Acquisition project | ScrubStory

The WHY?

Hindmed is a 50+ year-old family-run medical supplies distribution house. It has the South India distribution + online distribution (read Amazon seller) for Littmann (read Category leader in Stethoscopes). Stethoscopes + Medical apparel are complementary sells. Careismatic Brands in the US (house of brands for scrubs) is also a Littman distributor. Careismatic Brands turns over more than 500 Million USD. We feel India is on the verge of becoming a large market for medical apparel. The market will shift from scrubs being just a green / blue colored uniform to ready-made garments with style, comfort, and function.
Sighting our knowledge of the medical fraternity and building sales on Amazon, we saw an opportunity for ourselves. And hence launched ScrubStory.

Medical Apparel User Product and Market - A brief.

Product: Medical Apparel.

Medical apparel consists of surgical scrubs, nursing scrubs, medical scrubs, or just scrubs as how they are popularly called. It also includes underscrubs, labcoats, surgical head caps, and so on.
Understanding medical scrubs - medical scrubs are protective clothing that is worn by healthcare professionals (doctors/nurses and other medical staff). They typically consist of a short-sleeved, V-neck top and drawstring pants. Scrubs are designed for both functionality and hygiene, often made from durable, easy-to-clean materials like cotton or polyester blends. Scrubs act as a barrier against infections, support a uniform appearance, and aid in the identification of medical staff. Their ergonomic design allows free movement, and multiple pockets provide practical storage. Additionally, scrubs contribute to a professional and reassuring environment for patients, are cost-effective due to their durability, and comply with health regulations, making them standard attire in healthcare settings.
The medical scrubs market in India are purchased from local medical stores, which results in apparel that is inconsistent, non - functional, and lacks convenience. Nurses and doctors are exposed to high risk of contamination and diseases, given their work environment. Its not uncommon for them to be in their scrubs for 18-24 hours at a stretch.

User:

I had done some thorough customer research on scrubs. Am trying to show the findings in a tabular format of the 5-8 interviews that I did one on one.

Questions	Dr Kartikey Sharma	Dr Dikitha	Dr. Sujith	Dr Suhas	Dr Sharath	Dr Archita Rai	Dr Megha	Soni
Location	Mumbai	Bangalore	Mumbai - Kokila Ben Ambani Hospital	Bangalore	Gurgoan - Paras Hospital	Mumbai	St Johns
Role	PG Student	Dentist	Cardiac Surgery	Plastic Surgeon	Anesthesiology	MS - Gen Surgery
Age \| Sex	26 Years - Male	40 Years - Female	37 Years Male	37 Years Male	37 Years Male


