Sainath Jain: Making the case for male grooming

(Oct 23, 2026) From studying luxury brand management in Paris to working in the US and researching grooming trends in Seoul, Sainath Jain has drawn on global experiences to build Hivado, a luxury men’s personal care brand designed for Indian consumers.

Born, schooled and educated in Bengaluru, Sainath Jain grew up in a business family where entrepreneurship was a familiar dinner-table conversation. Yet, as he recalls, the person who graduated in engineering was quite different from the entrepreneur he would eventually become.

“Honestly, the version of me that finished college was quite different from who I am today. I was more timid then. Capable, but not someone who took up space in a room. Engineering gave me a systems brain: I learned to think in processes and structures, in how things get made. What I didn’t have yet was exposure. That came later, and it changed everything,” the co-founder and CEO tells The Global Indian describing how international exposure shaped his approach to entrepreneurship, product development and building an Indian brand with global ambitions.

His grooming and personal care brand offers science-backed head-to-toe care products categorized into hair, face, body and underarm care for Indian men.

In 2012, he moved to Paris to study Luxury Brand Management at ESSEC Business School. The experience opened doors to the French luxury industry, where he worked with S.T. Dupont and NOWNESS, gaining an understanding of how luxury brands are built, positioned and sustained over time.

From France I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where my first venture, OuiSkin, a skincare recommendation startup, was incubated at Berkeley SkyDeck and mentored through Berkeley’s Silicon Valley innovation and entrepreneurship programme. Two very different educations back-to-back. Europe taught me craft and standards; America taught me speed and conviction.

Sainath Jain

He returned to India after those years abroad. In late 2018, he and his wife, Shradha Mutha Jain, began conceptualising Hivado, launching the brand in 2020.

What Paris and Silicon Valley taught him

France gave Sainath an appreciation for the thought and discipline behind luxury branding, from product presentation to the finer details of skincare. The US, meanwhile, encouraged him to back his ideas and move decisively.

“The lesson that stayed with me is that luxury isn’t about complication or excess. It’s about being intentional with every detail. The strongest brands don’t chase what’s trending. They hold a point of view and stay consistent with it for years,” he says.

His experience in America brought a different set of lessons. It gave him the confidence to put his ideas forward, make a pitch and pursue product-market fit without apologising for ambition. “The deepest change was personal, though. Living abroad made me independent and widened my worldview enormously. I understand different cultures and consumer behaviours now, and that shapes how I build every day.”

These experiences also changed how he viewed the opportunity back home. Entrepreneurship was not a departure from his international career but a way to bring together what he had learnt across markets.

Why he saw an opportunity in men’s grooming

During his time in Europe, Sainath observed how men incorporated personal grooming into everyday routines without necessarily viewing it as an indulgence. Returning to India, he saw room for a brand that approached men’s personal care with greater attention to their needs.

In Europe I’d watched men fold grooming into daily life without treating it as excessive or indulgent. It was simply part of taking care of yourself. I came home to a market where men were either using products designed for women or choosing from generic mass-market options. That gap was impossible to unsee.

Sainath Jain

Research visits to Seoul further expanded his understanding of the category. South Korea’s grooming market offered new perspectives on formulations, packaging and the way products were designed and presented to male consumers.

“Korea treats grooming as craft and as self-respect rather than vanity, and the sophistication of that market, in formulation, in packaging, in how a man is spoken to, reset our sense of what was possible. A great deal of what Hivado became took shape after those trips,” he says.

The experiences helped shape the thinking behind Hivado, a men’s personal care and grooming brand created for Indian consumers while drawing on international benchmarks.

Building Hivado for the Indian man

At Hivado, Sainath serves as CEO, leading product, operations and finance, while Shradha oversees brand, marketing and communication. The brand’s approach centres on developing products suited to Indian men’s skin, climate and daily routines.

“We spent months researching men’s skin, behaviour patterns and lifestyles to build formulations that are high-performing, free from toxic chemicals, and made with biocompatible, ethically sourced ingredients. Our signature brushed aluminium bottles were a sustainability decision as much as a design one,” he says.

For Sainath, the goal is to combine functionality with thoughtful design, bringing the attention to detail he encountered in the international luxury industry to a brand developed for the Indian market.

His years abroad provided a reference point for the standards he wanted to pursue, but building the business in India required an understanding of the local market and its constraints.

 

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A pandemic-era reset tested the business

Returning to India after years overseas involved a shift in mindset, Sainath says. The challenge was not simply to apply lessons learnt abroad but to work within a different business environment.

The more significant test came after COVID-19, when Hivado had to substantially reposition itself. The process required more than a change in messaging; it meant rebuilding key aspects of the business.

“A pivot sounds like one decision. It isn’t. Everything had to be rebuilt. What carried us through wasn’t strategy. It was a conviction about the customer. The plan changed completely. Our belief in the Indian man never did,” he recalls. The experience reinforced his belief that a brand’s underlying purpose must remain clear even when its business strategy changes. For Sainath, the effort invested in personal care also reflects a broader attitude towards life and work.

“The lesson that shaped me most: the effort you put into yourself reflects the effort you’ll put into everything else. That’s true of people, and it’s true of brands,” he says.

Global standards, Indian ambitions

Sainath Jain believes international exposure changes the standards entrepreneurs set for themselves. Seeing how established luxury houses operate gave him a stronger sense of what consistency, quality and long-term brand building require.

Once you’ve seen how the best houses in the world operate, ‘good enough for India’ stops being an acceptable answer. Global exposure raises your floor permanently.

Sainath Jain

He draws on different aspects of his international experience in his approach to leadership. “On leadership, Europe taught me patience and standards, America taught me conviction and speed, and I try to hold both. On success, I’ve stopped measuring it in noise. Success is a system that works on an ordinary Tuesday, not a launch that trends for a day,” he adds.

His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to begin rather than wait for the perfect moment or product.

“Act fast, fail fast, progress over perfection. Your first launch isn’t your product. It’s your tuition fee, and it’s cheaper to pay early,” he says. However, he cautions against confusing speed with compromised standards. Entrepreneurs should move quickly when learning from customers and the market, while remaining discerning about the quality of their products and the advice they follow.

“My generation has the chance to build things in India that stand anywhere in the world, without diluting who we are or who we’re building for. Hivado was always intended as a global brand born out of India,” remarks the entrepreneur.

Beyond work and giving back

Beyond work, badminton is an important part of his routine. He enjoys the sport both as a way to clear his head and as an opportunity to spend time with his family. He is also a fan of Japanese animation, which he admires for its storytelling and design, and makes time for his dog, Mr. Chubbs.

Giving back, he says, is equally connected to his family values. Their efforts focus on community welfare and healthcare access, with philanthropy remaining an ongoing family conversation rather than an occasional activity.

Looking ahead, Sainath is focused on expanding Hivado’s fragrance and deodorant categories and taking the brand into international markets. “The EU, the Middle East and the US are all on our map. Having studied and worked in those markets, bringing an Indian men’s brand back to them feels like the natural full circle,” he signs off.

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