Traya: Revolutionizing Hair Health with Innovative Solutions, Strategic Growth, and Notable Recognitions

The hair solutions market in India is a substantial $12 billion industry, and Traya is poised to disrupt it. With only 12,000 licensed dermatologists to address the concerns of 150 million Indians facing hair loss, the need for an accessible and effective solution is evident.

Traya offers an online hair loss diagnosis service through a free hair test co-developed with medical professionals and advanced AI technology. The online platform is designed to identify the root cause of customers' hair loss, providing a personalized treatment plan tailored to their specific hair fall concerns.

In this article, let's explore Traya, a groundbreaking hair care company. We'll look into the founders' backgrounds, how their businesses fights hair loss, their revenue model, their funding journey, and successful marketing strategies.

Traya - Company Highlights

Traya - About
Traya - Industry
Traya - Founders and Team
Traya - Startup Story
Traya - Vision and Mission
Traya - Name and Logo
Traya - Product/Services
Traya - Business and Revenue Model
Traya - Launching Company Strategies
Traya - Customer Growth and Retention Strategies
Traya - Challenges Faced
Traya - Growth
Traya - Marketing Strategy
Traya - Recognition and Achievements
Traya - Funding
Traya - Key Tools and Software
Traya - Competitors
Traya - Future Plans

Traya - About

Traya is India’s first-ever hair fall solutions brand to help treat hair fall internally by identifying the root cause of hair fall. With the growing burden of hair fall issues in India, the brand has developed a unique doctor-backed solution where customers can take a free hair test that helps them understand the root cause of their hair fall. Through this unique model, and harnessing the power of the three sciences; Ayurveda, Nutrition, and Dermatology, there are more than 2,50,000 customers who have chosen Traya. 93% of the users have seen results* (*as per an internal study conducted in December 2022). Today the brand has a workforce of about 400+ employees and strong brand tie-ups with leading e-commerce brands, Nykaa, Flipkart and Amazon.

Traya - Industry

The hair solutions market in India is a substantial $12 billion industry, and Traya is poised to disrupt it. With only 12,000 licensed dermatologists to address the concerns of 150 million Indians facing hair loss, the need for an accessible and effective solution is evident.

Five to ten years down the road, Saloni Anand sees Traya becoming synonymous with effective solutions for hair loss and hair fall, offering sustainable results. Traya's simple vision is to assist young individuals in India in combating hair fall with doctor-backed solutions, ultimately aiding customers in regaining their confidence. Having become experts in addressing male hair fall, the company expanded its focus this year to include female hair fall with the introduction of the Santulan range, designed to target female-specific root causes. Recognizing that hair fall is a universal problem, Traya envisions exploring opportunities in international markets in the future.

Traya - Founders and Team

Saloni Anand and Altaf Saiyed are the Co-founders of Traya.

Saloni Anand holds a B-Tech Engineering degree from MKSSS Cummins College of Engineering for Women, Pune. Saloni completed her MBA in Marketing from IBS, Hyderabad. Before Traya, Saloni Anand worked with startups in product strategy and marketing, and her last role was as an Entrepreneur In Residence, where she focused on business problem-solving. Saloni spearheads the entire marketing efforts of Traya, including content, performance, and PR.

Altaf Saiyed holds a BSc Hons. (Medical Biochemistry) from the University of Glasgow. Altaf completed his MBA at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Before Traya, Altaf Saiyed was the Ex-founder of Hav Gourmet, a new-age cafeteria management company. Altaf is responsible for overseeing Tech, Operation, Retention, and Finance at Traya.

Traya - Startup Story

Saloni Anand had a stable job in a SaaS company, leading a routine professional life. Meanwhile, her husband, Altaf, was deeply passionate about startups. His dedication to this endeavour caused him to neglect his health, resulting in issues such as high thyroid and uric acid levels, weight gain, and hair loss. The couple tried various remedies without success until they discovered an Ayurvedic practitioner who suggested a holistic approach.

Altaf, initially sceptical due to his rooted belief in Allopathy, eventually agreed to combine allopathic and Ayurvedic medicines, along with a healthier diet. This comprehensive approach yielded positive results – Altaf lost weight, and his thyroid, uric acid levels, and hair fall issues improved. Friends took notice of the transformations and sought advice, but not everyone could adhere to the routine.

Realizing the challenge people faced in maintaining consistent efforts for 4-5 months, Saloni and Altaf decided to focus on helping others. They ran a digital ad, attracting 50 customers, and made the bold decision to concentrate solely on their newfound mission. Serving as hair coaches, Saloni and Altaf worked with a team of doctors, and within 5 months, 36 customers experienced significant improvements. This success marked the birth of their brand, Traya.

