Abhishek: Today we have Deepika with us, founder of Deepsea. Let us hear her story of Deepsea and how she has started it. Hi Deepika, how are you?

Deepika Nagasamy: I'm good, thank you Abhishek, how are you?

Abhishek: I'm doing it. Thank you for asking.

Deepika Nagasamy: then.

Abhishek: Yeah. So tell me about when and where, why did you start Debsi?

Deepika Nagasamy: So, Dipsy started ⁓ when a couple of things happened together, actually. So, I was entering a phase where I was looking at options for my own skincare journey as I was experimenting. And my daughter became a teenager, so she started experimenting as well. And you know us parents, when we have our children come up and ask things, we do extra research, more so than it is for our own.

Abhishek: Thank you. I know.

Deepika Nagasamy: So that's when ⁓ I started looking at options as to what works, whether it's good enough for me to give it to her. And I felt that there was a little bit of a lack from what I wanted her to be using and what I found in the market. So that's when the idea to go back to school, to learn to formulate and then learn what's happening, understand it and create my own brand, something that I am proud of to use myself and I'm comfortable giving it to my kids as well.

Abhishek: Right. understood. My first curious question was from your bio dipping your feet into entrepreneurship what finally pushed you to jump in?

Deepika Nagasamy: Yes. ⁓ So this is one and two, think it had come at a point, see when I was growing up, I always wanted to own something of my own. ⁓ And I think it was also the right time for me to make that ship because I was just coming out of a brand where I was working with. And I said, you know, let me put all these experiences that I have with, you know, 15 plus years in the corporate world.

Abhishek: Yeah.

Deepika Nagasamy: let's put it together and do something that I'm truly proud of. And yeah, so I think it's just a natural progression from where I was to where I am now.

Abhishek: Right. And why skincare? Was it a gap you started or something? As you already mentioned, it was a personal problem that you have ⁓ faced. Was it anything else that you wanted to target skincare?

Deepika Nagasamy: Yep. Yep. ⁓ See, yes, it is a personal journey as well. I think all of us find a gap somewhere in different industries. For me, this was a little bit more interesting ⁓ because for me, ⁓ as a person, I'm very curious as well and I needed something to learn. You know, it needs to keep me interested and keep me on my toes and I felt skincare was something ⁓ in that line. So it kept me curious, it kept me asking questions and it kept me

Abhishek: in your heart.

Deepika Nagasamy: let's say invested in learning more and that really interested me and hence skincare.

Abhishek: make sense. Right. And what is the name about? Where did it formulated from?

Deepika Nagasamy: Yeah, so when I was looking at the name as to what I wanted to name the company, I wanted it to be something unique, of course, and something that ⁓ spoke to me as a person and spoke to the identity that I was planning. I was trying to create for the end consumer as well. So, Deepsee in fact is a childhood nickname which my sisters gave me when I was, you know, probably my daughter's age. ⁓ So, it came at a point where I was trying

Abhishek: Hmm. ⁓ right.

Deepika Nagasamy: to find out who I am as a person. And I think it led to who I am now. You know, being experimental, being adventurous, asking questions, never settling for anything less. So the name kind of embodied all of those principles. And I felt it was a perfect name for a brand as well that I can bring in. And it's a short, quirky name. And I'm sure people who look at it also go like, OK, double take it. skincare brand called Dipsy really so it's a win

Abhishek: Yeah. I feel I think it can't be more personal than your name as the brand's name. Yeah, it feels like you yourself in the brand. Yeah.

Deepika Nagasamy: Yeah. Yes, of course. And I hope the consumer also feels that I'm representing or they are being represented through the brand as well.

Abhishek: I think they definitely would. And I see that you come from a design background. How much does that shape on how you're building the brand versus the product itself? A product takes a different game, but the brand takes a lot of your design brain into it. So how is that helping you?

Deepika Nagasamy: Yes. See, as a design person, we're very creative, right? Anyone in the design field will tell you the same thing. So we ⁓ look at a very small thing and we get inspired by it. I think that's huge advantage for all of us and I think I bring that in. To give you an example, one, the colors. If you see all of our brand coloring and the way we speak about Dipsy it's not a traditional skincare color that you will look at.

Abhishek: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Deepika Nagasamy: right when you get a natural skincare brand you look at browns, greens, earthy tones exactly ours is bright purple right it's exactly because purple to me is luxury it's creativity it's indulgence and that's exactly the kind of product that we are so these are a lot of little things that make Dipsy Dipsy

Abhishek: Yeah. greens, blues, yeah. Yeah, more like a fashion brand. I know, I know.

