Sujay Ray, Head of Consumer Experience, Content & Advocacy at L’Oréal India, has nearly two decades of experience in marketing across FMCG, media, and telecom. He focuses on combining consumer insights with technology to create better beauty experiences. In this interview, he talks about building seamless omnichannel strategies, leveraging data, and the future of digital marketing in the beauty industry.
Having worked on both the brand and agency sides, how has this dual perspective shaped you as a leader and strategist?
Throughout my career, I’ve collaborated with leading global brands, both in-house and within renowned agencies. My experience in leading international accounts at the agency level provided invaluable insights into addressing large-scale brand challenges, and solving consumer needs on a global scale.
A key takeaway from these experiences has been the crucial balance between local relevance and a global perspective. While acknowledging market-specific nuances is essential, aligning with the brand’s overarching global vision ensures effective and scalable results.
This dual perspective has significantly shaped my strategic thinking and commitment towards operational excellence. Moreover, it has fostered a leadership style that drives impactful outcomes by blending strategic foresight with a focus on effective execution.
At L’Oréal India, you’re at the crossroads of beauty and digital. What excites you most about this role?
The thing that excites me most about this role is the opportunity to address genuine consumer needs across a diverse portfolio of global brands. The prospect of tackling specific consumer challenges, elevating brand experiences, and empowering consumers to stay ahead of beauty trends truly excites me. I see each of these challenges as a chance to make a tangible, positive impact.
What makes this space particularly compelling is our ability to combine deep consumer insight with latest technology to build simple solutions for consumers. Beauty Tech is the new frontier of beauty in India, and we at L’Oréal are at the forefront to create beauty that is more personalized, inclusive, and sustainable. We have tried to not only elevate the consumer beauty experiences, but also create a future where beauty is more sustainable and caters to diverse needs.
In order to create scalable and easy to use solutions, we have leveraged platforms like WhatsApp to build AI-powered chatbots that offer instant support. Add to that we topped up that experience with an option for live consultations with beauty advisors. Building such end-to-end ecosystems to solve consumer pain points is what makes this role so rewarding.
You’ve helped scale D2C and e-commerce for global brands. What is the key to building a seamless omnichannel experience?
When it comes to scaling commerce in the beauty industry, I believe an omnichannel approach is essential. Today’s consumer seamlessly moves between online marketplaces, brand websites, physical stores, and experiential touchpoints such as sampling or consultations. A well-designed omnichannel strategy ensures we meet the consumer wherever they are—delivering relevant information and experiences at their convenience.
Beauty in particular is a high-involvement category, hence decision-making is nuanced. In such cases technology can play a pivotal role. For instance, virtual try-ons allow consumers to visualize shades in real time—empowering them to make informed choices before the final purchase. At the same time, when consumers visit beauty stores or salons, they can benefit from personalized consultations from the advisors.
Ultimately, online and offline channels must complement each other, creating a cohesive, frictionless journey. Our goal is to make commerce intuitive, accessible, and tailored to the consumer’s preferences at every stage.
With beauty going digital at scale, how are you leveraging data and platforms to drive deeper consumer engagement?
In the last decade, we harnessed the power of beauty tech to accelerate our growth and reach new consumers. At the heart of this transformation lies data—it serves as the fuel to power impactful consumer experiences.
We leverage data-driven insights to identify and define our ideal consumer segments. By analysing first-party, lookalike, and behavioral data, we precisely target our core audience for maximum impact.
We then prioritize reaching these targeted consumers with personalized and impactful messaging. Data-driven optimization of our cross-platform media strategy ensures effective engagement with the right individuals at the optimal moment. Upon entering our ecosystem—be it our website, app, or direct-to-consumer platform—we analyse user behaviour to discern preferences and purchase intent.
Finally, this behavioural data inform us to create Data Drive Experiences (DDX), enabling us to cultivate lasting consumer relationships through targeted upselling, cross-selling, and personalized service experiences. This lifecycle approach empowers us to continuously enhance customer lifetime value and drive better engagement across all touchpoints.
As a digital native with ~20 years in the field, where do you see digital marketing headed—especially in the beauty industry?
It has been an incredibly exciting journey, especially having witnessed all three waves of digital transformation. What’s truly heartening is how far the industry has come. When I began my career back in 2006, digital was often just a line item on the media plan, an afterthought or merely an FYI in marketing conversations. Fast forward to today, and we see brands adopting a digital-first mindset. Being part of this evolution, having seen it unfold first-hand, is not only fulfilling but also something I take immense pride in.
Looking ahead, the next five to six years will be pivotal. With the advent of generative AI and other emerging technologies reshaping the landscape, organizations will need to reinvent themselves to remain relevant. The days when expertise in a particular platform or technology-sustained relevance for a decade are behind us. Now, with the pace of change accelerating every two to three years, agility has become essential.
This moment in time offers immense opportunity for those in the digital space—and it is an exciting place for anyone who wants to be at the forefront of innovation and impact.
