With four mmmms – that’s how you spell Sammmm!
Sammmm is a beauty brand for teenagers, built by listening to what they want and need, rather than telling them what to do. It was born as founder Mantosh Roy’s response to his fourteen-year-old daughter, Sam, telling him that adults don’t care about what teens want. They either have preconceived notions, or are dismissive of the things that Gen Z and Gen Alpha hold dear – like self-care and self-love.
Mantosh, and co-founder, Rishi Seth, were colleagues at Nykaa. Mantosh brings decades of retail and tech experience, while Rishi has complementary expertise in health and wellness, as well as makeup.
The opportunity
With over 250 Mn adolescents, India has the largest number of teenagers in the world today. They account for almost 20% of India’s total population. Yet, they remain tragically underserved with the gap between what they want and what existing brands provide only widening.
Today’s teens are plugged into the world through their peers, social media, and the internet. As their consumption and communication habits evolve, there's a great opportunity to serve this dynamic audience.
It’s important to understand that a teen’s personal care needs are different from those of an adult, so a brand focused on them will need to be mild and gentle, as well as efficacious and aspirational.
The overall BPC market is valued at almost $16 Bn, with skincare, colour cosmetics and haircare alone forming a market worth $7.5 Bn. Of this, the teenage opportunity would be close to $1.5 Bn.
The consumer
The Sammmm consumer belongs to two cohorts – 13- to 15-year-olds, and 16- to 19-year-olds. There are differences, but they are also united in their focus on individuality, self-expression, and self-care. They often say “No one understands me”, and Sammmm is designed to be the brand that understands them like no other.
Teens want to do the opposite of what they’ve been told to. They plug into international influences, yet remain staunchly individual. They have multiple profiles on social media, and are, both, the most-connected, and the least easy to reach, audience.
Here are the key trends we’ve seen:
- Focus on self-love and self-care, which leads them to adopt preventive care
- Global influences via social media like Instagram and Snapchat – with a heavy emphasis on Western pop culture
- Experimentation and curiosity guide all their choices
The offering
The Sammmm portfolio was co-created rather than designed, and it was the result of a survey of 33K teen customers and 100+ influencers across 30 cities. The brand is using these insights to create a brand for the teenager, by the teenager, and of the teenager – allowing them to express themselves the way they want to.
Sammmm doesn’t just drop a new product, it celebrates its consumers, and co-creates shades and formulations with them. All products use unique global actives and trusted formulations. The ingredients are ethically sourced, and contain no parabens, no sulphates, no phthalates, and no formaldehyde. The formulations are designed along with dermatologists, and are not animal tested.
The landscape
With the rise of social media and growing obsession with self-care, teenagers are spending hours consuming content on skincare routines and makeup tutorials, leading a rise in demand for such products.
Our research among FMCG giants as well as new-age marketplaces reveals their interest in this space, as they share our belief that teens are a growing audience, with high latent demand.
The Gen-Z beauty market has witnessed high focus over the last 1-2 years with several brands entering this segment like Staze (by Honasa), Cupid (by Wow Skin), Craze (by Swiss Beauty) and Sugar Play (by Sugar). Similarly, in the teen beauty segment select brands like Gush, and Elitty Beauty, are also emerging in the market.
At Fireside Ventures, we believe that teen beauty is an underserved area, and we’re thrilled to partner with a brand that is truly co-creating with its consumers – reflecting their originality, enabling their experimentation, and celebrating them in every way. Like Sammmm says, “You do you! We got you!”
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