Top ayurvedic brands in India

The Sanskrit word Ayu, which means ‘Living’ and ‘Veda’ means ‘Knowledge,’ is Ayurveda. Ayurvedic brands in India have contributed a lot to the economy.

StartupTalkyMichelle D’souza

Traya - Vision and Mission

Hair loss is recognized at Traya as more than just a cosmetic concern; the brand acknowledges its profound impact. Traya distinguishes itself through a commitment to innovation and a continuous exploration of fresh ideas. The brand is enthusiastic about sharing its effective solutions with a broader audience, emphasizing the importance of understanding the real reasons behind hair loss and avoiding ineffective products.

In the pursuit of enhanced accessibility for those dealing with hair loss, Traya is dedicating efforts this year. Demonstrating expertise in assisting individuals with hair loss, the product range now includes solutions tailored specifically for women facing unique hair loss issues.

Traya's primary goal for this year is to establish itself as the leading choice for addressing hair loss. Simultaneously, during the expansion phase, the brand is equally dedicated to becoming a beloved brand. This commitment involves significant investments to ensure customers have an exceptional experience with Traya, fostering a strong connection and trust between the brand and its clientele.

Traya vision is to become synonymous with the terms hair fall and hair health and be known for its efficacy and honesty. On the product side, Saloni Anand is researching for no-side effects and high-efficacy solutions for other hair concerns.

Traya - Name and Logo

Traya in Sanskrit signifies a combination of three elements. Similarly, the brand Traya embodies a fusion of three sciences: Ayurveda, Dermatology, and Nutrition. The full stop positioned at the end of its logo symbolizes the resolution to all hair and health-related issues.

Traya - Product/Services

Traya distinguishes itself in the industry through its innovative and effective approach, prioritizing a deep understanding of the root causes of hair issues rather than offering quick fixes. Acknowledging the individualized nature of hair loss, Traya has integrated Ayurveda, Dermatology, and Nutrition to provide a holistic and personalized solution. During the pandemic, the Traya team, led by Altaf and Saloni, developed a cutting-edge hair test using data and AI, enabling precise diagnosis of specific causes like stress, hormonal imbalances, or nutritional deficiencies for each customer.

In contrast to relying on third-party platforms, Traya boasts its secure CRM system for storing consumer data, ensuring that its customers can trust the protection of their sensitive information. Their collaboration with healthcare specialists, including dermatologists, nutritionists, and Ayurvedic experts, guarantees an approach that is not only effective but also safe. At Traya, they are committed to making a real difference, one strand at a time.

Recognizing the challenge of maintaining consistency, Traya has established a network of hair coaches, assigning each patient a personal guide throughout their hair growth journey. This unique model has yielded remarkable results, with its treatments showing an efficacy rate of 93%, positively impacting over 2,50,000 customers to date.

Traya - Business and Revenue Model

These are Traya's growth strategies:

• Building attribution and measurement models to track and evaluate channel performances by stitching data between ad platforms, Google Analytics, and CRM data sources.
• Creating a model to measure incrementality by activation of new channels.
• Create custom audiences based on audience signals for optimized campaign performance.
• Creating effective segments using first-party data based on gender, age, stage & symptoms of hair fall and aligning messaging across various channels.
• Setting up multiple marketing channels like Google, Facebook, Youtube, WhatsApp, E-mail, OTT, Affiliates etc.

The above strategies have given them the following results:

For monitoring and maintaining consistent brand language, Traya has established an aggressive review mechanism along with checklists for all forms of content creation that are rigorously followed by all members of the team. For example - even a thumbnail copy has an elaborate list of do's and don'ts including font, placement, copy, tone & funnel filters.

This led Traya to become the only agency-free D2C brand in terms of content out there with a highly functional studio capable of shooting celebrity films, podcasts, and YouTube for all its photoshoots & digital marketing films. This was not easy to achieve as the artist economy is highly unstructured in a city like Mumbai where freelance is the norm. But at present the content team has art directors, cinematographers, videographers, video editors, illustrators & production heads who now enjoy the processes and stability that working for a brand brings. This setup is the sole reason why Traya creative costs are less than 8% of their marketing spending.

Creative experiments on steroids- 

Initial days Traya scaled on an assisted sales (calling the customers and convincing them to buy) approach. In March 2022 Traya decided to move towards direct sales (wherein users purchase directly off the website), led the consumer insights pods, and collected insights that helped build a strong content funnel strategy with key communication pillars highlighted that helped push users down the journey. To see whether this switch would work or not it was crucial to heavy down on experiments with around 80 video assets created, launched, optimized, and relaunched.

Within a short period, Traya was able to make the switch and had gathered concrete learnings around content pieces that work effectively in each touchpoint (ads & landing page). Today, at Traya they have a consistent and strong voice of the brand along with a detailed funnel-level communication strategy that gives an overall good ROAS.

