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How The Entrepreneur in Nayanthara Took Shape and Continues to Flourish
The actor-producer has also had a successful career as an entrepreneur, with a range of investments that span tech, skincare, organic foods, women’s hygiene and more
Nayanthara has been a star for more than two decades and she has also been the recipient of hundreds of awards for her acting, including 14 Filmfare Awards and a Tamil Nadu State Award for her performance in Raja Rani (2013). But the Lady Superstar, as she is known, has also had a successful career as an entrepreneur, with a range of investments that span tech, skincare, organic foods, women’s hygiene and more. Her involvement in these startups have been such that the profile of these companies have increased multifold, with expansion plans that are truly global.
But according to her partners in these businesses, the difference she makes goes beyond the visibility she brings to a brand with her star presence. In some cases, this could be the credibility she brings to a product, especially when it requires the evolution of trust with the customer. And with other products, like her skincare line 9Skin, her decisions for the company even come with significant social implications.
An example of this can be seen in the way the idea for this skincare brand emerged. It was 2019 and Nayanthara and her friend Daisy first discussed the idea of starting this brand together. Back then, fairness creams were the soul of most skincare companies and it was the norm for movie stars to endorse multiple fairness products. “But even then, Nayanthara was clear about not wanting to enter that space. She did not believe skin colour had anything to do with one’s looks and believed she should never endorse such creams, even if they were bestsellers. Her commitment was first to her fans,” says Daisy Morgan, co-founder at 9Skin India, Nayanthara’s skincare brand.
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This got Daisy to reconsider several aspects of her own skincare company. At first, she even thought Nayanthara’s commitment to their collaboration would be limited to that of a brand ambassador. “But she’s very hands-on. She will send me colour charts for a new line or even suggest changes to the ingredients of our products, that too at 2AM. She will make hundreds of changes each time we have a product launch, but we know that it’s eventually to make the best products,” Daisy adds.
It’s this commitment to the final product that has resulted in sales increasing multi-fold. In fact when Nayanthara launched 9Skin online, their entire inventory got sold out in 24 hours.
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This was even more obvious when she chose to partner with a sanitary napkin manufacturer based out of Erode. Now the company is called Femi9, and they sell organic leak-proof sanitary pads. “We’ve grown since she came in and we sell in 10 countries and have 10,000 women working as distributors,” says Gomathi V, Founder of Femi9 LLC.
“What I remember most about my first meeting with Nayan [Nayanthara] was how she had already become a user of our napkins. She, who could afford the best of all products, felt the difference when she switched to our organic products. That’s when she felt she should take it to the people and share the benefits she felt with her reach. After she first used it, she bought 100 packets for her whole team to try out over three months before choosing to partner with us. If it could help her and women around her, she knew it was worth supporting,” adds Gomathi.
Kiru Maikkapillai, founder of Divine Foods, had newly launched his line of organic Tamil Nadu-based superfoods when he ran into director Vignesh Shivan. Vignesh tried the company’s Paruthi paal (cottonseed milk), and quickly became a fan. Vignesh went online and posted a story about the product and the company completed their monthly sales target in just one day after the post; then Nayanthara too joined her husband is trying out the remaining products of Divine Foods and they soon became partners in the health-food startup.
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“Generally, I have noticed a trend in which healthy products are mostly purchased by women,” says Kiru Maikkapillai. “As caregivers, these products are bought for their parents' generation or for their children. Most of our products, in a sense, are made for kids, even if they are being sold to mothers who are millennials. So when Nayan ma'am became a partner, we immediately got her credibility, not just as a star, but also as a mother who would only want the best for her children.”
This commitment to her customers and the future has resulted in changes in other product lines as well. In 9Skin, for instance, the new lines are getting clinically tested in a manner in which they can be sold across pharmacies. “It’s not just about appealing to current fashion trends,” adds Daisy. “The products have to be high-quality and safe and we want customers to come back. Nayan has not once asked us about the numbers; all that matters is that the products are good.”