WOW'S Foray into Food

WOW Skin Science was born out of the passion and vision to develop and deliver the best of beauty and wellness products by brother duo Karan and Manish Chowdhary. Early on their journey, the founders realized the potential of wellness and beauty as an industry segment. Now, with the expansion of their portfolio – WOW Life Science – the duo is set to disrupt the health food segment with four variants of peanut butter.

WOW’s journey began in 2013 when there was an increasing demand from consumers for indigenous beauty products that offered them results at affordable pricing. This led to the formation of WOW Skin Science. The products offered by WOW were inspired by the beauty and wellness traditions from both the East and the West and were backed by research and science. Be it skincare or conscious living, the brand aimed to deliver advanced research-backed, nature-infused products to wellness-conscious people.

“We saw a large opportunity in green chemistry and the emergence of the indigenous beauty brands in the country. Witnessing a great demand for nature-based beauty care products allowed us to transition into natural products. Today, our brand motto is nature powered,” stated Manish Chowdhary, Co-Founder, WOW Skin Science.

WOW was also one of the first few brands in the country that was transparent about the ingredients – using formulations without any harsh chemicals, mineral oil, sulfates, parabens, or silicones.

Venturing into Health Food Industry

The health food category in India is expected to show impressive growth in the next three years as Indian households move to spend more on health-focused foods. According to a report by Avendus Capital, there will be a 2 times growth in per capita spending on health foods by 2026, and the health food market size will grow to be $30 billion in the next five years. As per the same report, India is the fastest-growing health food market at 20 percent CAGR. The brand thus expects the market to be driven by categories like healthy snacking, fruit snacks, dairy-free food options, healthy dairy, and meat-alternate foods.

“WOW has always been focused on offering a holistic beauty and wellness solution to consumers. Our two brands WOW Skin Science and WOW Life Science complement each other. Post-pandemic, consumers are looking for products that help them in their self-care and health goals and the health food category is growing rapidly,” asserted Chowdhary.

In an attempt to offer its consumers a healthy, tasty, and plant-based option to eat protein-rich food, the brand launched not one, but four different variants of peanut butter – super-seed infused peanut butter, crunchy and creamy options, an unsweetened variant, and one unique variant of one infused with ‘sattu’ (roasted chana dal flour) that is rich in protein, iron and calcium.

“Peanut butter as a food category is also finding increasing acceptance among new-age consumers as they look for more plant-based, dairy-free options. That is the customer segment we are targeting. Our peanut butter is highly protein-rich with added super-seeds like chia, pumpkin, sunflower, and watermelon. This product helps to meet some of your daily protein requirements. It is a great protein option for those who follow a plant-based diet,” added the Co-Founder.

Growth Strategy

Flourishing over three times year-on-year and recording a revenue of about Rs 340 crore, WOW is currently one of the top three D2C brands in the country. Since the fresh infusion of capital, the brand has been able to give form to some of its planned projects including sustainable packaging, an improved product portfolio, and a stronger team count.

In 2023, the brand aims to continue innovating new products and becoming a sustainable and clean, green brand, along with enhanced customer experience – from awareness and engagement to retail and repeat buying. “The new generation of consumers is ready to try novel things. The consumer mood is set toward exploring brands and using products that deliver real results. So, it is the right time to introduce products and sustain those that are already in the market,” added Manish.

WOW thus intends to focus on strengthening its product awareness, brand loyalty, presence, and delivery while launching new ranges with trending activities and offering complete head-to-toe solutions.

Future Plans

Besides focusing on product innovation, the brand aims to boost its teams intending to remain among the top D2C beauty and wellness brands in the country. “We will also strengthen our offline retail presence to connect with more consumers. This year the focus is to do it more sustainably and improve our bottom line as well as the top line,” asserted Chowdhary.

Being a customer-focused organization, the brand ensures to offer true benefits of its products and hopes to help its consumers restore, revive, revitalize, and revel in nature-infused beauty and wellness.