		Dentists should wear thier scrubs since there are a lot of aerosol procedures.		Yes. Surgeons	Everyday - 7 am to 5pm/6pm	Scrubs in OT + Kurta's in Ward.
When and where do you wear Scrubs?	90% in OT. Sometimes in wards + in ICU / Wards	Plain is okay - with the name of the doctor.	Wears scrubs in OT + ICU (for patients who need to be kept open for stability) +	Everyday.	12 hours			Use only the OT Scrubs.
How often do you wear Scrubs?	Depends on speciality. Surgery everyday. MD not so much. MOstly preferred for MS doctors.		Daily - Collar is color coded + Nada is color coded for indicate the size			Suture materails. Syringe. in pockets. pockets. Mobile number - vials.		Will start using own scrubs from 4th year and internship.
Do you wear something over the Scrubs?			Comes to hosp in jeans + tee			Less polyster in them. Makes them more breathable.
How are the Scrubs that you wear today?	Used in internship. Hospital provides them but they are - gives only 2-3 sizes.	Fading scrubs	Comfort is the most important - FIT (not very loose / not very tight). Light breathable material. Utility based - 2 pockets + a back pocket (not safe to leave wallet). 45 degree access like formal pants. deep enough for the things to stay inside. Things I will carry - wallet / mobile / keys / watch 70% use Hosp scrubs + 30% get their own Top at least 1 pocket.	Fitting issues Pockets may not be adequate. 2-3 pockets on the shirt + 2 pockets on the pant \| Actually no pockets on the knee \| Mobile \| Wallet \| Keys - car + home \| sometime use bluetooth as well.	The current hospital - Has a neat pocket in the front on the pant. To have effective pockets in the right places. Wallet \| Keys \| Wallet \| Shape the pocket in a way OR zip it. Should not be too airy and not make it feel to cool. TOP - forearms are open \| ful sleeve. Belly pockets are very loose.	Doctors are not very hygenic. Do not get to take a bath.	Thin material Need durable material.	Scrubs in St Johns are quite comfortble. Fit is not good - too long OR too short. All are very lose? This ie becasue it is made for all.
Anything you would like to change in your current Scrubs	Knyamed + OT caps are a popular brand. Gives a lot of pockets.	Hospital washes the scrubs. Pockets for smaller things only. Nothing major.	Nada becomes lose every once in a while. Elastic is much more preferred.	Elastic is preferred - better to be augmented with strings +		Petite structure + length of the pant is an issue + V neck scrubs + becomes an issues + do not want to wear 2 layers.	Pockets even on the top will be nice.	Material is good. Breathable. Since OT has AC. More comfortable than normal clothes.
	2/3 pens, notebook, torch, extra gloves, phone, instrument, Bags are allowed outside. But in the OT nnothing is allowed. Phone charger sometime since OT can be 6 hours. Livinguard had abt 6-7 pockets in both top + bottom. No preference in type of pockets. Just need to be functional. Livinguard pockets had a zip. Which was great. Securing Things are Important	Comfort means - not tight / lose is better No full sleeves scrubs. Decent fit.	Size of Scrubs are colour Coded - (the ones which are provided by the hosp)
What do you look for in Scrubs?	Stretchability \| Cotton \| Sweat absorption is important \| Inners scrubs are used to manage the sweat \|			Inside should be abroption.	- catch fire - not heavy - stay warm - Sakra had anti stain	* Breathable * which do not need a lot of maintainence.	- Type of fabric - Pockets - V Neck	- Fir / Comfort / Colour /
						* anti microbial properties	- makes you look like a sac. - people wear scrubs for very long hours.	Pockets - prefer to have pockets. Atleast 3-4 pockets. Phone / mask / gloves / very tough to lug your bag around every where. Would be good to have pockets . Doe not matter where they are.

Is there any design in a Scrub that you look for?						* Better fitting V neck over a round neck. *		Soft / Breathable / Not sticky /
How important is the fit?	Fitting is the next important thing. Pant length is important. Top being a little lose is okay. Many time a gown is worn on top of the top when operating. Waist - prefer elastic.					* The fit should be not to tight / not to lose * This should be your go to garment.		Anti moisture.
What do you carry & keep in the pockets?	Time is a factor					* Livinguard scrubs have good number of pockets.
Are your current pockets comfortable? Any changes needed?


Do you have any colour preferences in Scrubs?	Role is an important factor. Navy / Black is for doctors. Every department has a colour. Nurses is marron. OR technicians are ****.	Blue / Green / Black (All dark) Light colours anti stain is a good thing.	If stains are not a challenge then would prefer lighter colours.	Light Blue + Green is used so that you can wash of the stain.	People seem to love Knya Scrubs mixed opinions - should not carry scrubs at home.	Dark Blue are compulsory.		Pink is nice. Purple. Blue (Dark - Navy Blue types). Black are worn by Physiotherapists.
Do Colours impact your mood?						Have the options of both with strings and with elastic only.
Would you like Scrubs with Prints or Designs?

How much would you like to pay?					The most features are not needed for	Willing to pay 1700 - 2000. No boblings 4-6 months of use Should not fade	1500 - 2000 Range	Bought by students who are transitioning from

ICP:

Ideal Customer Profile	Dr. Kartikey Sharma	Dr. Archita Rai	Nurse Pooja Sharma	Dr Sujith NS
Age	26	32	30	37
Gender	Male	Female	Female	Male
Location	Mumbai	Mumbai	Mumbai	Mumbai
Salary	High	Moderate to High	Moderate	High
Apps	Medscape, WhatsApp	Medical reference, organizational	Nursing reference, organizational	WhatsApp
Social Media	LinkedIn, Instagram	Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram	Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn	Instagram
Marital Status	Single	Married	Married	Married
Moved to New City	No	No	No	Yes
Children	No	No	One	Yes
Employment	Full-time PG Student	Full-time General Surgeon	Full-time Nurse	Full Time Cardiologist
Media Consumption	Medical documentaries, surgical podcasts	Medical dramas, motivational podcasts	Medical dramas, reality TV, fitness influencers

Category - competition/price points with features.

