ET BureauAs young parents, Varun and Ghazal Alagh found it difficult to identify certified non-toxic and healthy baby care products. The couple decided to sift through local Indian remedies and sourcing to create an affordable consumer brand in the maternal and baby care segment, and came up with Honasa Consumer Pvt Ltd’s Mamaearth range in November 2016.
The research on safe and non-toxic formulations started in early 2016, as the Alaghs roped in a scientist couple, parents themselves, who could help them with designing formulations which matched international standards for safe and non-toxic ingredients.
“In India it is difficult to find Paraben and Sulfate free products. The emphasis on post-natal market is also low, which is quite developed in the US as most of the mothers go back to work full-time. This experience made me and my wife think of alternatives which are certified and can be retailed at 50% cheaper than the foreign brands present in India,” says Varun Alagh, founder of the company and former Senior Brand Manager at The Coca Cola company in charge of launching Coke Zero in the India market.
The Mamaearth range features certified products including body lotion, rash creams, shampoo, natural bug spray and sunscreen lotion for babies in the 0 to 5 age groups. The company has sold 20,000 units in the last five months.
Before bringing the products out in the market, the company had to reach out to multiple certification and testing agencies to get approvals on different aspects of the product. “We partnered with Madesafe.org in the US which is an independent entity to certify our ingredients and formulations as non-toxic. In fact we had to change some ingredients in a formulation as they were labeled toxic for freshwater fishes by the agency,” says Alagh, adding that the dermatological tests for the cosmetics were done according to specification by EU labs which have a hotlist of chemicals and SIN (Substitute It Now) list of products which talk about potential toxins and products which might be banned soon.
The company has been backed by Fireside Ventures headed by Kanwaljit Singh and other HNIs from RPG Goenka group, Godrej Consumers and others who have invested close to $125,000 in the company apart from the capital invested by the founding team for contract manufacturing and certifications.
“Mamaearth is addressing a key concern of most Mom’s regarding safer products for their babies. Varun and Ghazal understand and personally relate to the global demand for healthier, safer and better for you products. I see them creating many niches which currently do not exist in the Indian market but are needed by young parents,” said Kanwaljit Singh, founder of Fireside Ventures which invests with a focus on consumer brands.
The company has a five year roadmap and expects to do a run-rate of Rs 1 crore per month by the end of the year. It is retailed across physical stores in Delhi and will be launched at Bengaluru and Mumbai.
Including its new range of teas which bring traditional Indian home-remedies for mothers, the brand has 18 SKUs and plans to venture into baby snack food, bamboo-based wipes, oral care and safe feeding equipment which will be sourced by the company from other manufacturers.
“If you would have asked me five years back, a range like this would not have been possible. The brand has picked up due to e-commerce though our next phase of growth is to target large format kids stores and pharmacies in select cities,” says Alagh. The brand which is a part of the Amazon Launchpad programme presently retails on Amazon India, FirstCry, BigBasket, Nykaa and others.
The research on safe and non-toxic formulations started in early 2016, as the Alaghs roped in a scientist couple, parents themselves, who could help them with designing formulations which matched international standards for safe and non-toxic ingredients.
“In India it is difficult to find Paraben and Sulfate free products. The emphasis on post-natal market is also low, which is quite developed in the US as most of the mothers go back to work full-time. This experience made me and my wife think of alternatives which are certified and can be retailed at 50% cheaper than the foreign brands present in India,” says Varun Alagh, founder of the company and former Senior Brand Manager at The Coca Cola company in charge of launching Coke Zero in the India market.
The Mamaearth range features certified products including body lotion, rash creams, shampoo, natural bug spray and sunscreen lotion for babies in the 0 to 5 age groups. The company has sold 20,000 units in the last five months.
Before bringing the products out in the market, the company had to reach out to multiple certification and testing agencies to get approvals on different aspects of the product. “We partnered with Madesafe.org in the US which is an independent entity to certify our ingredients and formulations as non-toxic. In fact we had to change some ingredients in a formulation as they were labeled toxic for freshwater fishes by the agency,” says Alagh, adding that the dermatological tests for the cosmetics were done according to specification by EU labs which have a hotlist of chemicals and SIN (Substitute It Now) list of products which talk about potential toxins and products which might be banned soon.
The company has been backed by Fireside Ventures headed by Kanwaljit Singh and other HNIs from RPG Goenka group, Godrej Consumers and others who have invested close to $125,000 in the company apart from the capital invested by the founding team for contract manufacturing and certifications.
“Mamaearth is addressing a key concern of most Mom’s regarding safer products for their babies. Varun and Ghazal understand and personally relate to the global demand for healthier, safer and better for you products. I see them creating many niches which currently do not exist in the Indian market but are needed by young parents,” said Kanwaljit Singh, founder of Fireside Ventures which invests with a focus on consumer brands.
The company has a five year roadmap and expects to do a run-rate of Rs 1 crore per month by the end of the year. It is retailed across physical stores in Delhi and will be launched at Bengaluru and Mumbai.
Including its new range of teas which bring traditional Indian home-remedies for mothers, the brand has 18 SKUs and plans to venture into baby snack food, bamboo-based wipes, oral care and safe feeding equipment which will be sourced by the company from other manufacturers.
“If you would have asked me five years back, a range like this would not have been possible. The brand has picked up due to e-commerce though our next phase of growth is to target large format kids stores and pharmacies in select cities,” says Alagh. The brand which is a part of the Amazon Launchpad programme presently retails on Amazon India, FirstCry, BigBasket, Nykaa and others.
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