Celebrating the power of #ItsKayToBeYou, Kay Beauty was founded in 2019, jointly between Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif, and Nykaa, India’s largest specialty beauty and personal care platform. The brand was launched to create a bridge between high glamor and skincare.
The brand demonstrates a successful business model that resonates with consumers, particularly women, by focusing on a strong brand identity, quality, and inclusivity. Leveraging business using celebrity influence and mixing it up with sound strategies for growth, is exemplified in the success of this brand over the years.
Kay Beauty’s Impact and Industry Overview
Kay Beauty has made a place for itself by offering a wide range of shades that cater to the very diverse Indian skin tones.
Given its range not just of products but also in expanding its reach to numerous retail locations, and achieving revenue milestones, the brand is growing from strength to strength.
The brand’s success is based on its focus on influencer marketing, ethical and sustainable practices, and a digital-first approach.
About Katrina Kaif – From Spotlight to Startup
Katrina Kaif has been in the film industry for a while, and has risen to stardom through sheer hard work – working on her language skills, honing her dance moves, getting fitter for more action-oriented roles, and slowly shaping herself into a heroine who the masses throng movie halls for.
She has to her credit hugely successful movies such as Ek Tha Tiger, Dhoom 3, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and the more critically acclaimed ones like New York, and Rajneeti. She has established herself as an ace dancer with some of the most popular numbers such as ‘Sheila ki jawani’, and ‘Chikni Chameli’.
Why Katrina Chose Entrepreneurship
All actors have to face intense public scrutiny, and Katrina channeled this experience into creating a brand that celebrates diverse beauty, and promotes self-acceptance.
She went on to create a brand that showcased her passion for the art of makeup that she’d honed over her years as a model and actor. At a very opportune time, she identified the need for high-performance makeup products that deliver on their promises.
Entrepreneurship allowed Katrina to translate her values and personal brand into a tangible business. The fact that her face is associated with the launch of every new product in their lineup speaks of her involvement, and adds more credibility to the brand itself.
Inside Kay Beauty: What the Business Is All About
Here’s a little deep dive into what Katrina Kaif is building:
Product Range
Kay Beauty’s product line is very extensive. They offer a wide range of products for the lips, eyes, and face. Kay Beauty has become synonymous with quality and affordability. Users are all praises for its well-pigmented colours, hydrating formulas, and good value.
From lipsticks to kohl and eyeliners, from foundation and concealers, to blushers and color crayons, there is something for everyone.
Target Audience, Industry Niche, and Unique Positioning
Kay Beauty is all about inclusivity, and bringing quality at affordable prices for world-class products.
Typically, its target audience is the urban, millennial woman who is always on the lookout for high-quality products that complement her lifestyle, and make her feel better about herself. The much younger Gen Z consumers are the secondary target audience. This is a generation which is a lot under the influence of the internet, and celebrity endorsements.
Brand Values
Kay Beauty products are cruelty-free, and vegan, ensuring conscious choices in their products. The brand emphasizes celebrating individuality by offering a wide range of products for diverse skin tones and types.
The ease of application, and the color payoff, are in keeping with the brand’s image of having fun, and being confident and empowered by looking good, and staying on top of the grooming game.
The Brand’s Rise: Launch, Growth, and Milestones
Here’s why we’re talking about Kay Beauty by Katrina Kaif:
Launch Year and Initial Reception
Launched in 2019, the brand got a very favorable response drawing on Katrina’s star power, and Nykaa’s established reach. Initial products included lip, eye, and brow products with a ‘makeup on the go’ theme emphasizing ease of use. The launch was heavily promoted across various platforms, and succeeded in creating significant buzz.
Notable Marketing Campaigns and Press Coverage
The brand has based its marketing on celebrating individuality, and making makeup accessible with campaigns like #SummerPop, #MakeupOnTheGo and #ItsKayToBeYou. It has partnered with influencers and collaborated with organizations like the UP Warriors in the Women’s Premier League.
Revenue Milestones, Funding, and Awards
Kay Beauty was named the “Breakout Brand of the Year” at the 19th edition of the CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards (IBLA).
This celebrity-owned brand has a strong online presence, and has also expanded into the UAE market. It is a funded company, with Matrix being its only institutional investor. In just four years, Kay Beauty achieved an annualized gross merchandise value of over ₹130 crores.
The brand crossed the ₹200 crore mark in 2024.
What Makes Kay Beauty Stand Out?
Here are some lessons for women entrepreneurs who have been Katrina Kaif fans for long:
Key Takeaways from the Brand’s Strategy
The brand’s success is a lot on account of its being able to bridge the gap between glamour and skincare by offering an extensive range of products to suit various preferences and skin tones.
The brand focuses on making individuals embrace their natural beauty and self-expression. Actively promoting inclusivity and diversity, the brand through its campaigns like #ItsOkayToBeYou encourages people to celebrate their true selves, shedding inhibitions.
Smart Marketing Moves and Product Innovation
Kay Beauty has a huge digital presence. With Katrina as its brand face, every new product is launched with much fanfare.
Accessibility through online and offline platforms is another thing that has worked for the brand really well. Their campaigns and collaborations are with real individuals, and their stories, which is in keeping with the brand’s commitment to inclusivity.
Lessons for Aspiring Women Founders
Kay Beauty’s emphasis on quality at affordable prices, and its alignment with Katrina’s public image have contributed to its strong market presence.
For aspiring women founders, Kay Beauty’s journey has valuable lessons regarding authenticity, good marketing strategies, and understanding the needs of a target audience.
Challenges They Faced (and Overcame)
The brand has largely remained controversy-free.
An occasional debate or two when Katrina re-shared the video of a woman who praised Kay Beauty’s waterproof eyeliner, got some people skeptical about the authenticity of the feedback.
A section of people believed that it was a paid promotion.
The woman in question went on to clarify that it was a personal experience that she shared, and not a paid promotion. Some debate has also been on the pricing used by the brand with some believing that it’s over-priced on account of celebrity factor.
The Bigger Picture: Impact on Culture and Industry
Kay Beauty, through its campaigns has brought affordability to quality makeup. People like the fact that everything is formulated keeping inclusivity in mind. There is something for everyone based on their preferences, and skin tone.
Katrina’s strong public presence, and the fact that it is she who almost always launches each of their new products with a short video on its use, and color/other benefits, sits well with its target audience. They feel that the products are worth the price and the quality is assured, having been validated by someone who has a lot of draw among the masses.
Kay Beauty has opened the floodgates for a lot of other celebs who wished to see themselves as founders. They are fast becoming examples of how they are able to walk the tightrope, juggling their much in public scrutiny public profiles with their entrepreneurial selves. They are showing how being in the public eye can be leveraged to scale businesses.
Final Thoughts
When successful women choose to hustle more, and break into newer territories, they become the trailblazers. In their example, the belief of millions stands validated.
Kay Beauty with its core values of inclusivity, promoting confidence, and self-expression, has changed the makeup industry by making it about suiting diversity, and that at a price that doesn’t hurt.
We will continue to bring you more stories of entrepreneurial forays. Here’s hoping that the little stories we curate are able to inspire more and more readers, and put them on the road to their dreams.
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