From running a men’s lifestyle channel on YouTube, Heman Raulo today leads a thriving personal care business with a wide range of grooming products for both men and women under brand names UrbanGabru and Urban Yog
UrbanGabru began its journey in 2017 to educate men on grooming and lifestyle through a YouTube channel called UrbanGabru Men’s Lifestyle. “Upon reaching a subscriber base of around 30,000, we used the platform to market and sell our first-ever product, the UrbanGabru Beard Oil, in April 2017,” shared Founder Hemant Raulo.
Since then, Raulo has founded two brands in the personal care category: UrbanGabru and Urban Yog. While the former caters to men, the latter serves women. Their target audience is different, but if there is one thing that is common to both brands, it is their focus on creating bold, result-oriented and unique products that are suitable for all skin types.
“Initially, our motive was not to diversify our product range but to solve our customers’ problems innovatively. Our YouTube channel would help us gather customers’ queries and understand what they are looking for. We would then address their problems through solution-oriented products,” conveys Raulo.
Today, UrbanGabru is a leading grooming brand that is reaching and inspiring men to upgrade with its innovative product range. The brand has launched over 100 SKUs (stock-keeping units) in multiple categories including hairstyle, hair care, beard care, skincare and body care. “Our products are one-of-a-kind, result-oriented, suitable for all skin types, convenient to use, and time-saving. They thus disrupt the status quo of the market, setting a benchmark for the rest,” said Raulo.
UrbanGabru’s bestsellers are its, Zero to InfnityClay Hair Wax, Hair Volumizing Powder Wax, and Hair Removal Cream Spray — the first-ever spray that painlessly removes body hair in minutes!
Urban Yog, on the other hand, caters to women. “The women of today are bold and confident and want products that support them and match the pace of their growth. Our need to address this issue gave birth to Urban Yog in 2019,” explained Raulo. The brand makes personal care products that are bold and innovative—a far cry from the conventional solutions existing in the market.
“Our products align with our brand ethos ‘Be Bold, Be the Change’ and also the mindset of today’s women. Additionally, our products excel at what they promise as they are unique and futuristic and also the need of the hour,” says Raulo. The brand started with a product—an Acne/Pimple Patch—to help teenage girls overcome their self-esteem issues by diminishing their pimples overnight.
“Later, we diversifed our product range with other innovative and bold solutions such as Period Pain Relief Heat Patch, Anti-Pigmentation Serum, Hair Removal Cream Spray, to support the women of today who wish to grow despite any challenges. Now, we have more than 10 SKUs,” explains Raulo.
Women especially love Urban Yog’s Period Pain Relief Heat Patches, which are made of carbon, clay, iron and natural salt and therefore are completely safe to use. “When a menstruating woman sticks our heat patch on her skin, it starts heating on its own to calm her uterine muscles—unlike hot water bags that are bulky and need to be reheated from time to time,” explains Raulo.
Future endeavours
For a few years, UrbanGabru and Urban Yog had been bootstrapped. “We were using our profits to grow. But we wanted to grow exponentially and to do that funding was the right option. Recently, we took that road and became a part of GlobalBees Brands Private Limited,” explained Raulo.
UrbanGabru is targeting Rs100-crore revenue by 2024. The brand is looking to achieve this with offline expansion and diversification of its product line. As for Urban Yog, the plan for the future is simple. “We want to keep coming up with innovative yet bold products that ease the lives of women of today. Our goal is also to make the brand a household name and align our target audience with our brand ethos,” said Raulo.
Urban Yog is eyeing revenue of Rs. 50 crore by 2024. To achieve this, the brand will have its products listed on different e-commerce platforms and also go ahead with the offline expansion to reach tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
BROWNIE POINTS
- UrbanGabru is a top grooming brand that is inspiring men to upgrade themselves with its innovative product range. The products are one-of-a-kind and result-oriented and disrupt the status quo of the market, setting a benchmark for the rest.
- Urban Yog’s products are helping women balance their lives better. No wonder then that Urban Yog’s offerings have become a part of the self-care routine of more and more women, which in turn motivates the brand to come up with new products.
- For a few years, UrbanGabru and Urban Yog had been bootstrapped, using their profits to grow. But to grow exponentially, funding can be a positive push. The two brands are now a part of GlobalBees Brands Private Limited.
First appeared in The India D2C Yearbook 2022
