The name ‘MCaffeine’ will probably make you think about some international coffee brand but when you look close look at the bottles you will find out these are shower gels, face washes and body scrubs to make your skin glow with caffeine extracts. Isn’t it amazing? The founders of MCaffeine, Vikas Lachhwani and Tarun Sharma, were just the two common individuals who were living their ordinary work life before the incredible idea of creating coffee-infused skin care products came into their heads.
Delve deeper to know the whole journey of these brilliant minds and the emergence of MCaffeine as the biggest personal care brand in India.
How did it begin?
It all began when Vikas and Tarun first met with each other in Mumbai through a common friend in 2012 and quickly developed a strong friendship. Back at that time, both of the men were occupied with their other jobs – Vikas, who had worked in Bentonville, USA, launched a startup that focused on transforming HR practices through the use of data whereas Tarun joined the operations of a food delivery startup. It was in December 2015 that they decided to jump on entrepreneurial wagon.
While researching for their new business venture, the duo noticed there weren’t many new-age brands for younger consumers. Therefore, they planned to launch a personal care brand. But why chose coffee as a product? This happened because during their research Vikas and Tarun found an online literature which stated that caffeine is very nourishing for the skin. Hence, they roped in consultants who designed formulations for skin care and began creating caffeine-based products. This is how MCaffeine was launched in January 2016
The Massive Success
Within a few years of it launch, MCaffeine became a leading brand in the personal care category. Currently, the company deals in four major categories – Face Care, Hair Care, Body Care and Lip Care. Today, they have 5000 offline stores across India and have also expanded globally to three countries. MCaffeine is India’s fastest growing new-age FMCG brand with a potential to become one of the leading brands in the premium personal care category for millennials across the country. Moreover, the company has sold more than 2.8 million products, amounting to Rs.100 crores in just four years of its inception in the market.
What makes MCaffeine different from others?
In the stiff market competition, where it is challenging to hold one’s uniqueness for long, brands try to come up with new and innovative marketing strategies to carve a niche of their own. However, at times, simple things reap maximum results. MCaffeine used this exact mantra to establish its brand value in the market.
Speaking of uniqueness, there are a lot of factors that make MCaffeine an exclusive brand but the most prominent one is the idea itself. MCaffeine is the first caffeine-infused personal care brand in India and is internet-only D2C brand which sells through its own platform and other retailers such as Nykaa, Amazon and Flipkart. It is also one of the largest selling brands on Nykaa. With an estimated media value worth Rs 15 lakh, the brand has already garnered more than 5.5 million viewers on Instagram.