Back to feeds

Meet the woman who built India's fastest-growing 8600 CR FMCG startup. 1. Ghazal Alagh had just become a parent. But her happiness was soon replaced by misery as she could not find toxin-free, natural baby care products for her Eczema son. Most available contained harmful chemicals like parabens and sulfates. She imported products from outside but thought of a long-term solution. 🤔 2. She wanted to start a company that uses formulations developed by qualified dermatologists and scientists to provide toxin-free products for babies and parents in India. In September 2016, she began Honasa Consumer with her husband (Varun), and the brand Mamaearth was born. 🚀 3. Ghazal had started, but the challenges were too many ⏩ Lack of trust, lack of product awareness, and lack of quality consistency. In 2016, toxin-free products were relatively new in India, and customers were unaware of the harms of chemical-based products. She had to create the entire category first-hand. ✅ 4. She adopted the D2C approach to connect with customers directly and leveraged personal stories through content marketing on social media blogs. She became Asia's first brand to get the MADE SAFE certification to show its toxin-free products. By August 2017, she scaled to a revenue of 2.4 CR and raised 6.4 CR, led by Fireside. 💰 5. Starting with baby care, Mamearth expanded to skin care products across 500 touchpoints. It partnered with other online channels, including Amazon, Nykaa, and Firstcry, and sold 50,000 products monthly. As it scaled to a revenue of 11.2 CR by September 2018, it raised 28 CR led by Stellaris and became a 100 CR company. 📉 6. Mamaearth expanded to 2000 offline stores, too. Its star products include toxin-free body lotions, rash creams, hair shampoo, body wash, and diaper rash cream for mothers and children up to 5 years. Within three years, it became the fastest FMCG brand to clock 100 CR in sales and raised 130 CR at a valuation of 686 CR. 💵 7. Ghazal had proven everyone wrong, including those who doubted the product's inventory, distribution, and quality woes. And the big news came. 👇 Honasa Consumer, with brands like Mamaearth and The Derma Co., scaled to a revenue of 630 CR and raised 486 CR at a valuation of 8350 CR. It became the first unicorn of 2022. 🦄 8. Despite a failed attempt and negativity surrounding its IPO, Ghazal Alagh proved everyone wrong again by raising 765.2 CR and going ahead with Honasa's 1701.44 CR IPO in November 2023, which oversubscribed 7.6 times. It became the youngest Indian unicorn to list on the stock market. 💪 10. Today, Mamaearth clocks sales of 1970 CR at a profit of 137 CR. It is available today at 1,88,377 retail touchpoints and has over 225 natural and toxin-free products. With a 39% market share, it remains a beauty and personal care leader.👑 ➡️ Who would have thought Ghazal Alagh's quest to care for her baby would become an 8600 CR company?