In 2007, Shaily Mehrotra, then in her early 30s, was working as an importer and distributor in Cambodia, a journey that would ultimately shape her professional narrative. She fondly recalls the pivotal moment when she had the opportunity to represent an Australian brand providing solutions for dry and itchy skin. This experience helped her understand the market well, and she saw an opportunity.
“It (the Australian brand’s products) was for skin conditions, such as psoriasis and eczema. I saw how the product used to work like wonders on the skin. So, the thought always was, why don’t we make something similar in India too? No Indian skincare brand was there at that time in these countries in Southeast Asia. We thought we should export to these countries and see our products on their shelves,” shares Mehrotra, Co-Founder & CEO of dermatologist-prescribed skincare company Fixderma.
She founded Fixderma in 2010. Today, the company exports its products to more than 35 countries worldwide, reaching geographies such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
But the story was different when they started Fixderma after identifying a gap in the market. “There were mostly pharmaceutical skincare brands meant for indications like bacterial or fungal infections or severe acne problems. Secondly, products were about fairness creams or daily routine moisturising lotions. There was a gap…bringing in products that were efficacious, which could actually change one’s skin texture and solve skin problems but at the same time weren’t necessarily prescription-based. That was the idea behind Fixderma,” she says, adding that the name literally translates to ‘fix your derm’ (skin).
