Got a chance to meet this Super Woman - Dipali Mathur Dayal- co-founder of Super Smelly!
Had a candid discussion on a lot of different topics, including Super Smelly and toxin-free products. It's so overwhelming to see the passion to create something for teenagers that is not toxic and can be approved by parents.
First of all, we congratulate team Super Smelly for winning the “2022 Organic Beauty Awards Australia”.
About the award…..
This award happens every year and is based out of Australia. The entries are called from all over the world. The selection process is very systematic. One needs to fill out the entry form, share the details about the ingredients used in your products, and ship the products too. The evaluation happens based on the ingredient's scrutiny, efficacy, and other benchmarks based on which the winners are declared.
Last year, Super Smelly was the only Indian brand to receive this award. It's a national recognition, so it feels fantastic to receive such awards as it's not just at the international level but received based on the merits. It's the pledge that's taken by the brand that the product should be free from toxins, not just for human consumption but also biocompatible, and shouldn’t be accumulated on the planet itself. The products are SCA certified (Safe Cosmetics Australia), so it becomes a reason to nominate them for this award. Dipali feels that these products should be available to everyone so they have kept the price point that can be affordable to all even if they use the premium ingredients.
How did it start…
Super Smelly is primarily curated for GenZ - the youth of the country. The idea for the brand was triggered by being the mother of the GenZ generation as the right product was not available beyond a certain age. As a millennium-generation parent, there was always a habit of googling everything before buying anything for the kids, to know the ingredients, processes, etc. As a rule of thumb, there were always two criteria: It should be toxin-free, doesn’t matter if it's natural or not natural. And the 2nd was the product should be dermatologically tested for age.
As a kid or toddler, there were many choices to choose from. But as a grown-up teenager who wanted to use a deodorant spray, who is a part of the 1.39 BN population of the country i.e. 40% of the total population - there was no single product available for them. The two tail-ends were very well catered like the baby care products or the anti-aging solutions. But the huge white space in between was left unattended. There was not a single toxin-free deodorant spray available before Super Smelly was born.
It was a conscious decision to cater to the needs of GenZ as there were no choices available. Also, if it's not done by us, then who else will really think for them. With this thought in mind, Super Smelly was born with its first Toxin-Free deodorant spray. Today, they have the solutions for acne, hair fall, hair styling, etc.
A lot of research was happed to get these toxin-free products as there was nothing much available in the market already. The research was to get the formulation right, to get the right proportion, right fragrance. The fragrance was also an important factor as the kid should be able to enjoy what they are using, it should last long and they should feel confident, and fresh by using it. But the bottom line was to make the formulation stable, and toxin-free without using the ingredients commonly used yet should be commercially viable.
The Brand Values….
While doing the research on other fronts, the research was also done on the name of the brand, and vibe of the brand. One thing was sure that it has to be preachy. It shouldn’t happen that the mother is asking the kid to use the deodorant but the other way round as this is the age when you start taking your own decisions. The kids should be able to connect with it in all sense and should feel that it's their own brand.
This generation is much different from their parent's generation and of course, there is a “Generation Gap”! They are kinder, genuinely environmentally conscious, and care for the planet. The values for the brand came after discussions with these kids. So the brand was born gender-neutral, body-positive, and skin color positive. As the kids really don’t believe in these pink-blue things that existed before. The products and the fragrance should be compatible for both as we really shouldn’t differentiate it based on gender.
What's in the name….
While working on the brand, we were trying to work on two things - creating a category for the younger generation and establishing the name in the deodorant space which is already a crowded space. So was looking for a name that can tell our story. The name should have a strong recall. While the name was getting tested, all the younger generation was responding to this shortlisted name. So taking the risk associated with this name, it was finalized. But today, feel thankful to finalize this name as it stands out in the space and also can share the story behind the brand. The good part was got featured on “Economics Times Monday Panache” because of the name.
As fondly said, it does make the Smelly Super and so it works :)
Major product categories….
Moisturizers, lip balms, hair oil, and the best-selling product - Hair Gel. The younger kids are typically not allowed to use any styling gel as it may lead to hair fall, early greying, and making the hair freeze. But the hair gel that Super Smelly brings is all-natural made of black seed and hemp seed oil. It comes in two varieties - with onion oil for the people experiencing hair fall and another one to stimulate the hair growth along with the styling. Specially curated for the kids with wavy hair.
Most loved product by the customer…
Hurricane Deodorant
Hemp Hold hair gel.
Where can you buy Super Smelly Products from….
Own website, Nykaa, Big Basket, Purplle, First Cry, and of course on Sugatra
Also available to purchase offline at Delhi NCR in the outlets like Dabur, New You, Apollo Pharmacy, and Modern Bazaar. Health n Glow on South.
What's Next….
Want to scale and want to be a leading player in personal care :)
I wish Super Smelly loads of Sucess!!! Keep Rocking :)