Beauty parlours are no longer an urban preserve. They are mushrooming in fairly large numbers in districts, talukas and large conglomeration of villages. And, increasingly, they are patronised both by men and women, leading to a massive demand for quality cosmetics, something that business consulting firm RNCOS recently mentioned in its report “Indian Cosmetic Market Outlook 2018”. According to the Rural Marketing website, the report found that several cosmetics companies are expanding into rural markets.

“For instance, Revlon is rolling out a new brand of colour cosmetics priced about 60 per cent cheaper than the existing Revlon range, in order to expand the reach to smaller towns,” says the website. For years it was companies such as HUL and Emami leading in rural markets through the use of innovative channels. Almost 40 per cent of Emami’s sales comes from the hinterland. HUL has an estimated two million stores in rural areas. Its ‘perfect village’ project educates consumers about categories such as conditioners, face-wash and body lotions. Now with other big brands spreading their tentacles, it’s worth watching how rural market shares will move.

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