The creative experiment would be a failure without the mention of the social testing strategy. Creating more than 80 assets was an uphill task in itself, but nailing down what communication piece works was a more excruciating one. That is when Traya started using the testing bed strategy for Instagram; with more than 50k+ followers Traya had a sufficient user base to decide whether a content piece was convincing enough or not. The IG testing bed strategy was a game-changer throughout the process and helped us achieve a 130% increase in users. Sustaining this lift, Traya incorporated doctor and coach videos into its strategy. Leveraging the experiment's insight that people tend to trust figures, this approach became an industry norm within a year.

Traya launched its first celebrity association on July 22 which saw over 120% hike in its revenue. In hindsight, this asset was launched in a week - from idea to conception to execution. Over the year, Traya has conducted over 14 celebrity associations including A-listers like Rajkumar Rao, Ayushmann Khurana & Sudheer Babu panning across Hindi and regional celebrities. The initial challenge involved convincing celebrities to address the topic of hair loss, considering the industry's inclination towards hair transplants, with few openly discussing hair loss. Traya ingeniously navigated this challenge by crafting compelling content that tactfully broached the subject, enabling the brand to collaborate with these celebrities without them explicitly sharing personal experiences with hair loss. This was an enormous win as it opened up a new marketing tactic. The heavy lifting was done not just on the launch of the products, but overall positioning of the brand for female audiences, as widening experts & not just opting for hair care experts.

Traya - Launching Company Strategies

As mentioned earlier, when friends took notice of the positive changes in Altaf's hair health, they inquired about his hair journey. Eager to share the advice that had proven successful, They discovered that not everyone experienced transformations due to the struggle with consistency. Reversing hair fall is a gradual process, typically taking 4-5 months, and many individuals find it challenging to maintain consistent efforts while holding onto high hopes.

This realization sparked an idea for Altaf and Saloni. They initiated their journey by launching a digital ad, marking the inception of their brand. Despite initially attracting 50 customers through the ad, they made a strategic decision to halt advertising and focus exclusively on these individuals. During this period, Altaf and Saloni assumed the roles of personal hair coaches, addressing all queries and collaborating with a team of experts, including a dermatologist, an Ayurvedic practitioner, and a nutritionist. Remarkably, within just 5 months, 36 of these customers displayed visible improvements, laying the foundation for the creation of Traya.of Traya.

Traya - Customer Growth and Retention Strategies

When Traya first entered the market, there was a noticeable lack of transparency in the hair fall industry. Recognizing the imperative to educate the audience about the various stages of hair fall, its root causes, and the fact that it extends beyond a mere cosmetic concern, decisive action was taken.

The focus shifted to content marketing on social media platforms, to effectively reach the target audience. Sharing real-time customer testimonials on these platforms played a pivotal role in building trust. The impact of witnessing real people with authentic results proved to be a game-changer. Recognizing the potential of performance marketing, active engagement with customers was prioritized, feedback was gathered, and customers were transformed into enthusiastic brand advocates.

In today's digital age, maintaining an online presence is crucial. Traya's user-friendly website serves as a hub that outlines the brand's approach, showcases tangible results, and provides easy access to services. Sharing informative content on hair health, and tips, and featuring before-and-after transformations has captured interest and instilled trust. Collaborations with influencers and experts have further added credibility to the brand. The success Traya enjoys in the market is a result of a harmonious blend of storytelling, real results, a strong digital presence, strategic collaborations, and customer trials.

Performance Marketing: Helping to Build Brand Stronger

Performance Marketing is a results-driven strategy to build your brand stronger. Know different types of marketing for Goal-Oriented Campaigns.

StartupTalkyPreeti Karna

Traya - Challenges Faced

Some major industry-centric challenges that Traya faced include:

• Misconceptions Regarding Genetic or Stress-Related Hair Loss: Persistent misconceptions surround hair loss, especially those related to genetics or stress, making it a challenge to address these issues.
• Technological Advancements Do Not Alleviate Challenges: Despite the prevalence of Google and extensive research tools, a significant portion of the educated audience in India continues to prefer traditional remedies (ghar ke nuskhe) over scientifically proven solutions.
• Reluctance of the Educated Audience to Prioritize Health: Surprisingly, the most educated demographic often struggles to prioritize health, showing a reluctance to adhere to self-improvement regimens.
• Delay in Treatment Adoption: Traya recent study revealed a substantial delay in the adoption of hair loss treatments. A significant proportion of respondents aged 21-25 progressed from Stage 1 (28.61%) to Stage 2 (38.04%) on the Norwood Hair Loss Scale due to a lack of treatment during Stage 1, highlighting the need for a more timely adoption of treatments.

