Deepika Padukone: From Diva to Entrepreneur
amita-adminDeepika Padukone’s name needs no introduction. Known for her beauty, charm, and exceptional acting skills, she is one of the highest-paid actresses in India. She features in listings of the nation’s most popular personalities; Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018 and awarded her the TIME100 Impact Award in 2022.
In addition to her acting career, Deepika is a prominent philanthropist and is highly vocal about mental well-being. She is deeply involved in various charitable causes, including mental health awareness and women’s empowerment. She is also a fashion icon regularly featured in numerous international magazines for her style and fashion sense.
Recently Padukone has embarked on an entrepreneurial journey with the launch of her self-care brand, 82°E, a modern self-care brand that is Indian in its ethos and global in its outlook.
“With 82°E, I hope to inspire us all to connect with our truest, most authentic selves through consistent and humble self-care practices,” she says.
About the brand
Deepika always wanted to be an entrepreneur. She realized that the massive range of brands and products in the market is overwhelming for the consumer.
“People are confused between what is better- Ayurvedic brands or western scientific formulations. We wanted to combine both to provide the benefits of both the sciences to the consumer,” says Padukone.
She also feels consumers gravitate towards international brands due to declining quality standards in Indian products.
“We saw this as a white space and decided to place ourselves at the premium end of the spectrum,” she adds.
82°E offers a holistic approach to self-care with clinically tested premium skincare products that are cruelty-free, vegan, and made in India but have a global appeal.
“For me, 82°E is a way of combining the best Indian ingredients with global skincare standards to give you a product that is as effective as having to use multiple products,” she says.
82°E kicked off in November last year with two products and has added two more since then. It sells its products through its website and uses a product drop strategy to sell and market its line. It plans to release new products regularly.
The Name: 82°E
Deepika did not use her name for the brand as she wanted to create something that lived beyond her.
82°E signifies the longitude that runs through the heart of the country.
“It encompasses everything that we want to convey not only at present but also for our vision 10 years from now,” she adds.
The journey of the entrepreneur
Deepika was receiving proposals to invest in the beauty space. That gave her the idea to build a self-care brand. She consulted with her fund manager and now co-founder Jigar. K. Shah to create a framework for it.
“The journey has been exciting as we decided to do things ground up. Even though we made mistakes, there is immense satisfaction in doing things on our own,” she says.
Deepika works extensively on all the creative aspects of the brand, including ideating, formulations with the R&D team, and packaging.
“The gratification when you hold the product for the first time is incomparable,” she says.
The brand has an R&D center in Bangalore, where everything is homegrown. Currently shipping to 30 countries, it plans to expand its operation to 200 countries shortly.
82°E currently sells its products online but plans to go offline soon- either in a shop-in-shop model with a counter within an established store or a standalone brick-and-mortar outlet.
82°E is also exploring the possibility of involving other celebrities in their marketing strategy. It recently made a promotional video that showcased Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in a video together to launch its latest product.
Advice to entrepreneurs
Deepika feels that being an entrepreneur is one of the most challenging roles. She suggests that entrepreneurs can effectively deal with competition by actively listening to their customers.
Deepika’s significant takeaway from her entrepreneurial experience is “Even if a product is exceptional, it will not succeed if the customers do not perceive it as authentic to the founder.”
Having an authentic brand like 82°e in the market is great. We wish for its success in international markets, as it will play a crucial role in promoting Indian culture and products.
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