This is mostly a case of category evolving into better products. There is a large unorganized market that uses non-technical fabrics and has inconsistent quality.

Amongst the more relevant brands that compete for the positioning that we want to target

Knyamed: The top sellers for Knyamed is at 1100/- price point. They have raised some investment year before last.
TheScrubLife - A set costs about 2000/-
Febris

Everyone offers some stretch and some technical features on their fabrics.
Everyone offers name customization options on their scrubs,

Was not able to get data on sales of TheScrubLife and Febris (Febris was on Shark Tank last season - did not raise money). There is not much data.

Is there room to acquire more customers? Core Value Prop

Total Addressable Market - there are about 12-15 Lacs Healthcare Professionals in India which is likely to get to about 25-30 lacs by 2030.

Serviceable Addressable Market -

Serviceable Obtainable Market
(Incomplete)

Key words on amazon for scrubs

CORE VALUE PROP: Our promise is scrubs that fit great, use technical fabric and are super functional!

Design Acquisition Channels - 3 Channels.

The Job To Be Done for ScrubStory is to be able to build a brand and get following initially. We have very good understanding of what the consumer is looking for. We have some inhouse capability internally to build sales on Amazon marketplace. Our first product is a high ASP compared to competition. We do not have the supply chain built to handle high volume orders yet. We want to have lesser sales and but get good following. We want to become an aspirational brand for doctors. Atleast for 2-3 quarters we want to be followed and want to be thought of as premium in the minds of our community / followers. Once we have this we will launch competitively priced products so that we can get faster results on sale.

Since we are pre PMF,

Organic - Content Loops

	Hook	Creator	Distributor
Instagram Reels	Product Features with appropriate attention catching headline LifeStyle type of	Brand	Doctors / Medical Students / Nurses and their circle
Instagram Reels	UGC - micro-influencers	Influencer	Doctors / Medical Students / Nurses and their circle
Meme's	Funny Shareable content	Brand	Doctors / Medical Students / Nurses and their circle
Interactive App	Quiz - * What % nerdy are you? * What medical specialty suits your personality?	Brand	Doctors / Medical Students / Nurses and their circle

Organic - Referral

Platform currency : ScrubPoints
BragWorthy Moment - When someone wears our scrubs, he is bound to like the fit and the comfort. On his/her daily usage, when s/he experience the benefits of the technical textiles - anti stain / anti odour, the post-purchase reassurance will happen.
Who will you ask for the referral - 1st time buyer - we will ask for feedback 5 days after the delivery of the product on whatsapp. If we get a 4/5 or 5/5 star rating. We thank them and ask for a referral. In case there is no response from him, we wait for the 2nd order (the 2nd order only qualifies if it's within 90 days of the first order - the logic is that the doctors always need more than 1 scrub pair and if they like it they will buy more). As soon as we get the 2nd order delivered, we ask for feedback and the referral at the same time offering platform currency. The condition of the credit of the scrubpoints is that the referee makes their first order (and as soon as that happens the referee gets the credit of the scrubpoints.)
Once a user decides to refer - we will ask him to "Sharing is caring. Click to Refer". once this happens he gets option of forwarding the whatsapp message with his referral code.
The referee recieved the message "I have been using this scrubs for and quite like them. You should try them too. You can use the code - REFEREE to get 100 ScrubPoints that you can use for your first order."
Under the login of the user - where s/he will see an option of SCRUBPOINTS. Here he will get a list of the SCRUBPOINTS he has earned by different methods - social media shoutouts / referrals / others.

Paid - Amazon Ads

Amazon is quite a large channel for medical scrubs. A GMV of over 2-3 Crores sells on Amazon. All of it is at a low price point. There are options at our price points. Mid premium price range. We will use sponsored products / sponsored brands / video ads and so to target competitive products.
We will have A+ listing and high quality listsings done for better conversion of the ads.