Youshine.in Product Review

PR Monica Seth introduced her client to me via mail thus:
I am writing this mail on behalf of Youshine.in, an omni channel fashion jewellery and accessories retail brand, catering to young, cosmopolitan Indian women. Please find below the information on new category in personalized jewellery space introduced by Youshine.

Personalisation in jewellery as a concept is still at a nascent stage in the industry. The concept was introduced, significantly as most of the sellers witnessed a huge attitudinal change in buying behavior over the years. Unlike the earlier generation who saw buying jewellery as an investment the current generation consider it as a means of self-expression and indulgence. The customer today no more wants the run of the mill patterns and designs, they want uniqueness, creativity, exclusivity and most of all individuality something that defines them and their personality. They look for modularity and multi functionality in every piece, for them jewellery has to be with the current trend and part of everyday wear rather than to be tucked away in some locker.
This led to rise in the demand of personalized jewellery products over the years. Owing to this the personalized jewellery space witnessed various innovations and trends. From choosing your own stone/pendant to engraving the image of your loved one on your rings to the most recent trend of 3D printing in jewellery the industry is evolving every day. However, the competition in this ever-expanding personalised jewellery sector in India looks set to increase with the release of a new and innovative segment of Completely Customisable jewellery.

Introduced by Youshine, customisable jewellery can be configured in an endless number of ways, according to the wearers’ tastes and preferences. Youshine, one of the fastest growing omni channel imitation jewellery brand in India, has introduced a completely customisable jewellery category in the form “Charms”. Targeted at young cosmopolitan women the segment is intended to revolutionize the way women expresses herself. These Charms may be mounted on Bracelets, Earrings, Necklaces or Anklets and will communicate the wearer’s emotions, experiences and state of mind. The wearer will be able to change the Charms as many times as she likes and reconfigure from her collection according to her wish. This way, she will be able to tell her story just the way she wants.
To ensure exclusivity to the range, each unique Charm design will be protected by applicable IP. Youshine plans to build a cohort of Youshine Charm lovers across the country. Youshine is the first Indian brand to offer completely customisable jewellery in India.

The brand has launched a range of 200 designs based on themes such as ‘Compassion’, ‘Cosmos’, ‘Essence of You’, ‘Ethnic’, etc. The brand further plans on adding more themes and designs in future.
Few facts about the brand
• Youshine has been witnessing double-digit growth rates consistently. In the first year itself the brand witnessed a whopping 200% growth. From then the brand has been consistently been witnessing double digit growth every year, which no other brands in the country has seen.
• Offline and Online Presence: The brand enjoys a significant online and offline presence across the country, from first exclusive brand store in Bangalore the brand today has 11 operational stores with 9 in the pipeline, slated to open this year.
• Funding: Youshine has previously raised USD 1.5 million between 2012 and 2014 through self-funding from Founders and from Angel Investors based in Switzerland. The brand is in talks with investors to raise second round of funding.
• Efficient Supply Chain management: Only brand in India which launches 5 new high fashion jewellery products daily without duplication.
• Future Plans: The brand plans is planning to foray into international market mainly in other Asian regions West Asia and Africa.

My Take: As usual I suggested a product review, Monica asked me the address and the products were at my home within 8 days. All the sets are to be worn on the ears. There are 2 ear-cuffs and 3 sets of earrings. Except for one piece of ear-cuff, all have danglers on them. The ear-cuff, without danglers, is made up of triangular alloy pieces attached to each other in different ways and with rhine stones arranged in triangular designs. The ear-cuff with elaborate danglers is made of an alloy piece, which when worn, will frame the ear and will have several danglers falling down from there.

One gold-plated earring pair is made of black polygonal beads arranged like a star, with tassels hanging down like pom-poms. Another one is a hap hexagon dangler, in which the earrings on either ear have different designs and lengths. One is a stud and the other is a dangler. Each should have a pearl on them, but the pearl on the dangler was missing. The 5th one is a golden dangler with the design of a branch with leaves on each one, with a few small chains dangling below.
Since Youshine have picked the products randomly for me, the designs indicate that they can be worn on different occasions and with different types of dresses. Since I left the choice of the products to them, I received these types of designs. But if we want to, we can design our own ornaments and ask them to customize according to those designs, too.

When my Mom saw the products that were sent to me, the first thing she asked me was if these were rold gold. 55 years ago she would wear rold gold ornaments like these, while going to places where it was not safe to wear gold ornaments. But these never lost their lustre. Her reaction was that the designs were unique and impressive.
Price: The 5 Youshine products that were sent to me had prices ranging from Rs.499/- to Rs.799/-. The total was Rs.2945/-