The changing face of dermaceutical skincare

Fixderma has grown from its 2010 launch into a company exporting to over 35 countries with a 130-plus product portfolio. Looking back, which single decision or pivot do you think had the biggest impact on that trajectory?

I don’t think there is one single decision in business that brings a larger impact on the overall performance of a company. It is a cumulative effect of many decisions, including wrong decisions, decisions taken at the right time and some decisions that you did not take at the right time.

If I look back, I think it was the persistence and resilience to keep going. That is why we are here today. For a company like ours, particularly in such a competitive category, continuing to move forward is not easy.

When we started, we were not an online or D2C company. We were a pure-play business selling through dermatologists. That was one of the more difficult routes to take, but we stayed with it. So, putting it in one line, it is difficult to point to one decision. It has been a collective and cumulative effect of several decisions over the years.

You’ve positioned FCL as a premium range alongside the core Fixderma brand. What was the strategic thinking behind running two brand identities rather than just expanding one?

I saw a need for a premium skincare range that was completely dedicated to specific skin problems. We are taking baby steps towards that.

FCL Skincare was launched about 10 years ago by Dr Raj to give dermatologists and aware users products with a strong focus on ingredients. Even the names of the products reflect this approach. Eye Refining Matrix is our under-eye cream, Intensive Eye Serum contains peptides, and we have a Skin Brightening Complex. We have also recently launched a Exosomes range that penetrates 20X deeper into the skin & Neck Firming Cream.

The formulations are quite complex, with multiple ingredients being used for specific purposes. So, the idea was to create a range that is focused on the problem, the formulation and the quality of ingredients.

The line between cosmetic and pharmaceutical skincare has been getting blurrier, with the rise of what’s now called the dermaceutical or cosmeceutical category. How do you see this segment evolving over the next five years, and what’s driving that shift?

We have seen a significant shift in the last two to three years. Users have become much more aware of ingredients and what they are putting on their skin.

Earlier, people were following different spokespeople and recommendations about what they should use. Now there is greater awareness about what ingredients are actually doing and whether using too many actives could affect the skin barrier.

I think this has created an opportunity for brands that are ingredient-focused and have the right documentation to support the claims they make. Consumers are becoming more informed, and they are looking for products where there is a clear connection between the ingredients, the formulation and the claims.

India’s cosmeceutical exports have grown steadily, but so has competition from established global skincare majors. What do Indian dermaceutical companies need to get right to compete internationally rather than just domestically?

I think the key is to understand the market and develop products accordingly. Indian skin, climate and lifestyle have their own characteristics, and these factors need to be considered while developing formulations.

We are a very diverse population, and skin characteristics can vary across populations. Climate and daily routines also influence how products perform. So formulations cannot simply be developed by looking at what works in another country and assuming the same approach will work in India or other markets.

At the same time, Indian companies need to have strong R&D capabilities and be able to build formulations around a clear understanding of the consumer and the market.

Skincare innovation has increasingly leaned on newer actives and delivery technologies, from peptides to encapsulation methods. In your view, is the Indian dermaceutical industry keeping pace with that R&D curve, or is it still largely dependent on formulations developed elsewhere?

There has to be a strong R&D curve, particularly when you are developing products for Indian skin and Indian conditions.

For us, the focus has been on formulations and ingredients rather than simply creating products around marketing claims. Some of our formulations are quite complex and use multiple ingredients for specific purposes.

I think understanding the ingredient, the formulation and how it works for the intended skin concern is important. The industry needs to keep building that capability rather than simply replicating what is being developed elsewhere.

Regulatory frameworks for cosmeceuticals in India sit somewhere between cosmetics and drugs, and enforcement can be inconsistent. What changes, if any, would you like to see in how this category is regulated?

I would simply say: be honest with your combinations and your claims.

There are products in the market where brands make claims around specific concentrations of ingredients. For example, they may claim three per cent Redensyl or two per cent Capixyl.

These are meaningful ingredients, but when such products are being sold at a very low price while making claims that suggest a particular level of active ingredients, consumers have a right to question whether those claims are realistic.

We cannot expect to get everything at an extremely low price and still assume that the formulation contains the claimed ingredients and concentrations. Something is wrong somewhere.

I think the industry needs greater honesty and transparency in how products are formulated, what they contain and what claims are made about them.