Mamaearth: Bringing Toxin-Free, Natural Skin Care Products To India

When it comes to the cosmetic industry, consumers are always concerned about the process that is followed while manufacturing the products. This is why the world is seeing a new era of cosmetic products that are organic, produced in a natural way, and free of toxins and other chemicals.

The craze for these organic products is palpable simply because they mean no harm to our skin, hair, gut, and ourselves in general. Leveraging this drive for organic products, Mamaearth has catapulted itself into a promising startup in the cosmetics industry that comes with the American Made safe Certification, the first nontoxic seal for the products in use today.

Mamaearth was founded in September 2016 by Ghazal Alagh and Varun Alagh to make skincare routines a little chic but with utmost care. Headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India, Mamaearth is distinguished in the cosmetics industry of India as an online platform that offers natural and toxin-free skin care products.

Here's diving into the Success Story of Mamaearth, where we will also discover about the Founders and Team of the company, its Startup Story, History of Mamaearth company, its Mission and Vision, Revenue Model, Funding and Investors, Acquisitions, Growth, Partnerships, Challenges, Competitors, Awards, and more.

Mamaearth Company Details

About Mamaearth
Mamaearth - Industry
Mamaearth - Founders and Team
Mamaearth - Shareholding
Mamaearth - Startup Story
Mamaearth - Target Market Size
Mamaearth - Startup Launch
Mamaearth - Mission and Vision
Mamaearth - Name and Logo
Mamaearth - Product/Services
Mamaearth - Business Model
Mamaearth - Revenue Model
Mamaearth - Challenges Faced
Mamaearth - Funding and Investors
Mamaearth - Acquisitions
Mamaearth - IPO
Mamaearth - Growth
Mamaearth - Brand Presence
Mamaearth - Partnerships
Mamaearth - Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
Mamaearth - Awards
Mamaearth - Competitors
Mamaearth - Future Plans

About Mamaearth

Through an innovative product line, Mamaearth has tried to solve a common Indian parenting problem. In a country where most of the baby products available do not meet safety regulations, Mamaearth offers products that are safe by international standards and loaded with the goodness of nature.

Mamaearth company is often hailed as the 1st Asian brand with a “MADE SAFE” certification. The products that the company brings to the masses are free of all known toxins that are banned in most countries. More than being just a commercial brand, Mamaearth takes pride in making products out of love and care.

Mamaearth - Industry

According to the report analysis of Statista, the Indian personal care market is predicted to increase significantly in 2024, reaching a value of US $14.31 billion. The news report's extensive findings suggest a probable annual growth rate of 3.34% (CAGR 2024–2028).

This forecast highlights the tenacity of the sector and the ongoing need for personal hygiene goods in the Indian market. The report sheds light on the expected trends and dynamics that will shape the future landscape of the personal care business in India, offering industry stakeholders useful information.

Mamaearth - Founders and Team

Mamaearth Co-Founders Ghazal Alagh and Varun Alagh incorporated Honasa Consumer Private Limited in 2016 and then went on to launch the Mamaearth range of toxin-free products in December of that year. The couple had made it their mission to make safe, chemical-free products available to all babies in India. The company has now grown to be an organic product manufacturer for babies, moms, dads, grandparents, and everyone else.

Varun Alagh

Mamaearth Co-Founder, CEO, and Chief Dad of Mamaearth, Varun Alagh, is from the FMCG industry. Varun Alagh has a BE in Electrical Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering, followed by an MBA in Finance and Marketing from XLRI Jamshedpur. Varun has previously worked in Hindustan Unilever, Smirnoff, and The Coca-Cola Company, where he managed key leadership roles before founding Honasa Consumer Pvt. Ltd., the parent company of Mamaearth. He is known for the brand management expertise he brings to the table.

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Ghazal Alagh

Ghazal Alagh is another Co-Founder of Mamaearth who is also known as the Chief Innovation Officer. Ghazal has completed her BCA in Information Technology student from Panjab University. She then served as a Corporate Trainer at NIIT and later on founded Dietexpert in February 2012 before founding Mamaearth under Honasa in 2016.

Ghazal has also completed Intensive courses in Modern Art and Applied Arts from the School of Visual Arts and New York Academy of Art and is recognized as one of the top 10 women artists in India, both nationally and internationally. She was also one of the sharks in Shark Tank India Season 1.

