Customer is the King always…!!!

What does the customer look forward to from any Brand ? : Customisation.

And for a Marketeer, ‘Word of Mouth’ is still one of the best forms of Marketing.

The parent in me keeps looking for interesting products which will help in getting the day to day activities of my daughter streamlined.

So it was a pleasant surprise for me when I saw a teddy bear shaped baby soap. Most of the kids are fascinated by teddy bear & it is the same scenario at my home as well. My next worry point was whether it is safe for kids. A quick check helped me understand that the soap is 100% organic & no chemicals were used in manufacturing it.

This made me more curious and spoke to the brain behind this – ‘Shruti’. Shruti is working with one of the leading global chipset manufacturers & doing some interesting work with smart-speakers.

My first question to Shruti was “How safe is this soap? Will there be any side effects ?”. The answer made me believe that ‘All Is Well’. Shruti replied with a sense of pride “ If something is safe to eat, it is safe as skin food too. For example, we use edible colors instead of chemical colors, edible olive oil etc.”

“Wow.. This is interesting” – This was my reaction. But ‘Men will be Men‘ – oh yes the Imperial Blue advertisement types 😉 . So I asked her “Is this restricted to eating or you have products inspired by drinks as well ? ”

Now it was time to say ‘Cheers’. She does have a ‘beer soap‘. Immediate question I had was “Kaunsa beer use karte ho (which beer do you use)?”. They use the brand which has ‘drunk’ into the market share of beer brands in the last couple of years in India: Bira. A brand which has become a favourite with many beer lovers , most of it is courtesy to the ‘Word of Mouth’ marketing they got in their initial days.

They also have Wine infused soaps for those who say ‘Wine chalega, baaki drinks nahi’ 🙂.

All these soaps are getting sold under the brand name “Slush“.

The discussion didn’t end here. “Anything for a teetotaler ?” : I continued my line of questioning. “Oh yea , we do have orange, lemon, vanilla, Starbucks inspired ones as well in our offering” – said Swati , the one who is handling the marketing of Slush & continued with her thought process of customisation “We don’t want to leave any customer unhappy, so we have something or the other for everyone. Customer is the King & we don’t want to disappoint the King”.

I was amazed with the range of products which were manufactured by this new brand “Slush”. That too all of them getting made in their Kitchen.

They have soaps for people who are on diet. This includes soaps made out of Green tea, oatmeal, etc. So are they edible ? No. But at least for some people, who are on diet / healthy food habit, it gives that extra sense of achievement when they have products made of such ingredients.

Our parents and grand parents have always emphasized on the benefits of using natural ingredients, like turmeric, sandalwood, turmeric, multani mitti, which has medicinal qualities. Slush has a range of medicinal soaps as well.

But all said and done skincare is a different ball game. Every person has a different skin condition and ideally the soap/beauty products need to be used as per the nature of our skin. Though many of us hardly ponder over this while buying a soap, this is something that may help us to maintain the brightness/freshness of our skin.

Shruti was explaining to me the different types of skin-care. I was surprised to see that this Electronics Engineer is well versed in the field of beauty products. So I had to stop her in between & understand the whole thought process behind the start of “Slush”.

“Mom is a trained beautician. Starting from our teen years, she has emphasized on using herbal and homemade skin care methods instead of using chemically formulated ones. She also passed on our granny’s tips and still guides us to the full extent.” said Shruti.

So why the name Slush ?

‘It stemmed from the process of creating herbal formulations for our products where we mix and mash herbs, flowers, peels, grains etc. creating their “slush”. This gives a feel of fresh, organic stuff being created.‘ Swati , the master mind behind this name answered with a smile.

The two sisters, Shruti & Swati, have been working on ‘Slush’ for the last 15 months; mainly on weekends, as they are busy with their corporate life during the week. Swati is working with one of the leading Automobile companies in India.

Slush Waffle Soap

The manufacturing, quality check & final approval of each product is a complete family affair.

“We create a new sample soap, which is tested for around 5 days by Mom, Swati, my husband Nikesh & myself.
Then we have a meeting and discuss its effects on each type of skin, improvements that can be made etc.
The final product is approved by my dad. He is very particular about the skin sensitivity e.g. minor cuts or prickly and aroma accuracy. Later we release it as a product.”

Shruti & Swati plan to continue with their corporate career for now & are ready to ‘Slush’ weekends in their Kitchen Factory.

After listening to all this, I was pretty sure that both of them were totally busy & get little time to do anything else.

But Sharamji ki Betiyaan Ki alag hi Jalwa hai. Shruti has her own line of boutique & all party wear dresses for the family is designed & stitched by her.

Swati is busy designing her own versions of Doodles or dancing to her favourite songs in the midst of this.

No wonder they have a special line of beauty products termed as ‘Shapes with Benefits’.

People are ready to experiment new underdogs in the market. From ordering customised cakes to customised gifting , it is the personal touch that attracts customers to try new upcoming brands.

Slush McD Fries Inspired Soap

Slush has been growing steadily and currently have 100+ customers with them. Nothing at all in comparison with the FMCG giants but definitely something ‘hatke’.

‘We do not want to go wrong on product quality to get quick volumes. The awareness and demand for organic goods will grow at its own pace. Slowly and steadily in the next 12-18 months, we expect to see a sizeable market opportunity.’

The sisters believe that Slush “is a gift of happy skin to our customers” & “carefree care of skin, prepared by a mother’s recipe”.

It is great to see parents & husbands who support the ideas / ventures of their daughters / wives.

We love all things natural, including your Smile 🙂

Customer is King , but a Queen knows how to keep the King happy.

Shruti & Swati, the Queens are in the process of building a new ‘Slush’ kingdom.

Sharmaji ki Betiyaan Zaroor kuch kar dikhayenge.

For those who want to know more about Slush :-

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