Introduction:

Most brands invest reams of capital in upholding post-purchase standards but very little in setting up a supportive pre-purchase framework and experience. Numerous efforts have been undertaken over time to improve and optimise the consumer's buying and post-buying experiences.

Parachute initiated the sachet revolution in India in late 90s,  a kind that encouraged consumers in rural and semi-urban India to make purchases while enabling the urban population to "try-before-buy." This change, however, has only affected traditional brick-and-mortar sales channels; there have been hardly any noteworthy initiatives in the direct-to-consumer sector.

Minifeel focuses on the pre-buy experience for online shoppers by assisting them to test branded skincare products out in the convenience of their own homes at a very low cost prior to their actual purchase. Minifeel is seeking to bring about the same revolution in D2C miniature product purchases as Parachute did with sachets in real retail outlets. 

If we assess the current customer journey, a customer would normally experiment by selecting a product based on its written description and order the standard size in it. Once the product reaches the consumer, the consumer would try the product for the first time and understand whether it suits him or her. A lot of times, products don’t suit a given skin type and the entire product goes to waste thereon. At the same time, one cannot experiment with multiple products due to increasing order value which restricts the possibility of finding the most suitable product for the consumer. 

A consumer would often choose a product based on its written description and order the standard size available at its full price, they may reconsider their purchase after using the goods and decide it wasn't worth the money. Contrarily, beauty minis are economical, portable & compact, allowing consumers to test out several brands at reasonable prices and prioritise the ones they like best.

A consumer can order mini versions of products through Minifeel for almost a quarter of the cost of the full-sized model. This results in more items being placed into the cart, which ultimately broadens the window for testing and discovering the ideal product.

Minifeel offers a wide variety of products on their platform, including those for skincare, fragrances, and more verticals that are in the works. Minifeel strives to be known for inexpensive experimentation before committing to a purchase.

The issue that Minifeel's founders Sagar Mithiya and Shyam Mithiya are working to resolve is one that has personal significance to them. Sagar, a BMS graduate with a focus in marketing, used to work in the real estate sector and would frequently spend hours outside in the heat switching between projects. In the process, he realised the significance of skincare and began investigating different skincare products. However, he quickly realized that not every product would work for every skin type, and that discovering new items is an expensive endeavor because, if the product isn't a good fit for the consumer then it's a loss of both time and money.

Together with his younger sibling Shyam, Semi-Qualified Inter CA, Sagar resolved to discover a more affordable solution to this issue, which gave rise to the concept of Minifeel. While Shyam oversees brand management and brand onboarding, Sagar is in charge of the company's commercial growth, product, and overall sales.

Market Opportunity:

The pre-purchase segment can be found in a diverse range of corporate landscapes and sectors. The beauty and personal care D2C industry in India, which was $29.1 billion in 2021, is anticipated to grow to $35 billion by 2025. With an average of 100+ SKUs per brand and over 500+ D2C brands in the beauty and personal care category, there are 50,000+ SKUs available for customers to choose from in India. New ingredients, applications, and products are launched frequently within this industry, which is equally driven by established traditional brands and cutting-edge D2C entrepreneurs.