Carving a Niche in Men’s Grooming Industry Through Singh Styled

🔍Insights

Preeti Karna

Jun 22, 2022 — 5 min read

Charanjeev Singh, Co-Founder, Singh Styled

The article is contributed by Mr. Charanjeev Singh, Co-Founder, Singh Styled.

Millennials have been witnesses to the times when the term men’s grooming was unheard of. It was limited to a haircut, sometimes a head massage at a nearby hajam ki dukan (neighbourhood salon). As far as the grooming goes, if anything at all the men did, was use grooming products meant for women, for eg. the famous fairness cream or the latest cleansing facewash. As we embark into a decade where the talk about equality is rife, a men’s grooming regime is considered equally important as a woman’s. With the rise of a metrosexual man, looking impeccable has become a non-negotiable.

From being completely unheard of to a multi-billion-dollar market, the male grooming sector has gained worldwide acceptance. The first exclusive product for men was launched in India in 2005 by an FMGC giant, which introduced the first fairness cream for men. This was the cue for other Indian players to wake up to the potential of the men’s grooming needs. What started as a monthly indulgence of a head massage at a neighbourhood barber shop is today a full-grown industry comprising categories of grooming and styling products, national and international upmarket chains of styling salons, innovations, and launches of the latest gadgets and tools that are used by men in their daily grooming regime.

Focusing on India, the men’s grooming industry is estimated to reach $1.2 billion by 2024. A report also states that there will be growth in e-commerce sales owing to the post-pandemic culture. Currently, the men’s grooming industry in India is led by some of the major FMCG players. However, the past few years have seen a few D2C start-ups slowly making their mark by creating offerings that are niche and address specific pain points as far as the men’s grooming needs go. Let’s put a spotlight on one such start-up that has marked its consumer territory like a lion - Singh Styled, a brand that’s focused on preserving the Sikh identity.

Birth of Singh Styled

Charanjeev Singh, a digital evangelist from Mumbai with over 15 years of entrepreneurial experience is the brain behind Singh Styled. As a Sikh himself, he realised that there is a dearth of quality grooming essentials exclusively for the Sikh gentlemen. Also, he noticed a decline in the new generation of Sikh men not very keen on following their tradition of wearing a turban and maintaining a beard. Upon research, Charanjeev found out that the absence of bespoke grooming products was the reason preventing the grooming-conscious Sikh men to embrace their identity.

In 2015, was born Singh Styled, a men’s grooming company exclusively for the Sikh by a Sikhs. Singh Styled is the first brand across the globe, to cater especially to the needs of Sikh men.

‘Singh Styled’ is dedicated to two very basic aspects of grooming for Sikh gentlemen. One being the practical aspect and the other is spiritual. A Dastaar, which is considered to be the crown, and a neatly maintained beard; the first visual of a Sikh gentleman.

The Niche Offering

Singh Styled is the house of high-quality turbans, beard and hair care products, and accessories. The grooming products are designed to support keeping the Sikh hair, beard, and moustache in mind.

To keep their customers’ long hair and beard looking soft and manageable at all times, the Singh Styled team has developed its own formula for hair oil, beard oil, beard fixer, and other personal hygiene products that help Sikh men to be at their individualistic best.

The brand’s hair care products are the outcome of their in-house research and development wing. Considering the needs of men with long hair and beard, each of the brand’s products takes around 8-12 months in formulation, testing, sampling, and re-sampling, before they are launched. The brand boasts of its rigid testing process, as it believes the amount of time and resources spent in convincing a consumer to buy a product is not worth risking if the product isn’t 100% satisfactory. Hence, they test their products across skin and beard types, cities, countries for weather, and water conditions. Products developed on this data help them bring their products to market with confidence.

The company has invested in German cotton yarn machines to spin out premium Sikh turban fabrics that preserve colour, while being light and soft at the same time. Its aim is to t spoil its clients with choices. Recently the brand launched unique summer turban shades to bring out the cool quotient of every Singh this sunny season. The fresh new range of soothing shades included an array of pastel colours such as Flamingo, Coral Blue, Supreme Green, La Crème, Citron Green, Summer Yellow, Powdered Coffee, Grass is Greener, and Ice Grey. Additionally, the brand also boasts of launching a one-of-its-kind beard freshener - ‘Attraction’, an aqua-based unique product specifically curated for beardsmen to ensure they smell fresh and fragrant throughout the day.

Additionally, the brand also offers carefully curated grooming kits with scientifically tested products for each step of the grooming process. These products not only speed up the regime but also ensure that kesh, beard, and skin, are all, well looked after.

The Platform

The founders believed that just having the right products wasn’t enough. To fulfil the brand purpose, building a community that shares the same value that the brand carries was of paramount importance. It sets itself apart from other D2C brands, as it does not worry about launching a new range every week to compete. Today the brand’s D2C platform offers products pre-filtered as per the focused needs of its target market, thus, making the shopping process quick and convenient.

Simultaneously, Singh Styled products are also available across all major e-commerce stores from Amazon, Nykaa, Flipkart, Bigbasket, Netmeds, and many more. This is in tandem with the founders’ policy of tapping the ever-growing online shopping market.

Global Presence

Singh Styled aims at being accessible to all 30 million Sikhs across the globe. It has already spread its wings across the globe and currently, it supplies to 133 worldwide destinations which include Canada, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Far & Middle East, and Africa.

The latest feather in their cap is their first international store in the ‘Lion City’ of the world- Singapore. Through the Singapore store, the brand caters to the Sikhs of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia.

Conclusion

The Sikh Gentlemen have been a part of the elite beardsmen club, thanks to the Guru-gifted identity. For beardsmen, their beards are a mark of honour and an important part of their identity, and not something that is just ‘in’ fashion. With Singh Styled, the mission is to build products and solutions that can help turbaned and bearded men maintain their identity with ease, and build their own style within the purview of the faith.