The beauty business has changed dramatically since two Swedish brothers founded Oriflame nearly six decades ago. Even as it chooses not to abandon the direct-selling model that defines Oriflame, the company plans to use technology, AI, and digital communities to strengthen its network of beauty entrepreneurs. Global CEO and president Kenneth Benaim Campbell says India will be central to that strategy. With less than 10% of Oriflame’s global revenue currently coming from India, his target is to have one in four euros generated from here. He also sees India as a potential sourcing hub. Edited excerpts:

You spent 27 years with L’Oréal before joining Oriflame as its CEO. What is the opportunity you saw here and what are you most excited about?

I come to Oriflame with my eyes wide open. I have over 30 years of experience in beauty, so I think I have a good understanding of what makes a strong brand. I also wanted an opportunity where I could have an impact beyond the business, an impact on people.

Oriflame is an iconic brand with a legacy and historical roots. We’re going to celebrate our 60th anniversary next year. It was founded by two Swedish brothers, focussed on the quality of the products and transparency, while other brands were focussing on glamour. To do that 60 years ago was visionary.

The second thing they found was that this business is fundamentally based on trust. People would rather buy from people they know and can relate to. That led to the direct-selling model. What I realised is that this idea is still current and relevant. The delivery has changed. Conversations that used to happen in a parlour, at home or on the street are today moving to the online world. Oriflame, too, has to adapt and include the online conversation to reach consumers.

But the most interesting insight is that this is not about the product. It is the experience. Why do people join Oriflame? The business opportunity for women. They might like a product, and say ‘I would like to access it on better terms’. So they join a community. The more they experiment, [the more] they realise there is an opportunity to sell the products and become a beauty coach. The beauty of the online world and technology is that you can multiply them [the community]. For me, India is almost like paradise because of its size. It’s not just about metros; it’s also Tier II and III cities. I’m thinking of young Indian creators in Tier III cities as well.

I don’t think you find this combination of a strong brand and a unique business model every day. I want to stay true to Oriflame’s strength. So it is not to turn it into a retail or e-commerce brand. I’m committing 100% to direct selling. Oriflame’s success will be based on the success of beauty entrepreneurs.

But if Oriflame only sticks to its direct-selling model, do you think it can compete, survive and sustain in today’s omnichannel world?

Not only do I think so, but I am also convinced. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. If I rephrase your question, you would ask: what is a guy like you, with no MLM (multi-level marketing) and direct-selling experience, doing at Oriflame? My biggest strength is that I know beauty. But I am [also] fascinated by this business model that changes lives. So I want to give the direct-selling business proposition a new take and compete. But, do I think that Oriflame is going to be the one and only solution across every channel? No. We have to be honest. There are other companies that are going to be successful in e-commerce or retail. We have our own bit of the market. We have a right to exist and to win there. I’m here to focus on the customer experience and the empowerment of the beauty entrepreneurs. But by being committed to direct selling.

The largest opportunity, especially in India, is online. Apart from having your own website, how are you trying to leverage it?

You find in the market what people actually want. Ultimately, the person who is going to choose is the consumer. She/he is going to choose, if they want to buy a product directly from you, from a store or from an online platform. We’re not going to change that. We have to build the opportunity, and we have to be present. The heart of the Oriflame proposition is the beauty entrepreneur. It is this level of service and consultancy, this one-to-one conversation that no other brand has. A few other brands are discovering the power of communities now. I’m never going to be as relevant and as strong in a channel where I’m not present. But I hope to be able to show that I’m best in class in leveraging a community.

What’s holding the brand back from being on platforms such as Nykaa or Sephora, while also promoting your beauty entrepreneurs?

It’s a simple thing. If we try to compete with the people who build the backbone of the company, it’s not going to go well. Some people make shrewd business calculations and say, ‘Maybe, I will get by, I will start doing a little bit of that. They will not notice. And if that business becomes really big, then let’s forget about them, even if they’ve been supporting us for 30 years’.

If we do that, we lose our soul, our culture, our company. The beauty of the direct-selling model is that our strongest currency is trust. People buy from a beauty entrepreneur because they trust them. What we have to do is make our beauty entrepreneurs successful. Is there a brand that consumers already know, and decide to buy via quick commerce? Are they just price-obsessed and going to look at a hard discount? Do they want to be in a world where they can immerse themselves?

