Marketing is often seen in its final form, but the story is usually much richer when you trace it back to the person and moment that set the idea in motion.
Marketers’ Mind is a conversation series with the people shaping brands, influencing culture and navigating an ever-evolving marketing landscape. Through candid conversations, we look beyond the work itself to explore the perspectives, experiences and decisions that shape the people behind it.
In conversation with Editorials Network, Shalini Kochar, Associate Vice President – Marketing at Swiss Beauty, talks about the thinking behind the brand’s collaboration with the Harry Potter universe and how beauty, magic and self-expression come together in the collection. She also shares her perspective on how Indian beauty consumers are becoming increasingly label-less, why affordability and quality continue to shape Swiss Beauty’s positioning, and how creators are influencing not just discovery but purchase decisions. The conversation also explores the growing role of experiential marketing, pop culture and fandoms in building consumer connections, and what the festive season could mean for beauty brands and creator-led marketing.
What made Harry Potter the right partner for Swiss Beauty at this point and what did you want the collaboration to offer consumers beyond just a collection of products?
I think this collection is very deep when it comes to beauty and the Harry Potter fandom. At the end of the day, beauty is very personal. Everyone has a different definition of beauty, and I feel beauty gives you the empowerment to transition from what you are to what you can be. There is a magical element in that. When a young girl applies lipstick and feels good about herself, or someone going to the office gets that right eyeliner, or anybody experiments with their personality, there is a confidence and an X-factor that comes with it. I relate that very closely to the Harry Potter series and Harry’s own journey because beauty gives you that kind of empowerment.
Harry Potter is also an IP that Millennials and Gen Z have grown up with. It started as a kids-centric property, but it has life lessons around friendship, bonds and entering a world where anything feels possible. For us, it was about connecting that fandom with the ideas of magic and empowerment through beauty. That thinking has also gone into the products. The eyeshadow palette is inspired by the houses, the translucent foundation has a colour-changing element based on your skin tone, the chrome eyeliner draws from the houses, and the brush set carries the Harry Potter theme. We wanted to bring the magic of the IP into a set of collectible products that could become a memory or souvenir for a Potterhead.
Indian consumers are exposed to hundreds of beauty brands today. What has changed most in the way they discover and choose brands?
They have become label-less. The whole rise of D2C is testimony to the fact that people don’t just run for brands anymore. You see brands that were born two years ago doing very well because consumers understand that if you give them good quality at an affordable price, they are more than happy to try it. The creator economy is also supporting this idea. A creator can use a high-profile international brand while also exploring something affordable. Ultimately, it depends on what suits you and your skin type because beauty is very personal. You don’t need to have a label to make a good product today. At Swiss Beauty, our DNA is quality and affordability. We firmly believe beauty doesn’t belong only in metros. It also needs to reach Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets.
We are democratising the beauty space. Someone sitting in Bareilly, Delhi or any part of India who loves makeup shouldn’t have to wait to buy a big, expensive palette to start their makeup journey. They can start with Swiss Beauty, with the same quality and impact, but at a price that helps them experiment and build their own journey with makeup.
With so many brands competing for attention, what makes Swiss Beauty stand out?
I think it is the combination of quality and pricing. There have been generations of consumers using Swiss Beauty. I have met people whose mothers use Swiss Beauty, they use it and now their daughters are using it too. That shows the kind of trust our customers have built with us.
We are also bringing trends in, but we look at trends that make sense for India. We are not hopping on every viral trend. Our IPs are a good example. We are not simply following trends; we are building and creating products around those IPs so that the nostalgia, product and overall consumer journey connect.
Influencer marketing is a huge part of the beauty industry today, for Swiss Beauty what makes an influencer partnership truly valuable?
People have moved into a zone where they are not convinced simply because a brand endorser says something, they want to understand how the product performs, how they can use it and what makes it credible. That is where creators become powerful because they can actually explain how a product works for different skin types and how it can be used. For example, Jellyverse is a product used on the eyes, but we have seen creators come up with unique hacks where they use it as a highlighter or even on lipstick. Consumers are also becoming more creative. They want to understand how they can multi-use a product and what works for their eye type, cheek style or face type. That is leading to more experimentation and more consumption of content to understand what works for them.
India is becoming much more evolved in this context. People don’t just want someone to say something and immediately buy it. They want to see it, sometimes again and again, before adding it to their cart or going to the market to see it themselves. Gen Z in particular, is very clear about individuality. They know what works for them, and they want to experiment with how they use products and the kind of makeup looks they create. That makes both content creation and the content consumers engage with extremely important for beauty brands.
Why have physical brand experiences become increasingly important, particularly for beauty?
Beauty is all about look and feel. I think that will never go out of style. Even when creators make ASMR videos around textures and products, it comes down to that experience of seeing and feeling beauty. When you see someone wearing a particular lipstick or eye makeup, you naturally want to know what it is and where they got it from.
With Harry Potter especially, it is an experience-based theme. The menu we picked, the theme we created and the way we brought the products together are all about creating an experience. We could have easily done an online launch, but this is about bringing the Harry Potter and Swiss Beauty journeys together. The event becomes a showcase of how we have blended the two, while also giving creators a touch-and-feel experience with the products. And creators are important here because the people attending have significant reach. They experience it themselves and then post and talk about it, which brings another layer of reach for the brand.
Pop culture and fandoms are increasingly becoming part of the beauty conversation, how are they changing the way brands connect with consumers?
People want to connect with an experience. It is not just Harry Potter, you see the same with properties like Emily in Paris, Friends and other cultural properties where brands are building connections. The property already exists and connects with a particular segment, the marketer’s role is to find the cultural fitment. Today, marketers are connecting with multiple generations at the same time—Gen Alpha, Gen Z and Millennials, there is something that connects them and that is culture. Every generation has its own relationship with these properties. Millennials have seen both sides with and without the internet. Gen Z and Gen Alpha have grown up in increasingly digital environments. It is fascinating to see these generations operating at the same time, with different cultural properties attracting them.
For us, these IPs become connecting points, especially after COVID, a lot has evolved. We have to be agile and understand what each generation likes, how purchasing patterns are changing and what they connect with. There is no tried-and-tested formula anymore. You cannot simply sit on the number-one spot and enjoy your laurels. You have to put in the effort, connect with your audience and stay relevant. That is where IPs and pop culture become important.
As we head into the festive season, what marketing trends do you see shaping beauty?
I think creators will become very important. For the festive season, you will see trends around different makeup looks, including no-makeup makeup looks and creators will play a key role in shaping that conversation. We will also have our own films and campaigns, but creators will be particularly important because they influence purchase decisions. They don’t just shape someone’s ability to purchase a product; they can also influence the looks people want to create and even the accessories they choose to wear. So, I think the right set of creators and marketing with them will be one of the biggest trends we see in festive beauty.
