How RAS Luxury Oils is Growing 20x from Past Two Years?

The beauty and personal care industry is growing at an exponential rate globally. Recently, many new brands have forayed into the market to capture the growing appetite of consumers for skin care and personal care through the D2C route. And one such brand which has succeeded in winning the trust of the consumers is RAS Luxury Oils by Shubhika Jain.

Prior to establishing RAS Luxury Oils, Shubhika Jain, Founder & CEO of the brand worked in the Agri profession division of her family business as well as the manufacturing and trading unit for essential oils. This is when she was introduced to authentic essential oils and scents from around the world. The goods she tried, ranging from mass market to luxury brands, did not use the components in their purest and most true form, and foreign brands were purchasing the nutrient-dense substances from India and selling them back to us in formulated form. This event gave birth to the brand RAS which means essence and bliss in Sanskrit - and the brand had one objective in mind: to deliver the world true authentic natural products sourced from its farms.

“As a company, research and development, production, marketing/ communications, and customer service activities were and are our brand pillars. We are a vertically integrated company in which everything, including R&D in a DSIR-approved laboratory and production, occurs in-house,” asserted Jain.

Currently, 85-90 percent of RAS' revenue comes through its website. The brand places a significant emphasis on customer interaction and experience. It is also present on online marketplaces such as Amazon and Nykaa and has partnered with upscale spas and salons.

“While marketplaces are expanding and a crucial piece of the puzzle to effectively get the brand out there and increase brand awareness, they are also a challenge. We have always been conscious of the importance of being able to connect with clients face-to-face, explain our products, and provide excellent customer service. Production, marketing, and research have all been influenced by real-time feedback from our devoted customers. It's a technique that's nearly automated in its pursuit of what our customers want at this time,” she explained.

To stay connected with the consumers and engage with them on a much deeper level, the brand follows a 360-degree marketing technique that connects with its clients on multiple social media platforms, e-mailers, and SMS by integrating information on new product launches, tips, and hacks, offers, and content for their wellbeing. 

Currently, RAS offers award-winning products, including its 24K Gold Radiance Face Elixir, Gel Serum, and Tinted Lip Balms, and these products enjoy a cult following among influencers, A-list celebrities, and customers. The brand is now active in the face care, lip care, and body care markets with a selected product range of natural, organic, vegan, cruelty-free, and toxin-free elixirs, serums, lip balms/tints, body butter, and more that are effective and sensory.

The new categories where the brand is present include bath and personal care items, as well as some hair care products, for which the current portfolio is relatively small.

Distinguishing Factor 

The products of the brand consist of 100 percent organically produced botanicals obtained from its own farms, partner farms, and local cultivators across the nation. It believes in supporting an eco-friendly business model by ensuring that all of its products are organically cultivated. By eliminating intermediaries and partnering directly with farmers, the brand enables them to live a self-sufficient life, earn a higher income, and improve their quality of life.

Explaining it further Jain said, “We follow farm-to-face methodology at RAS.

Cultivation and Extraction: Aromatic plants are grown and harvested. Then, essential oils are extracted by the method of steam distillation. Products that cannot be processed at our plant are acquired from renowned manufacturers who deliver the highest quality ingredients and finished goods with all necessary certificates.

Assessment and Approval: These raw ingredients are subjected to numerous testing procedures, such as GC-MS, on machines with a vast fragrance library. After clearance, they are transferred to our DSIR-approved research and development laboratory, where they are formulated using ancient Ayurvedic principles applied to the modern lifestyle.

Manufacturing and Packaging: The formulations are then manufactured at our FDA-approved* facility in small batches. They are hand-bottled into 100 percent hygienic, autoclaved bottles. The bottles are then stacked in cartons and prepared for shipping.”

Technology: The Game Changer

Technology is fundamental to RAS’s business model. From enhancing its digital presence through social media and PR techniques to making substantial investments in digital marketing and its website, the brand is constantly seeking to improve its digital presence. 

“The customer journey across all touchpoints is one of the most important factors in the expansion of our firm, as our brand is entirely digital,” she stated.

Future Plans

Recently, RAS Luxury Oils has secured $2 million Pre-Series A funding from Sixth Sense Ventures. The brand will be utilizing this fresh infusion of capital to further deepen inroads into the luxury skincare market in India and overseas, and accelerate its product innovation. 

“RAS, the brand, has become synonymous with real, responsible, and results-driven luxury skincare due to its unwavering commitment to the best quality ingredients and innovative, science-backed formulations. As a Made-in-India brand that caters to global consumers, we intend to redefine the global beauty and skincare sector. The investment from Sixth Sense Ventures validates our concept,” Jain said.

“Apart from this, we are also working on a phy-gital plan (physical-digital strategy) in order to expand our reach into Tier-II cities,” she added.

The brand has witnessed 20x growth in the last two years, and during FY 21-22, the brand grew by 300 percent.

“Our objective is to expand not only in India but also abroad. Our strategy for achieving this objective is substantially similar to how we expanded the brand in India - naturally, with a research-based strategy and a few calculated risks. We strongly believe RAS has the potential to be successful internationally due to the high demand for clean beauty products and organic components that are sourced responsibly,” she concluded.