Discoverability is a challenge in metro cities. Also, urban dwellers are experimental. How will that fit into Oriflame’s strategy?

It’s a challenge not just for Oriflame. It’s a challenge for every major beauty player: how to stay current and attractive. Again, I’m a big fan of not trying to do too many things and not to be something that you’re not.

The way to grow and become stronger is to focus even more on your strengths. So I won’t be able to cover everything in my portfolio. But I want to have mostly three types of beauty propositions. First, I want to offer what I call science-led, efficacy-driven beauty. When you look at the leading brands today, it’s a lot about efficacy and scientific claims. It’s almost medicated. It’s important for beauty entrepreneurs who commit to Oriflame to cater to women expecting this type of beauty.

The second is simplicity, a nature-driven, Nordic approach to beauty where less is more. It’s more about what you do inside reflecting on the outside. We need those sustainable, safe, transparent and simple products in that catalogue.

The third thing — I’m not forgetting about my daughter — is that they want what is hot, new, and trending. If we have these three legs, with Swedishness as the overarching theme, we could cater to a lot of women. Will every woman in India find everything there? Maybe not. And that’s what is beautiful. There are different brands and channels. The beauty of the digital ecosystem is that the ability to choose has become bigger.

Do you think the influencer market is the benchmark for selling products? How will that fit into the direct-selling method with beauty entrepreneurs?

It’s an interesting question. Is it the benchmark? I think it’s a source of inspiration, but not the only one. For us, it cannot be the only one. We have to draw inspiration from our community. We have the advantage of these direct conversations. So, in this age of AI, our biggest strength is collective intelligence, leveraging the community. The ultimate decision-maker is the consumer.

In India, you have been reporting losses for three years. Globally, there has been a 7% YoY revenue drop. Is this model a challenge to revenue growth, or do you have specific strategies since you joined to increase revenue and profit?

I think we have to differentiate external and internal factors. The reality is that India is growing. But we haven’t captured that growth successfully. And it has nothing to do with the market. It has to do with our own focus.

The first thing is stating what we stand for. In the next few months, we’re going to make sure we walk the talk. Then it’s about making clear choices, which also means that you choose not to do other things.

One reason why, in my first four weeks of tenure, I decided to come to India is that we missed the opportunity. We shouldn’t be happy with India being the fastest-growing business unit. India should be the No. 1 Oriflame business. Today less than 10% of our global revenue comes from India. I believe we should aim to more than double the global revenue and at least one in four euros we generate should come from India. That means committing to the Indian market, teams and community. That means coming in the first month of my tenure and coming back many times.

We were a Europe-centric company created 60 years ago. But the world has moved on, and the vibrancy, creativity, speed, and growth of the beauty market today is happening in India, in Mexico, in China. They will be the markets of the future. Not just for beauty; those will be the superpowers of our world.

Oriflame has also moved away from owning factories globally. Why the pivot in strategy?

It is a strategic choice. Defining a vision of where you want to be and where you want to go in the next few years allows you to also clarify where you want to invest in. I’ve laid out the level of ambition for the Indian team. We have to decide the best way to get there. I took the liberty to say, let’s move to a local contract manufacturer, Akums [Drugs and Pharmaceuticals]. They will get us the capacity to accelerate and bring products faster to the Indian market. We have two factories in India. They have 19. They are integrated with many manufacturers. They’re strong in pharma, wellness and beauty. So, what doesn’t change? It says Oriflame Sweden. The labs, the R&D, are still in Stockholm. Every product, no matter if we sell it in India, Stockholm or somewhere else, has to meet the quality standards of Swedish labs. These labs are picky. The raw materials have to be the best among the best. When I manufacture in India, Poland, or China, I still have to meet the quality criteria of our European team.

Later, the manufacturing engine doesn’t need to be in Europe. Other industries have recognised that way before. So with what we want to become, it was really important to build a strong partnership with an Indian company. For the ambition that I have for India, that platform one day will also be a strong one for other markets outside.

So you will be outsourcing from India as well? Is there a timeline?

Yes. I’m going to focus on making the strategy over the next 12 months. We can then discuss if it’s going to happen in three or four years. We have to up our game sooner rather than later. Globally, we are €560 million (down 7% YoY from €604 million in 2024) and India is slightly 10% of that today, and it could be four times that by 2030.