“We are a 'mum-powered' company and work with a large number of mothers who are involved in the process, right from ideation, conceptualization to the actual product launch. We believe this connection with mothers will continue to be the biggest driver of success. We have more than 200 young moms on board who help us in conceptualizing and formulating the products. The moms then test these products, and only those with great feedback are approved for mass production,” says Ghazal Alagh.

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Mamaearth - Shareholding

Mamaearth parent company Honasa Consumer shareholding pattern as of October 2023:

Mamaearth - Startup Story

In the US, there is a strong awareness of the harmful chemicals found in the most commonly used personal care and baby care products. During Ghazal’s stay there, she became more conscious of the kind of products she was using and started checking the ingredients list before buying any baby care item.

When Varun and Ghazal were expecting their first child (the couple was in India at the time), they realized that the baby care products they came across contained harmful toxins and safer alternatives weren't available. Since the husband-wife duo couldn’t find any safe products for babies in India, they stopped using Indian products and imported reliable products manufactured in other countries.

They eventually started ordering products from the US but that turned out to be a costly and inconvenient arrangement. Besides, they also realized that it wasn’t just them, in fact, there are one too many parents in India who struggled with the same concern.

However, finding no solutions at hand, Varun and Ghazal Alagh researched the ways they can turn baby products safer and more affordable They spent sleepless nights over the founding of a new brand, created a dedicated R&D team for it, and applied for appropriate certifications.

All of these ultimately gave rise to Mamaearth, and it soon became Asia's 1st brand to offer "MADE SAFE" certified products that were toxin-free and loaded with the natural goodness that babies deserve.

“We are on a mission to reduce parental stress & are continually improving and innovating to make the world a safer place for both babies and their parents,” adds Ghazal Alagh.

Mamaearth - Target Market Size

Mamaearth has segmented its products as follows:

• Baby
• Beauty
• Hair
• Face
• Body
• Gift packs

Mamaearth - Startup Launch

The Mamaearth team believes in mum-power and decided to directly target mothers. The founders were confident that once the customers used Mamaearth products, the word-of-mouth publicity would work wonders for the company. The team also leveraged the power of social media through influencer marketing.

The primary strategy was to resonate with like-minded parents who wanted nothing but the best for their babies. The customer acquisition strategy is purely focused on digital content.

“We want consumers to read about the problems that our products solve and why our products are the best in the market. We work with over 500 mom bloggers. We are also innovating constantly to stay relevant and cater to the dynamic market needs,” said Ghazal Alagh.

The most significant project that helped Mamaearth achieve the growth rate was the lean innovation cycle; it was geared to launch, learn, and scale quickly. Lean innovation helped them focus on customer-specific need identification.

Apart from this, rapid experimentation allowed the validation and improvement of many product concepts on a real-time basis. It aided in increased customer satisfaction and reduced the time-to-market.

Mamaearth - Mission and Vision

We aim to build a brand which is your friend, every parent’s friend. A friend who understands you, knows your issues and tries hard to resolve them, well most of them. A brand which every parent like you and me can trust, which intends to make lives of mums & expectant mums better and beautiful. A brand which welcomes all our babies to a healthy and a safe world. We aspire to take care of every parents & baby’s wellbeing from head to toe with safe, toxin free, international standard products which you can choose without having to think twice. Well it’s a lot like love, Awwww, as mentioned on the "What We Want To Achieve?" section of the Mamaearth website.

The brand aims to solve the recurring problems of young parents with safe, toxin-free, and international standard products, which will help them cherish the joy of parenting without any hassles.

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Mamaearth - Name and Logo

Mamaearth company is an online retailer that specializes in organic products that are best for babies, their mothers, grandparents, and others. It operates under the umbrella of its parent organization, Honasa Consumer Pvt Ltd.

Mamaearth - Product/Services

Mamaearth is focused on babies and others with an exclusive product range that caters to baby care, haircare, skincare, and more with over 300 natural products under its umbrella. Some of the most innovative products developed by Mamaearth include India’s first bamboo-based baby wipes, easy tummy roll-on with Hing and Fennel for colic and digestion relief, and 100% natural plant-based toothpaste for children between 0-10 years.

It also has a range of skin and hair care products around popular natural ingredients such as onion, Ubtan, tea tree, vitamin C, argan, coco, and charcoal.

It has expanded not only to cater to babies but their mothers as well with varied products ranging from sunscreen to stretch mark removal serum. It focuses on all aspects of motherhood. A fan favorite is their onion range of products for mothers.

