When they had no marketing opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dheeraj Bansal and Rahul Sachdeva’s cosmetic brand Recode Studios was in danger. In June 2020, they sold their products for Re. 1 to clear inventories before expiration. This Re 1 gamble has paid off…
Dheeraj Bansal and Rahul Sachdeva’s Ludhiana cosmetic brand was threatened by the COVID-19 epidemic two years into its launch.
Recode Studios, founded by Dheeraj and Rahul, sells body lotion, face washes, and foundation in Ludhiana.
The dynamic team almost gave up after being unable to advertise their wares amid a lockdown that allowed only vital supplies.
“Our products sat unsold. We were clueless with a 24-36-month shelf life. Given the seriousness of the situation, we considered permanently closing the firm “Dheeraj recalls the uneasiness as lockdown announcements continued from March without revocation.
However, an ingenious idea struck them. In June 2020, they sold their products for Re. 1 to clear inventories before expiration.
They used social media and bloggers to promote this Re. 1 sales technique.
According to Dheeraj, this strategy was unexpectedly successful. As the nationwide lockdown ended, the sale began.
“The Re. 1 price tag drew many Indians. Dheeraj said they sold 20,000 goods on one day in June 2020 despite losing Rs. 70-80 lakh.
The large client base that tried and liked our products during the sale got us lakhs of new customers. Our sales soared. From October 2020, we sold our products online on our website.”
After expanding, their products are presently on Amazon, Flipkart, Tira, Stylish1ndia, The Sparkel India, and Nykaa.
The two founders learned from Re.1 sales that the broader the audience that tests Recode’s products, the more likely they are to become devoted customers.
“So we started client training in October 2021. We give away our cosmetics and teach customers how to apply them at 5-star hotels. Dheeraj says we feed them 5-star meals.
They establish brand ambassadors that promote their products through word-of-mouth marketing during these events.
They repeat this throughout their business strategy. Each training session costs Rs. 3000 per participant, split between lunch and Recode cosmetics kits.
In addition to Tier-1 cities, they train in Siliguri, Bhopal, Indore, and Aligarh. Innovative marketing methods increased the company’s revenue.
“40% of our sales come from online platforms, and 60% from offline platforms,” says Dheeraj. In three years, the company’s 2019-20 turnover of Rs 2 crore rose thirteenfold to Rs 26 crore last year.
They import 60% of their kajal, concealer, and foundation from Thailand, China, Germany, and Taiwan and rebrand it.
The remaining 40%—lipstick, facewash, and eyeliner—is created in Parwanoo, Pantnagar, and Rudrapur, India. Around 500 cosmetics boutiques in India sell Recode products, and they have five exclusive franchise outlets.
About 60% of their sales originate from Mumbai, Parbhani, and Gurgaon. They also target India’s rural populace, whom global companies have neglected.
Dheeraj, 44, was reared in the small Punjabi village of Daudhar to respect education. His parents are retired income tax officers and school headmistresses.
After the family relocated to Ludhiana in 1991, Dheeraj studied until he found his passion. “In my second year of B.Com, I realized I didn’t want a professional existence. Business was my goal “Dheeraj.
He quit to work for his elder brother Neeraj’s bicycle parts company. Dheeraj oversaw manufacturing with his brother for 20 years.
Life changed when Dheeraj met Rahul Sachdeva. Rahul worked in cosmetics. His suggestion was to launch a cosmetics brand. So we registered Recode Studios Private Limited in December 2018 and debuted with four goods “Dheeraj recalls.
They invested Rs. 1 crore from their savings and bank loans and hired seven people in a modest Ludhiana office.
Their first goods were nail paints for Rs. 179, eyeliner for Rs. 295, and acute kajal for Rs. 295.
Rahul, from Panchkula, Haryana, and a cosmetics business veteran, used his distributor network to start Recode sales.
Launched in late December 2018, the company earned Rs. 25 lakh in 2018–2019. Recode earned Rs. 2 crore in 2019-20.
After the epidemic threatened their firm, the Re 1 sale saved it. They’ve grown since.
From seven to 100 personnel, the team has grown. They have an 1800-square-foot headquarters in Ludhiana and a smaller one in Kolkata. A 500-square-foot office will open in Delhi. They also have a 55000-square-foot Ludhiana warehouse.
“We started as a self-funded brand, but we recently secured a funding of Rs. 4 crore from Sanjay Katkar, the Joint Managing Director and CTO of Quick Heal Technologies,” Dheeraj. They also recently signed Swara Bhaskar as their brand face.
Dheeraj has a spacious Ludhiana seven-bedroom home. “I find joy in immersing myself in the business, learning about the industry, and putting these insights into practice,” says. He enjoys thinking and researching other companies’ methods.
Since 2002, Dheeraj has been married to Shelly Bansal, who is vital in the business. Garima, an engineering student, and Garvit, a business administration student, are the couple’s children.
