International Women's Day 2025: SUGAR Cosmetics founder and CEO Vineeta Singh shares her journey of overcoming challenges in a highly competitive industry, including difficulties in fundraising and breaking into offline retail
On the occasion of women's day, SUGAR Cosmetics founder and CEO Vineeta Singh shares her journey of overcoming challenges in a highly competitive industry, including difficulties in fundraising and breaking into offline retail. She highlights the importance of consumer connection, adaptability, and a strong team in scaling a brand. She revealed how balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood was a challenge, but her husband being her supportive system shared the load and helped her navigate it.
As a woman entrepreneur in the beauty and personal care industry, what challenges did you face while building SUGAR Cosmetics, and how did you overcome them?
Building SUGAR Cosmetics in a highly competitive industry dominated by global giants meant that we had to raise capital. However, in the early days, fundraising was tough, and we faced hundreds of rejections as it was not common for women-led businesses with only women consumers to be able to raise capital. However, we stayed focused on building a strong connection with our consumers, leveraging social media and creating high-quality, long-lasting products designed for Indian skin tones and climate conditions.
Another challenge was breaking into offline retail, but we did not give up and today we have 60% of our business coming from offline.
Many women struggle with balancing entrepreneurship and family life. How did you navigate this journey, and what advice would you give to others?
My older child and SUGAR Cosmetics were born two months apart and the struggle of balancing multiple roles was tough, but I was lucky to have a strong support system at home with my husband willing to share the load. My advice to women is to shamelessly ask for help and not try to be unsung heroes at the cost of their own dreams. Seeking support is a strength, not a weakness.
SUGAR Cosmetics has grown into a household name. What has been your biggest learning from scaling the brand?
Scaling SUGAR Cosmetics has taught us that adaptability and a deep consumer focus are key to long-term success. By staying deeply connected with our customers, understanding their evolving preferences and keeping our ear to the ground, we have been able to drive continuous innovation. At the same time, building a strong team that truly believes in our brand’s vision has been crucial in navigating the challenges of growth.
A 2024 study found that 75% of working mothers suffered a career setback of one to two years after taking maternity leave. How can start-ups play a role in resolving this issue?
At SUGAR, we are blessed to have 70% of our workforce as women and it has become so common for women to rejoin the company after their maternity breaks because there are enough role models in the system who have gone through the same journey. This matters because you can only be what you see. It is these young working moms who encourage women not to give up on either of their dreams – of having thriving careers or becoming mothers. As an organisation, we foster an environment that allows women to choose the pace that seems right for them, provide access to counselling and offer more support through the early motherhood years.
With an increasing number of women leading D2C brands, do you think female entrepreneurs bring a unique perspective to consumer-centric businesses? If so, how?
In India, for most household products and for a large part of beauty and fashion, the core consumer is a woman. And it is high time that decisions around what women want are not taken by men in boardrooms but by women themselves.
We will see a lot of consumer brands being founded by women as social media now encourages brand messaging that is authentic and relatable. So, women are not only building products that are better for Indian women but also brand experiences that connect more authentically with their consumers for long-term loyalty.
Which of your Shark Tank investments have been a real turnaround success story?
Adil Qadri Perfumes came on Shark Tank Season 3 with a large amount of debt, piling losses and managed to get only one offer in the tank. Adil is a very driven founder who worked hard to convert this opportunity and visibility to build more brand love and within 12 months was able to repay his entire debt and turn his company around to profitability with a 100cr net revenue run rate.
How do you see competition from your most peers and what is your to standout amongst them?
Competition is a testament to a thriving industry. At SUGAR, our strategy to stand out includes:
- Consumer-Centric Approach: Deeply understanding and anticipating consumer needs.
- Innovation: Continuously evolving our product offerings.
- Diversity: Maintaining a workforce where 70% are women, with many in leadership roles, bringing varied perspectives to our strategies.
The BPC segment is now moving to new age companies compared to the traditional ones. What is your view on that and what have been the key tailwinds for this transition?
The Beauty and Personal Care (BPC) segment is shifting towards new-age brands as consumers seek inclusive, digital-first and high-performance products. Millennials and Gen Z connect with brands that align with their lifestyles and values. The rise of e-commerce and quick commerce has further accelerated this transition, making beauty more accessible. Agile companies like SUGAR leverage social media, influencer marketing and data-driven innovation to engage consumers and adapt to trends faster. This ability to evolve in real time has reshaped the BPC landscape, making it more dynamic and consumer-centric than ever before.
With a number of players foraying towards quick commerce, do you plan the same for SUGAR Cosmetics? Is this idea viable in the BPC segment?
Quick commerce has grown rapidly in India due to rising consumer demand for instant gratification, increasing internet penetration and the expansion of hyperlocal delivery networks. It offers exciting growth opportunities for brands, and SUGAR Cosmetics was among the first to adopt this model. We are available on quick commerce platforms like Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and are partnering closely with them to integrate speed with a high-quality brand experience.