Deepika Nagasamy: ⁓ In terms of the product, you see someone like me, for me, looking at something small and making it bigger is something that we learnt in fashion as well. And Mali Mali, our first product, is based on coriander. It's not something someone would have looked at and said, okay, let me make something out of this, you know. Coriander is something, even when we see in a dish, we'll take it and throw it on the side. It's like an afterthought, but it's there in every dish.

Abhishek: Yeah. Yeah.

Deepika Nagasamy: So these are like everyday things that inspire me and that I think comes from a creative background.

Abhishek: And also the logo feels like a fairy tale. ⁓ Like a cartoon fairy tale.

Deepika Nagasamy: Yeah, it's indulgent. It's supposed to be ⁓ calming and soothing. Generally waves and smooth lines give you that feeling. It gives you a comfort that's not rigid. So yeah, that's the ear behind it. And if you see all of our designs as well, right, we are a gender neutral brand. So all of our designs will have both men and women in it.

Abhishek: I don't know. right Right, right. So I spent the last half of the decade with brands and helping them grow and all of that. So when the first thing I feel a lot of founders get wrong is with the brand language and what they want to put out. That is what 90 % of the founders get wrong with it and how do they, you know, convey it to the consumer. So I feel you have

Deepika Nagasamy: Hmm. Hmm, hmm, hmm.

Abhishek: ⁓ When I have seen your brand I really felt what you want to convey through it. Yeah. That was because, I think that is because of your designer brain in it.

Deepika Nagasamy: Thank you ⁓ Definitely, yes, it's experiences, right, that we've come up with. And though Dipsy launched in November, there has been almost three years of work that went into it before we even launched, right from getting the brand trademarked to getting companies sorted, to get my formulation right, to get it tested. So there's a lot of back-end work that I had done, and I'd made sure my systems and my, like you said, the design language is in place.

Abhishek: Right. Hmm. Hmm. Right. Yeah.

Deepika Nagasamy: because I don't think any consumer would like to have to come into a website or socials and find a very confused brand and not understand what it is that they're talking about. So I think that's important and I spent that time with felt that's what builds trust at the end of the day. Thank you.

Abhishek: In fact, Yeah. Yeah, we could see that you have nailed it. would say that and And coming to I mean, this is a very you know, ⁓ a deep thought of mine that skincare in india is overcrowded You know, ⁓ in terms of lot of brands coming in. Okay What if I mean what is dipsys differentiator? And how do you communicate that? ⁓ without sounding like everyone else.

Deepika Nagasamy: ⁓ Yes, the market is very crowded, not just in India, globally as well. ⁓ But we are a country and we are a world with a large population, right? So we all have our own little consumer base. In terms of what makes us different, we are gender neutral. We are a luxury brand that does not put you into ⁓ a pocket, so to say, that this is you and this is what you need to do.

Abhishek: Nobody yet, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Deepika Nagasamy: telling you that you need to be controlled or put into this particular category. I'm, Deepsi tells you that anybody is okay, texture in the skin is okay, different shades in our skin is okay, it's special. And we cater to all of that. So we speak to you about being comfortable in our own skin and being accepted for who we are and just being the best versions of ourselves. So I think that's...

Abhishek: Yeah.

Deepika Nagasamy: what sets us apart and the fact that we rely a lot, no, we rely completely on Indian botanicals. So all of our Indian, we are a hundred percent natural brand as you know, and all of our botanicals are from the Indian continent. We do not, you know, tell you that something from South Africa is better or something from America is better. Everything in our own backyard is what works best for us.

Abhishek: Hmm. Okay.

Deepika Nagasamy: our nannies and others grew up with it. We are backing it with science and telling you this is what works. So if you are living in a humid country, the trees and the plants that grow around you is suited for that environment. So of course they can give you all the benefits and the goodness that your skin needs to live in that particular environment. And that's what we believe in. So I think these are what a few of the points that set us apart.

Abhishek: Thanks. Later. Thanks. right right right what are your like if i would ask your star products or the ones which you have really nailed it in terms of market requirements

Deepika Nagasamy: ⁓ So right now we have MaliMali which is our day, night and primer together. Day and night moisturizer. It's also a makeup primer. ⁓ So currently we have only MaliMali. We are launching the second product in a couple of weeks time. So we believe in not overcrowding the market but getting people used to one and then moving on because skincare is basic steps.

Abhishek: Okay. ⁓ Right.

