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We Expect To Raise $500k By Dilution Of 10 To 15%: Hiren Shah & Siddhant Shah, Founder, The Men's Lab

Funds will be utilized to start phase II of Men's Lab to enter the retail market and further explore business opportunities in the retail chain.

How challenging is it to create an unexplored marketplace?

As we all know, intimate hygiene for men is a taboo topic. No one wants to talk openly about it and share their experience. Initially, it was challenging for us to explain why intimate hygiene was equally important as men’s grooming. Gradually we started explaining and creating awareness through our marketing strategies to normalize discussion about intimate hygiene in public. For example, Live sessions with doctors/influencers were conducted through our Instagram page.

The Men's Lab's onboarded Suniel Shetty as the brand ambassador? How is the brand planning to leverage growth with this association?

The Men’s lab achieved a milestone when Mr. Suniel Shetty was onboarded as the brand ambassador for the intimate hygiene range.

With the support and guidance of Mr. Suniel Shetty and their team, the company has planned several marketing campaigns to attract the targeted audience. Keeping in mind the huge fan following of Mr. Suniel Shetty and his great persona in public, the company has planned several marketing campaigns for growth and expansion.

Why the Indian male grooming market is still untapped?

Male grooming has just been limited to face and hair for the longest time. Whereas, intimate hygiene is still unknown to the masses. This market is still developing where males have just started carrying or buying products by themselves. There is a lack of knowledge and awareness on why to and when to use these products. Previously they used to use products available at home. Nowadays, males are equally cautious about their looks in public as in females. They have started taking care of every part of their body.

What are your expectations from the market in the year 2022?

According to our study and sample research, we have found that people are now much more aware and educated towards personal care and hygiene.

· The primordial belief of men taking care of only their facial hair has taken a back seat, and the male populace has started giving due importance to self-love and personal care.

· The awareness among men has embarked on the beginning of a new era.

· With high mobile and internet penetration rates, the D2C market is not merely restricted to tier 1 and metropolitan cities but has also reached the hinterlands. Thus, creating a huge pool of online customers.

What is the thought behind the inception of The Men's Lab and the growth journey?

The Directors of The Men’s Lab have always believed that a man must concentrate not only on their face and hair but the entire body. In comparison to women, men are more ignorant as far as grooming and hygiene are concerned. Also, there is a lack of awareness and knowledge about intimate hygiene in men.

Initially, it was tough to attract people as most men were hesitant to even talk about intimate hygiene. Gradually, we have tried to spread awareness about personal hygiene and men’s grooming which has resulted in positive growth for the company. After being in the industry for over 3 years, the company has reached a remarkable position and has great value as far as personal hygiene for men is concerned.

What is the vision of the brand?

The vision of The Men’s Lab is to create awareness amongst the males of our country regarding their intimate/personal hygiene.

The company believes in one thing “Educating people regarding the problem will always result in the growth of problem solver."

And therefore, the solution for brand growth is educating people because intimate hygiene is of utmost importance for men in today’s world.

How was the year 2021 for The Men's Labs?

2021 was a roller coaster year for The Men’s Lab due to pandemic situations all over the country. Because of Covid19, people have understood the importance of personal hygiene and are now more aware and conscious about it. This has helped the company to grow in the right direction and at a faster pace. Due to the pandemic, there has been a shift in the purchasing behaviour/pattern from retail to e-commerce. i.e., more people have started buying online compared to retail stores. This has also helped the company boost up its online sales through its website and other e-commerce platforms.

Tell us about your expansion and funding plans for 2022?

Below is our expansion and funding plans:

Product range expansion

· Offer more products for men's intimate hygiene range and personal care.

· Develop a regime-based range for men's grooming.

· Develop products specially curated for Indian men, as per the geographic layover of our country.

In terms of expansion

· Once we reach a certain valuation and market cap we will look forward to funding.

· Funds will be utilized to start phase II of Men's Lab to enter the retail market and further explore business opportunities in the retail chain.

· We have already got the ball rolling concerning the distribution of our salon products.

And if we talk in terms of funding:

· We have planned to have 3 funding rounds over 4 years.

· Round one is expected to raise $500k by dilution of 10 to 15%. This will help us in the expansion plan of the retail market.

What are the new products in The Men's Lab? Any new range is on the way?

We are planning to expand our product range with new products.

· Offer more products for men's intimate hygiene range and personal care.

· Develop a regime-based range for men's grooming.

· Develop products specially curated for Indian men, as per the geographic layover of our country.

How men’s intimate hygiene is important? How are brands focussing on that? What are you doing to educate customers about men’s hygiene?

Male private parts are most delicate and sensitive as compared to the other parts of the body. People have been using a normal bathing soap to clean their private parts in the past. Unaware that using a normal bathing soap can remove the natural moisture from the skin and lead to redness and rashes on the skin. Therefore, using the right product with a proper PH balance for their privacy is very necessary.

Nowadays, several brands are promoting intimate hygiene. But why it is important only a few have been able to explain.

The Men’s Lab wants make people understand why a need for intimate hygiene in this new era of Men’s grooming is there.

We are planning to do multiple things:

· Conducting live sessions with experts/gynaecologists: In such sessions, we would invite the experts to talk about current day-to-day problems that men face. According to healthcare experts, there is an increase in the number of patients for bacterial/fungal reactions with the current lifestyle.

· QnA session: In these sessions, the experts answer the queries and questions of the audience

· Creating educational posts for awareness: We use our social media platforms to educate

· Influencer marketing: We would reach influencers on social media and with their help, we would spread awareness about the topic and our brand.



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