Recently, when Kriti Sanon announced her departure from Hyphen as Chief Customer Officer (CCO), it appeared to signal a recalibration in India’s celebrity-led D2C space.
But it wasn’t quite that.
The brand soon followed up with an explanatory post: “Kriti Sanon is, has been & will always be our CCO. In fact, she’s now adding another title to the list: Chief SPF Officer.” What initially seemed like a leadership shift quickly revealed itself as a carefully staged marketing stunt—designed to reignite conversation in a crowded market.
And in doing so, it exposed a pattern that has long existed beneath the surface. Across categories, several Indian celebrity-led ventures have followed a quieter trajectory—slipping out of the spotlight without formally shutting down, often alongside their celebrity founders. In fashion and lifestyle, brands like Seven (MS Dhoni), HRX (Hrithik Roshan), and Being Human Clothing (Salman Khan) were launched with strong recall, but today, they operate with far less cultural urgency.
Others have taken a more definitive route of either shutting down, getting acquired, or remaining niche. These include Nush by Anushka Sharma, All About You by Deepika Padukone, Rheson by Rhea Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, Skult by Shahid Kapoor, and YouWeCan by Yuvraj Singh.
In hospitality, the gap between hype and sustainability is stark. Nueva, backed by Virat Kohli, shut down within a few years, underscoring how quickly celebrity pull fades without repeat value. Awareness is immediate, but relevance is fragile.
Harish Bijoor, business and brand strategy expert, explains, “A brand which has had a celebrity face and a stamp on it right from the beginning needs to continue that for a while. Yes, there can be a piece of strategy wherein you say that every passing year you will reduce the impact of the celebrity and increase the impact of the brand. If it's a part of a plan, it's all fine. If not, it definitely signals wrong.”
Despite the consistency, the eventual mismatch is structural: celebrities drive discovery, not retention. In credibility-first categories like beauty and wellness, ingredients, reviews, and pricing outweigh endorsements. On platforms like Nykaa and Myntra, algorithm-led visibility—ratings, search behaviour, and price competitiveness—often trumps celebrity pull.
Bijoor notes, “A typical brand needs a platform to stand upon. One of the easiest platforms is a celebrity face. However, this platform is a reasonably hollow platform. It becomes as hollow as the celebrity himself or herself or themselves is. Therefore, over a period of time, all brands want to establish for themselves a platform of product superiority and, of course, a positioning stance that can help make them stand apart from the rest.”
“Celebrity-led brands naturally benefit from strong visibility and accelerated awareness at launch, which is a significant advantage in today’s crowded marketplace. The next phase, however, is about building sustained relevance through consistent product performance, consumer trust, and repeat value,” says Mahesh Ravaria, Executive Director, Beauty Garage Limited.
“The brands that transition successfully from hype to longevity are those that invest early in robust product development, consumer feedback loops, and clear positioning. Over time, it becomes less about the celebrity and more about how well the product integrates into the consumer’s daily routine,” he observes.
The challenge is compounded by the fact that many celebrity founders are not operators, making the gap between brand promise and execution more visible over time. Celebrity brands today are no longer competing with each other—they are competing with product-first, founder-led D2C players that prioritise efficacy and community over fame.
For consumers and platforms alike, the equation is evolving: star power may drive the first click, but product determines the second purchase.
In India, this transition is visible in brands like Kay Beauty by Katrina Kaif, where early visibility has been supported by consistent product credibility and strong retail backing.
Unlike global markets, where brands may shut down decisively, Indian celebrity ventures tend to recede quietly—through reduced visibility, slower launches, and a gradual distancing of celebrity faces. But if the disengagement affects the brand’s existing products in the market is something that depends on the products, rather than the celebrity’s face.
Shradha Agarwal, Co-founder and Global CEO, grapes, points out, “when founders disengage over time, it is absolutely okay because it depends on the scale of the brand. Like for example, Ed-a-mamma. If Alia Bhatt engage with creators for Ed-a-mamma or come in an ad, the consumer will be okay with it as long as they are sure that the product is nice and they have been using it. Even if she sold the company to somebody else and consumers are clear about the brand getting managed further, they will still buy the product.”
Hyphen, however, chose a different route. Instead of a silent fade-out, it staged an exit. Then, reversed it. In doing so, it transformed what could have been a non-event into a moment of engagement. As Ravaria explains, “Brand communication today operates in a highly dynamic environment. Strategic announcements—whether related to leadership or positioning—are often part of a broader narrative designed to engage audiences.”
According to him, the real distinction lies in long-term consistency: “Genuine strategic shifts are reflected in sustained actions—product evolution, business direction, and consumer engagement over time.”
About the ever-changing celebrity–brand equation, Angad Saimbi, Associate Director – Business & Growth, Yellow Seed notes, “They still work when the celebrity is genuinely involved in product and positioning (not just in lending their name). We don’t even need to think hard, just look at Fenty. It almost feels like the brand is fully tied into Rihanna’s belief system. India’s market is still trust-driven, so founder-celebrity hybrids can boom if the execution is strong. The real need is commitment plus competence; not founder v/s collaborator.”
“A celebrity’s personal brand starts as a powerful accelerant. It drives discovery, builds instant trust, and compresses the time it takes to reach scale. But it begins to limit growth when the brand piggybacks on the celebrity for relevance”, explains Saimbi. He also adds that the inflection point typically comes when the business needs to expand beyond the celebrity’s core audience. At that stage, the same identity that once made the brand click can begin to feel restrictive. It becomes harder to broaden appeal, enter new segments, or evolve positioning.
That shift signals a move away from superficial endorsements towards deeper involvement. Going forward, the most impactful partnerships will be those where celebrities are closely aligned with a brand’s values and product philosophy.
Hyphen’s ‘exit-that-wasn’t’ may have worked as a moment of marketing theatre, but as the beauty/skincare category matures, one truth is becoming harder to ignore: celebrities can drive attention—but only products can sustain brands.
