What if we told you, a skincare brand designed a product based on your input before it was even finished and launched? Not through a review or a comment after developing a product, but with the process itself!
What If you can explain the brand about the texture you prefer, finish you like, and the little things that your product could carry. And all these in the development process itself, Cool right! That's what "Build With Deyga" is all about!
Build With Deyga is a community-led approach towards product development, where customers are invited into the process before a product is finalised and launched into the market. It's all about listening, testing, learning, refining, and creating products with the people who will eventually use them.
And want to know what the first project is about - It's Rebuilding our sunscreen.
What Is Built With Deyga Concept?
Product development generally happens behind the scenes.
The formulation team develops the product; the internal team tests them; And then the brand tells how to market, in terms of look and position. And after all these processes, the product will be launched and used among customers.
After all these processes, the brand will get to heat the reviews and what people think of the product. But at Deyga, we want to craft based on the customer's needs. They may share what customers like, and what can be improvised, along the reasons if they repurchase a certain product. So we asked ourselves: "Why should customer feedback begin only after a product launch"
Build With Deyga was created around this simple idea: Bring the community into the product development process at a much earlier stage itself! Instead of only asking, “Do you like this product?”, we want to understand:
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What do you like or prefer?
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What makes the product comfortable during the day?
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Which texture do you prefer while using SPF?
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What problems do you face while using?
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What would you change?
In this community, we understood what all people look for, and our team works on the formulation to draft the final product. That is what makes Build With Deyga more than a Norma feedback form.
Why Did We Start Building With Our Community?
When creating a skincare product, it might look perfect on paper and even during formulation, but when they are about to be used, it will not fit, and something will be missing.
A SPF sunscreen might feel greasy, leave an uncomfortable white cast, or doesn't sit well under makeup, which might make the person skip the product. And if the same happens everywhere they might even skin the product usage.
The idea is simple:- Products shouldn't only be made for customers. Wherever possible, they should be built with them.
Our First Build With Deyga Project: Rebuilding Our Sunscreen
The first major product we chose to build with our community was "SPF sunscreen". Even though we already have SPF Sunscreen in the product range when working on the better formulation, "what our community actually wants from it"!
So, we asked. And the response was bigger than we expected. We received around 7,654 responses from our community. People spoke about what they wanted, what was liked and disliked in the existing formulation, and what kind they really needed, and everything.
In overall, People wanted a sunscreen that was:
We met customers personally through community interactions across places including Coimbatore, Kochi, and our headquarters. When we asked about the preferred finish, around 83% leaned towards a glossy, lightweight experience.
These weren't just conversations about liking or disliking the SPF sunscreen alone. People talked about their everyday routines. They spoke about commuting, reapplication, wearing sunscreen under makeup, working long hours, dealing with humidity, and the little things that can make a sunscreen feel comfortable.
Over time, approximately 3,500 people became actively involved in the sunscreen-building journey.
Each conversation added another piece to the picture. And slowly, the question changed from:
“What sunscreen should we make?” to “What sunscreen experience are people actually looking for?”
From Customer Feedback to 297 Formulation Samples
And with the response alone, the product development doesn't happen and gets into the formula.
The community can tell us what experience they want. But making that experience possible requires formulation expertise. Our formulation team took the feedback and began working through the technical side of development, from balancing the desired texture to finishing with factors such as performance, stability, safety, and usability.
And it wasn't a one-formula-and-done process. During the sunscreen development journey, our team worked through approximately 297 formulation samples. And eventually, the process brought us down to the final three samples.
But there was still one important question left:
Which one should actually become the final product?
We didn't want that decision to happen only inside the Deyga office. So, we took the samples back to the community.
The Community Tested the Final Samples
During one of our testing sessions in Erode, Sample 2 received the highest preference.
That feedback went back into the development process. And this is the heart of Build With Deyga.
The community gives us direction. Our formulation team works in that direction. And then the community experiences the result. We listened again, and improved, and the product continues to evolve.
Build With Deyga Is Also About Learning
There is another part of the journey that matters to us: skincare education.
While developing the sunscreen, we also used the opportunity to have conversations with the community about sun protection. We spoke about SPF and what those numbers actually mean. For example, SPF 35, SPF 50, SPF 75, and SPF 100 do not represent perfectly proportional increases in UVB protection.
We also spoke about the difference between UVA and UVB radiation.
UVA - A for Ageing
UVA rays penetrate deeper into the skin and are majorly associated with photoaging, which includes signs like fine lines and wrinkles. They also contribute to pigmentation.
UVB - B for Burning
UVB rays are strongly associated with sunburn and also contribute to other forms of UV-related skin damage.
What Makes Build With Deyga Different?
Traditional product development can often look something like this: Brand creates → Brand launches → Customer reacts.
Build With Deyga aims to change that sequence:
Community speaks → Brand listens → Formulators build → Community tests → Brand improves → Product launches.
The sunscreen journey, with approximately 297 formulation samples, is one example of how much can happen before a final product is ready.
We believe that process is worth sharing. Because a finished product is only the final chapter of a much longer story.
From Products Made for Customers to Products Built With Customers
The sunscreen may have been our first major Build With Deyga project, but the idea goes beyond one product. We want to gradually move from:
Products made for customers to Products built with customers.
While some decisions do require technical expertise, testing, safety considerations, regulatory knowledge, and formulation experience. But whenever customer experience can genuinely help make a product better, we want that voice in the room.
Why Does Build With Deyga Matter to You?
As a customer, you will get the opportunity to convey and share what actually works and not, before even the product gets launched. Which means, your everyday experience, challenges and preferences help in shaping the product to be way more comfortable, especially in terms of texture, finish, application, or how it fits into your routine.
This also makes you know what the final version of the product will actually look like. You can understand why choices are made, experience formulations during the development, and share feedback before anything is finalised. In that sense, "Build With Deyga" makes product development a more open conversation between the people creating a product and the people who will eventually use it. It is also a reflection of the values and approach behind the brand, which you can explore on Deyga's about us page.
And perhaps the most meaningful part is this: "Your feedback doesn't have to end with a review. It can become part of the journey itself". When many real experiences come together, they can help a brand understand what people genuinely need and build products with those needs in mind.
Built by Deyga. Shaped by the community.
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