar year.

What’s Next

Innovist will grow its product lines and introduce new categories in 2024 by following a house-of-brands strategy. It also plans to expand its sales channels and enter overseas markets to triple its revenue and enhance profitability. By 2025, it will identify more white space opportunities in the beauty and personal care market and quickly launch and expand innovative brands in non-competing categories to boost growth.