A pioneer in the beauty industry, Barry M is known for adding vibrancy to the makeup scene world over! Created by the king of colour Barry M himself, this eponymous beauty brand is synonymous with all things colourful, vibrant and nourishing. From versatile cheek tints to pigmented eyeshadows and smooth base products— there’s a little something for every makeup enthusiast wanting to explore the various realms of beauty.
Barry M is now set to launch in India only on Myntra, one of the leading fashion, beauty and lifestyle destinations in the country. With this, the beauty brand is all set to tap into Myntra’s wide consumer base and open itself to a new community of makeup enthusiasts in the country. We sat down with Dean Mero, Managing Director at Barry M along with Rahul Sachdev, Senior Director— Beauty and Personal Care at Myntra for a conversation on Barry M’s India foray, global makeup trends and Indian consumers’ beauty habits:
ELLE: Congratulations on bringing Barry M to the Indian consumers. Tell us about the brand’s association with Myntra.
Dean Mero: We’re so excited and have been trying to get into India for 7 to 8 years now. When our partner Progressive Lifestyles recommended Myntra to work with, the synergy was absolutely perfect. In this day and age, e-commerce is where the future is. Consumers have become technologically savvy and rely on a variety of applications for an array of experiences.things. For us, forward-thinking tech matches our values and Myntra offers us just that. We’re also tapping into the engaging and innovative experiences that Myntra offers its users on the app and the website. Going beyond standard selling means that we get closer to our customers and offer them an immersive experience to carve a niche for ourselves.
ELLE: Tell us about the founding journey and the evolution of the brand, Barry M.
Dean: The colour and the vibrancy have been major since the 1980s which was the era of new romantics and the punks! There weren’t any colour cosmetics that offered the shades and hues rebellious people craved for. My father was an innovative and advanced thinker who brought out exactly what people wanted and catered to every need. Browns, pinks and peaches weren’t exciting enough for him. While pinks and reds were popular, he found a base in the market that wanted certain bright colours. That became our focal point and the reason why colour has always been a massive part of our brand.
In the UK, during the 90s, people wore colourful dresses and often wanted matching nail polish or eyeshadow, Barry M was their only source for that! However, we have evolved through that because the bright days of the 80s and 90s slowly disappeared. Though we’ve adapted to changing beauty and trends, we still have the vibrancy intact that we’re synonymous with.
ELLE: Rahul, if you could tell us how do you think Barry M shall be received by beauty consumers in India?
Rahul Sachdev: As one of India’s leading fashion, lifestyle, and beauty platforms, I think what we excel in is making the right kind of consumers meet powerful brands that have a strong story to tell with a rich and immersive experience. Speaking specifically about Barry M, there is a cross-section of Gen Z and millennial audiences on our platform and these consumers are brand-discerning. They’re beauty enthusiasts because they read a lot and research brands meaningfully. They also love clean, conscious brands and I think that’s one place where Barry M’s story stands tall.There are consumers currently who are exploring beauty brands with compelling propositions and of course a brand like Barry M ticks all the boxes for them. So, I expect that with the power of the right consumer on the platform and a meaningful interpretation of the brand’s storytelling through our social commerce propositions, Myntra Studio, M-Liveand our rich product pages, we’ll be able to bring this to life.
ELLE: Tell us some of the most popular products from the brand that the Indian consumer will enjoy.
Dean: We are thrilled to be launching over 100 of our best-selling products in India. The idea is to appeal to the fun and playful side of the beauty consumer. We do vibrancy incredibly well, it’s a part of our DNA and we want people to uninhibitedly be themselves along with celebrating self-expression and individuality. Even though Barry M at its core, is built on lively, bold and fearless colour, we’ve got some soft colour palettes as well because that’s a key trend for 2023. Keeping our focus on multi-functional products such as our Fresh Face Cheek and Lip Tint, we want to make sure that we’re prioritizing versatility. Our products that are launching on Myntra include some of Barry M’s viral products, so we’re certain the Indian consumers are going to enjoy them to the fullest!
ELLE: What are a few makeup trends you’re forecasting for this year and which of these will be a hit with the Indian beauty consumer?
Dean: Makeup trends are only going to get bigger and bigger in 2023. Looking after your skin has become a huge priority for individuals, so products that are nourishing to the skin while giving you the benefits of makeup are certainly going to be everywhere.
Our Fresh Face Range, infused with hyaluronic acid and vitamin C is all you need to perfect the sheer look! Another beauty trend we see gaining momentum is multifunctional makeup. People don’t want to overconsume; they want products that often do more than one thing! The cheek and lip tints from Barry M were created just for that. After the pandemic, everybody was excited to self-express again and try out colourful, and bold, and show off what they can achieve with makeup on social channels. Definitely, our playfulness and our approach to eyeshadows and striking lips will shine through.
ELLE: What beauty habits are you witnessing that shall pave the way for how beauty is consumed in India?
Rahul: There have been quite a few mega-trends or habits that we’ve been seeing form slowly. Largely around conscious and clean beauty. Beauty brands that are very conscious about their footprint are increasingly becoming a first choice and yes, Barry M stands tall there. The second one is beauty turning intrinsic and focusing on self-care. The pandemic really allowed us to see a different side of beauty that was real. Third, playful beauty brands are all the rage now. People have had their share of seriousness and they’re looking for quirky, edgy brands. Especially the kind that converse with you more like a friend. This is a testament to the work that we’re doing with Barry M.
ELLE: How do you plan to bring about innovations to target the Gen-Z and millennial audiences specifically?
Dean: Gen-Z and millennials are driving the future of the beauty market. They are our first digital native audience, so we quite understand of the power of social media and use it strongly to remain updated with what the competition is doing, and what our consumers are enjoying. We’re also very cognizant of what’s happening all over the world because we actively listen. When it comes to Gen-Z and millennials specifically, we know they enjoy vibrancy and colour along with innovative products that we’ve continuously provided to them— they are definitely our base customers. For instance, we came out with our lip plumpers much before they were all the rage! We enjoy the challenge of being the first in the market to come up with the newest, most innovative products.
Millennials and Gen-Z consumers are extremely environmentally conscious. Since the past few years, we’ve reduced most of our unnecessary packaging— by removing mirrors from our palettes, and getting rid of magnets and closures too! We’re also using 30% PCO recycled products. Our key mission is to become greener with every product!
ELLE: Myntra has significantly ramped up its beauty and personal care portfolio over the last few years. What is 2023 looking like for Myntra Beauty?
Rahul: Our philosophy has always been to grow on our strengths. Having done that on our fashion vertical, our focus is now on the beauty vertical. The way we plan to do this in 2023, will be broadly in three ways. The first will be to get meaningful brands that resonate across categories to come and converse with Indian consumers. Given the width of the country and the consumers we cater to, it is important to surface the right kind of brands to them so that’s the first one that we’re planning to work on.
Second, simplifying the journey of discovering new brands and finding what’s right for you is something that’s at the core of what we strive to offer. In that regard, using technology to help consumers shop for beauty seamlessly, whether that’s opting for assisted selling tools, the likes of virtual try-ons, or leveraging the power of educational beauty content— is the second pillar that we’re going to build on. Also, Combining these facets with our unparalleled reach, we are confident about scaling our beauty business from strength to strength. Looking forward to another power-packed year at Myntra Beauty!