Mamaearth - Business Model

Mamaearth operates on a clear-cut, open business approach. Under the Mamaearth brand, the company conceptualizes items strategically and works with contract manufacturers to bring them to market. The core of Mamaearth's operations is conducted online, where it primarily uses direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels including Amazon, Flipkart, and numerous other e-commerce sites.

Mamaearth has also expanded its reach by forging a strong presence in physical retail locations. This all-encompassing strategy guarantees that Mamaearth's products are available and accessible on a variety of platforms, satisfying the tastes of a broad range of customers.

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Mamaearth - Revenue Model

Mamaearth makes revenue from different resources; some of the prominent ones are:

Product Sales:

Mamaearth's direct sales of a wide variety of skincare, haircare, and wellness items account for a sizeable amount of company earnings.

Subscription-Based Model:

Mamaearth allows clients to sign up for recurring product deliveries by providing subscription services. As a result, a steady and recurrent revenue stream is produced.

Revenue from advertising:

Mamaearth increases its revenue by making calculated advertising efforts. To promote the company and its products, this could involve partnerships, collaborations, online and offline advertising, and sponsored content.

Mamaearth - Challenges Faced

Every organization faces problems in its early years and Mamaearth was no different. Early in its launch, Mamaearth company was hit with a growth hurdle wherein it was not able to expand as desired. The team realized the problem had to do with not being sharp about the target cohort, which lead to futile marketing expenditure coupled with minimal customer acquisition.

The core team did an internal rethinking and arrived at the decision to redefine the target group as well as the communication strategy around the target group. Once the team implemented the strategy, it could see significant gains in a short period.

Another set of problems for Mamaearth was navigating the cosmetics sector, given the intense competition among several prominent players, both Indian and foreign. The operational picture became increasingly complex due to issues like distribution of erroneous items, high cancellation rates, order fulfillment delays, and a lack of inventory tracking.

Notwithstanding these obstacles, Mamaearth showed tenacity and flexibility in confronting difficulties in order to carve out a space for itself in the cutthroat cosmetics industry. Additionally, Momspresso, a parenting news site owned by Mamaearth, faced a significant setback in June 2023 when it reportedly laid off 80 to 100 staff from its brand marketing vertical.

The decision to downsize was attributed to the company's choice to shut down MyMoney and Momspresso due to escalating losses, as reported by various media sources. Despite these challenges, Mamaearth continues to adapt and navigate the dynamic landscape of the cosmetics industry.

Mamaearth - Funding and Investors

Mamaearth raised a total of $139.2 million in funding over 10 rounds.

Here are the funding details:

Mamaearth - Acquisitions

Mamaearth has acquired 4 companies to date: Dr. Sheth's, BBLUNT, Mompresso, and Mompresso MyMoney.

Below are the details:

Mamaearth - IPO

Mamaearth is a well-known personal care brand owned by Honasa Consumer, which launched its initial public offering (IPO) for subscriptions in October 2023. During the subscription window, October 31 to November 2, the shares were made available for purchase. The prices per share ranged from INR 308 to INR 324.

With Honasa Consumer valued at INR 10,425 crore, the business sought to raise INR 1,701 crore from the market by positioning itself at the top of this pricing range. This data is from the news release on October 26, 2023, which marked the company's major public market entry and a major turning point for Mamaearth.

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Mamearth - Growth

Here's delving into the growth highlights of Mamaearth:

• Popularly hailed as the fastest-growing D2C brand in India, Mamaearth crossed the INR 100 crore mark in just 3 years.
• Prized for its organic products, Mamaearth is Asia’s first brand with a Made Safe certification.
• Mamaearth is recognized for its plastic recycling initiatives and is one of the few Indian brands to do so.
• Mamaearth has over 50 lakh customers across 500 cities as of January 2023.
• Mamaearth's valuation is $1.2 billion as of October 2023.

Financials

Mamaearth's revenue dropped by 6.9%, from INR 496 crore in Q2 FY24 to INR 462 crore in Q2 FY25, according to financial statements from the NSE. Product costs made up 31.16% of total spending, decreasing slightly by 4.6% to INR 144 crore in Q2 FY25 from INR 151 crore in Q2 FY24. Due to lower revenue and higher expenses, Mamaearth posted a loss of INR 18.6 crore in Q2 FY25, compared to a profit of INR 29.4 crore in Q2 FY24. Interestingly, it had reached record profits of INR 40 crore in Q1 FY25.