Deepika Nagasamy: There's no point in doing 200 things at one shot because nothing is going to work at the end of the day. You need to give your skin time. ⁓ So mali mali is like I said, based on Indian ingredients. We it's based on coriander, neroli, mango butter and kokum butter. So ⁓ I'm not sure if you've even heard of it. It's a king of butters. It's India's pride and joy. So in fact, kokum was one of the

Abhishek: I know. Yeah, yeah. Right. Right. Right. Right. No. date. Okay.

Deepika Nagasamy: most used butters in India especially or Asia also I would say before people realize that shea butter sounds more exotic. It's an amazing, amazing crop.

Abhishek: Late, late, late. I mean I would like to try it once but are you targeting the Indian markets or global markets? What's your vision towards the brand?

Deepika Nagasamy: Definitely. ⁓ My target of course is the Indian market and the Indian diaspora outside of the country because I think it is of course a huge market and like I said right each of us has our own target audience and I feel the Indian community is something is someone rather who I want to serve so I think it's my target audience.

Abhishek: Yeah, is a huge market again. Yeah, I know Right. Right, right. And when you bring back the old, you know, essence to our, you know, current lifestyles, I feel that is more, you know, ⁓ you can connect a lot with our Indian founders.

Deepika Nagasamy: Yeah. Yeah. And there's a little bit of nostalgia as well, right? When we bring back forgotten Indian ingredients, there is a bit of a nostalgic reference that is played.

Abhishek: Yeah, yeah. Exactly. As a consumer ourselves we connect to it a lot.

Deepika Nagasamy: Exactly. And I think Pinde is an emotional connect to a product. We appreciate it.

Abhishek: Yeah, yeah, correct. And I can see that you are also a marketeer. What?

Deepika Nagasamy: Yes, I'm sorry. Yeah, tell me.

Abhishek: yeah so what was i mean where were you into marketing and how do you find it harder or easier to market your own brand now then being a marketer

Deepika Nagasamy: ⁓ definitely harder. Definitely harder. But to answer your question, yes, I was in marketing. I was in marketing for a food and beverage brand. So a chain of restaurants. ⁓ It's a different consumer market altogether. ⁓ It's more of a numbers game there. But I think my love for the Indian ingredients started there, right? Because I started working closely with some of these ingredients and

Abhishek: Okay. Hmm. Great.

Deepika Nagasamy: If you see even skincare ingredients, 90 % of them are edible.

Abhishek: Mmm. Mm-hmm.

Deepika Nagasamy: So that's the connection also came in. ⁓ Reason why I think it is harder to market Dipsy than working for somebody else is when you're working for somebody else, you have a playbook that comes in from someone and you're just executing a vision, right? And making it work. ⁓ When you're doing it for yourself, you have to create the vision and execute it and live up to the highest standards you've set up in your own head.

Abhishek: Right. date.

Deepika Nagasamy: it's a little bit more tricky to solve.

Abhishek: When you said that most of the are edible, the first ingredient which got into my mind was turmeric.

Deepika Nagasamy: Tumeric is another fabulous skincare ingredient.

Abhishek: Yeah, yeah. We use it in our dishes and ⁓ we have seen a lot of ⁓ our ancestors using it on the skins and all of that.

Deepika Nagasamy: It's Exactly. Yum. another multifunctional product. Yes, of course.

Abhishek: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And what's the one thing most skin care brands get completely wrong about marketing to Indian women? I would like to be more specific in that.

Deepika Nagasamy: What do think they get wrong?

Abhishek: Yeah.

Deepika Nagasamy: melanin.

Abhishek: Okay, can you take us a little bit deep into it? What?

Deepika Nagasamy: Okay, so ⁓ there are a few brands who are getting it right or who are starting to understand it, I would say. But as a skincare industry, India is still evolving. ⁓ We do take a lot of pointers from what's happening in the West and the East. ⁓ Korea, for example, as well, if you're looking at the East side. So we do not talk a lot about melanin-rich skin like we have in Asia, in India.

Abhishek: Mm-hmm. Okay.

Deepika Nagasamy: and we don't test for it. So we never consider it as part of a conversation, especially for Indian skin. So that is something I think that is missing, which I would like to see more conversations around. Because if you, I'm not sure if you would remember when skincare first entered the Indian market, it was always to become fairer. need, yeah, aspiration.

Abhishek: Mm-hmm. Right. ⁓ Mm. Fairer, yeah. Aspirational to look fair.

Deepika Nagasamy: even at one point it became a conversation even for the men that you you need to get fair in order to be handsome. So I think that mindset is still prevalent in our country unfortunately that's something we need to change and I think it starts with conversations that we as brands talk

Abhishek: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. you know put it out yeah yeah right and where are you finding your first real customers is it through community or is it through paid marketing or organic what's your go-to-market strategy

Deepika Nagasamy: My go-to-market strategy would be friends and family, close events. So for a company like me, a brand, a skincare brand for us, texture and visual appeal is very important. So when I can get a customer to try the product, to feel the texture, it makes a lot of difference. So community events, closed community events is something that really helps ⁓ for us.

