Mini Sood Banerjee on strategizing the future of Korean skincare in India

Adgully has consistently celebrated and acknowledged the accomplishments of women entrepreneurs and leaders in various sectors. One of our notable initiatives, W-SUITE, focuses on highlighting extraordinary women achievers in the Media & Entertainment, Advertising, Marketing, PR, and Communications industry. In this updated series, we aim to explore how women leaders adeptly manage their teams and overcome challenges in the dynamic landscape of their respective industries.

In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Mini Sood Banerjee, Assistant Director and Head of Marketing, Amorepacific Group, speaks about the role and scope of women leaders in today’s market ecosystem, marketing strategies for the Indian market, challenges have shaped journey in the marketing landscape, marketing plans across different channels, effective leadership lessons, and more.

As the Head of Marketing at AmorePacific India, can you share insights into your role and responsibilities, especially in the context of overseeing brands like Sulwhasoo, Innisfree, Laneige, and Etude House?

Working with the Amorepacific Group for 15+ years now has been an absolute pleasure. We entered the Indian market as one of the first groups to introduce Korean skincare brands in the country. Our journey began with INNISFREE in the year 2013 and we furthered the spread of Hallyu wave by introducing Laneige, Etude and Sulwhasoo. It’s been a proud journey to break through India market and strategizing the future of Korean skincare here. From introducing the brand, new launches, to selecting Indian ambassadors the brands have come a long way.

How has this global exposure influenced your approach to marketing strategies for the Indian market?

While global exposure has been imminent in guiding the trajectory of the brands, however the Indian market is slightly different in its approach. We have learnt that the Indian market is big on Korean sunscreens, cleansers, lip balms and tints, while the global market has more demand for our serums. Hence, we tailor our strategies as per the demand received in India, and bring that information back to our global team.

With over 15 years of experience in brand and product marketing, what pivotal moments or challenges have shaped your journey in the marketing landscape?

The one thing that has always been instrumental in shaping my journey in brand and product marketing is breaking through the clutter. Amorepacific Group brings a lot of creative freedom to work with the brands. I have learnt to bring in an X factor through fresh energy and a creative mindset. A few pivotal moments recently have been, completing 10 years of INNISFREE in India in 2023, bringing in Athiya Shetty as the Indian Ambassador of Laneige and hosting the first on-ground event of Sulwhasoo.

How do you contribute to the creative strategizing of these brands, ensuring they resonate with the Indian consumer market?

When it comes to Amorepacific Brands, cross collaborations have ensured to keep the brands relevant in the Indian landscape. We collaborated with Frozen Fun for INNISFREE to introduce a limited-edition gelato in India last year, we also collaborated with House of Candy and Evocus for Laneige for a new product launch, for Etude we did a collaboration with Hair Drama. Over time we have witnessed that the beauty industry has started catching up with the cool collaborations, and acknowledge them by giving us shout-outs and talking about them.

Could you elaborate on your approach to multi-channel marketing, and how you’ve implemented successful brand and product marketing plans across different channels?

While e-commerce is a great platform to retail your brand, we have witnessed in India that multi-channel marketing with platforms like Nykaa beauty, Tira beauty and Tata Cliq Palette also works extremely well as Indian consumers get access to multiple brands at one-stop along with discounts and freebies to try on for themselves. All Amorepacific brands are available on multiple platforms to ensure great accessibility.

What are the five most effective leadership lessons that you have learned?

The five most effective leadership lessons would be:

• Passion and determination – key drivers to become a successful leader
• Effective communication – a leader should be very clear what is the objective/ goal or vision
• Build effective and respectful teams which further put the efforts in company’s growth, helping every team member to give their best as per their potential
• To be adaptable and flexible – you have to accommodate to the changes that bound to happen within the organization or otherwise as well. So be flexible and adaptable.
• Creating a culture of transparency – it is important to build a culture which is transparent so that employees can make decisions or actions whenever it is required

If you could share one piece of advice with the next generation of women leaders in the industry, what would it be?

Being a woman is a challenging journey, but your strength knows no bounds, be confident in your abilities and be genuine, strong and resilient.