To overcome the challenges faced, Traya places a strong emphasis on clear communication. The belief is in educating consumers first, enabling them to comprehend the root cause of their hair fall and understand how Traya's solutions can address it. This approach has proven effective in building trust among customers.

To tackle the issue of adherence, Traya has established an extensive hair coach framework. Each patient is assigned a dedicated hair coach to guide them through their hair growth journey. The hair coach acts as a liaison with the doctors, facilitating timely adjustments to the hair growth plan and ensuring a seamless treatment experience for the customer.

In March, Traya initiated a community project, creating an active community that operates for 10 hours daily. Community managers respond promptly within 10 minutes, providing customers with 24/7 access to the support team. These initiatives have been developed over time, and the impact on customer experience has been substantial, underscoring the significant positive difference they have made.

Traya - Growth

Traya operates in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The user base primarily consists of young adults experiencing early-onset hair fall, with a focus on males aged between 23-35 years and females aged between 27-40 years. Traya experienced significant growth, with a 13x increase in the fiscal year 2022-2023. The customer base has surpassed 2.5 lakhs. The team size at Traya is over 550 members.

Traya - Marketing Strategy

#HopeforHair: This campaign is the result of strong consumer insight – people have started believing that hair loss is irreversible. The belief stems from consistent failures with solutions that they have tried – from home remedies to shampoos and serums, and even clinical treatment. People nowadays have started experiencing genetic hair loss as early as 27, which is not normal. This is where Traya’s doctor-backed treatment which has been effective in reversing hair loss comes in.

The first step was to address this and rekindle hope. Traya tested this hypothesis last year with a video featuring Sunil Grover. It was quite successful in making people understand that genetic hair loss is indeed manageable. The second phase of communication was to educate them on why all that they tried so far didn’t work, and why Traya will. Therefore, it started with a consumer insight, which was followed by a lot of experimentation and data collection over a few months, before Traya realized that it was the time to get an A-list celebrity and launch their first big campaign.

Traya - Recognition and Achievements

Over the years, Traya has won many awards such as:

• Brand Impact Healthcare Excellence Award 2022
• Inc42 30 Startups to Watch Out For in May 2022
• Entrepreneur Awards 2023 - Wellness Startup of the Year
• Femina Power Brands Award
• e4M D2C Revolution Award - Best Use of Personalisation
• e4M D2C Revolution Award - Best Innovation in Customer Experience 
• e4M D2C Revolution Award - Best D2C Gamechanger Brand - HealthTech
• Emerging D2C Brand of the Year recognized by 'ET Retail EDNA Awards

Traya - Funding

Traya has raised Rs 20.75 crore in two rounds of funding.

Here are the funding details:

Traya - Key Tools and Software

The company utilizes a variety of tools to enhance its operations and services, including Power BI for data visualization, Shopify for e-commerce, Starfleet as a CRM system, MoEngage for customer engagement, Google Analytics for web analytics, and a patented Hair Test to provide personalized solutions for hair health.

Traya - Competitors

Some of the top competitors of Traya include:

• Manmatter
• Dr. Batra
• Wow Science

Traya - Future Plans

In the forthcoming years, Traya will maintain a steadfast vision, aspiring to enhance awareness, broaden outreach, and champion overall well-being. Beyond mere business growth, the goal is to foster a culture of well-being, solidify Traya as a beloved brand, and generate a positive impact on both society and the environment.

Traya has embarked on an extraordinary journey, revolutionizing the hair health industry through its holistic approach. With a commitment to innovation, sustainability, and customer-centric solutions, Traya is poised to lead the transformation in how they approach hair health. As the brand continues to thrive, its vision and dedication are poised to instigate positive changes in the wellness realm.

At its core, Traya's simple vision is to assist young India in combating hair fall with doctor-backed solutions, thereby helping customers regain confidence. Having gained expertise in addressing male hair fall, Traya expanded its focus to include female hair fall with the launch of the Santulan range, targeting the female-specific root causes this year.

Recognizing hair fall as a universal problem, Traya envisions eventual expansion into international markets, further extending its impact and solutions on a global scale. The journey ahead promises continued growth, innovation, and a sustained commitment to the well-being of individuals worldwide.

FAQs

Who are the founders of Traya?

Saloni Anand and Altaf Saiyed are the founders of Traya.

What does Traya specialize in?

Traya specializes in providing holistic solutions for hair health, addressing issues such as hair fall through a combination of doctor-backed treatments, Ayurveda, dermatology, and nutrition.

How can customers reach out for support or guidance during their hair growth journey?

Traya has a vast hair coach framework, assigning each patient a personal hair coach to guide them through their journey. Additionally, their community project provides customers with 24/7 access to their support team.