Abhishek: Exactly. Make sense.

Deepika Nagasamy: And it also becomes a talking point. when you come in, see for me, rather for Dipsy culture is a big part of the brand that we are talking about. So for us, the community event works because most of these events are spread around or centered around a particular cultural event or a group, a community. So that really helps because again, it's an emotional connection that pulls you in.

Abhishek: Great. Right. I I know. I was coming to that point since it's being a skincare brand, every consumer wants to test it on the skin and feel it. ⁓ Is your vision towards getting into offline stores and experience store or how do you want to take it to be more experienced here?

Deepika Nagasamy: Yes? Yes. Definitely, of course that would be the dream. That is the dream. But it's a little further down the line, I would say a couple of years down the line. Because in order for me to create an experiential store, ⁓ I need to have the footfalls of people coming in and of course I need to have a larger portfolio of products for people to come in and experience multiple things. But yes, that is definitely part of the larger picture.

Abhishek: Yeah. Exactly. Yeah, I think you can also place yourselves in a good marketplaces like IFC. There's something called as Broadway in Hyderabad right now, where they have good skincare brands like ⁓ global brands, which they put in the ⁓ trial version for the consumers. You can try it there. So maybe before that, you can also place yourself in something like that.

Deepika Nagasamy: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Definitely that is one of options. So maybe offline I'll get the number from Broadway for you from them as well. Yeah.

Abhishek: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah, yeah. ⁓ And what is that one skincare brand that you genuinely admire and why?

Deepika Nagasamy: a lot of them actually but top of my mind I'll say Aesop, I don't know if you've heard of them. ⁓ They're an Australian based brand. In fact, they were the first gender neutral brand that I saw. So in a lot of ways they have inspired me. They are again completely natural. They speak a lot about tight formulations, formulations with not too many, ⁓ you know, too many contradicting ingredients together.

Abhishek: It's off, okay. Okay. Okay.

Deepika Nagasamy: simple formulations that are really effective. yeah, a lot of the philosophy that I follow in Deepsea is based on my own experience using their products and I hope in a day sometime. Yeah.

Abhishek: Right. Right. Right. Inspire from them. Right. And one last question to close this off is what's your vision for Dipsy for the next three years?

Deepika Nagasamy: Next three years is to have a fuller product line, a tighter product line. Right now we are only with face. I would like it to also expand into body and hair as well. Hair is a different angle I'm yet to explore because I'm yet, I've not yet learned enough, I think, to get into that. So yeah, I think three years down the line, will see, I envision.

Abhishek: Right. Market. Yeah. Yeah.

Deepika Nagasamy: a much larger portfolio of products for Dipsy and hopefully a couple of offline stores as well.

Abhishek: I'll tell you something which I've seen in the beauty or the skincare market in India from the consumer side. We are not precautionary. know, whenever you talk to someone if they started losing hair then they'll go to the dermatologist and ask, hey what I have to do. Or once if they see acne on the face then they'll go like, hey what I want to do. It's already damaged, you have to be precautionary and I think

Deepika Nagasamy: Yeah.

Abhishek: I think that awareness should be there in the market that you should have a lifestyle to get, you know, to have a proper hair or skin, you know, for yourself. And that awareness lacks is what I feel.

Deepika Nagasamy: Yeah I would not say awareness lack, I would say it's a bit more of a lax. We are okay experimenting like you said, but the minute something goes wrong, we're okay to even see the doctor. But there is also another group who would start with the dermat and then understand what their skin needs and then start experimenting based on that. So I think it's two sides of the coin.

Abhishek: Hmm. state. Yeah.

Deepika Nagasamy: And invariably even if they start with an issue and go to the dermatologist, they come back to I would say off the counter products ⁓ like as well once they understand what their skin means.

Abhishek: Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mmm. Mmm. ⁓

Deepika Nagasamy: So yeah, I would say it's a lack of stuff.

Abhishek: The two sides of the coin. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I mean, it was great, you know, talking to you Deepika and thanks for your time with us. And hopefully we'll get back to you maybe after a year or a year and a half where you guys have grown and you have more stories to talk about.

Deepika Nagasamy: Thank you so much, Abhishek. Thank you so much. Of course, of course, we will definitely get you. See you.

Abhishek: I'll see you. Sure, I'll see you. Thank you.