In 2023, Mamaearth had an operating revenue of INR 1,492 crore and expenses of INR 1,501 crore, resulting in a loss of INR 151 crore. By 2024, revenue grew by around 29%, reaching INR 1,920 crore, while expenses rose by about 21% to INR 1,822 crore. This led to a profit of INR 110 crore in 2024, marking a strong financial turnaround.

Expense

Mamaearth total expenses rose from INR 1501 crore in FY23 to INR 1822 crore in FY24.

EBITDA

Mamaearth - Brand Presence

Mamaearth's brand presence is characterized by:

Brand Outlets

India has six new brick-and-mortar locations of the mother and baby beauty and wellness brand Mamaearth. The brand's whole line of naturally created products is sold in the new stores, which are spread across a variety of Tier 1 and Tier 2 locales and were launched in June 2023.

Mamaearth Store

The House of Honasa's Mamaearth range of personal care products opened its first flagship store in August 2023 at Hyderabad's L&T Metro Mall, Punjagutta. According to the company, the store was designed to display a wide variety of toxin-free personal care items suitable for men, women, and babies.

Mamaearth - Partnerships

Mamaearth has partnered with many companies; some of the prominent ones are listed below:

Filtercopy

Mamaearth and Filtercopy announced their partnership in April 2023, with the intention of launching the ShaadiWalaGlow Campaign as a result.

Yes Madam

Mamaearth and Yes Madam partnered in April 2023, and as a result, the brand made its products available to the general public, concentrating on its facial kits.

Snapchat

In celebration of Lipstick Day on July 20, 2023, Mamaearth and Snapchat partnered for an innovative AR Lens advertisement.

Apollo Pharmacy

In September 2023, Apollo Pharmacy and Mamaearth entered into a partnership, strategically expanding their retail reach across India.

Mamaearth - Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

In June 2022, Mamaearth released an advertisement for Onion Shampoo featuring Sharmila Tagore and Sara Ali Khan. The commercial, which joins the well-known grandmother and granddaughter, is based on a true story in which Khan, worried about her hair loss, seeks Tagore's advice from her badi amma.

Mamaearth wants to convey the virtues of the shampoo as well as the brand's philosophy and product offering through this campaign.

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Mamaearth - Awards

• Mamaearth has been awarded the Young Turks Startup of the year category at CNBC-TV18's India Business Leader Award 2022.
• Mamaearth was recognized as “One of the Best Brands” in India at the 2nd edition of The ET Brand Festival in 2019.

Mamaearth - Competitors

Mamaearth faces immense competition, both directly and indirectly from MNCs such as Himalaya and Johnson & Johnson as well as e-commerce portals like Nykaa. There are several companies, including both corporates and startups that boast of several products from the categories like baby apparel, baby toys, and baby accessories, which compete directly with Mamaearth.

On the other hand, the cosmetics industry is dominated by organized players like Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly Clark, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever, which also act as rivals to Mamaearth. Besides, more and more companies are popping up with the toxin-free ideology nowadays and increasing the overall competition of Mamaearth.

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Mamaearth - Future Plans

In keeping with Mamaearth's strategic future plan, the company will differentiate itself from other companies that continue to prioritize online sales by focusing on offline sales to drive its next phase of growth.

The company acknowledges the evolving journey of every brand and positions Mamaearth, as accessible both online and offline, as actively seeking the next wave of consumers.

"Every brand goes through a journey. For Mamaearth, which is now present online as well as offline, the focus there is to find the next set of consumers. The reality is that 80% of the transactions within the beauty and personal care segment are still happening offline, and hence, that's going to be the largest driver of growth for us, said Ghazal Alagh, Co-Founder."

This strategic shift aligns with Mamaearth's recognition of the significant role offline transactions continue to play, constituting a substantial driver for future growth within the beauty and personal care segment.

FAQs

Is Mamaearth an Indian Brand?

The Mamaearth company is an Indian unicorn brand and is based out of Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It was founded by Varun and Ghazal Alagh in 2016 to provide toxin-free, natural baby care, skincare, haircare products, and more for babies and everyone else.

Are Mamaearth products good?

Mamaearth proclaims itself as Asia’s first brand to be certified 100% non-toxic by "MADE SAFE". The ingredients used to manufacture Mamaearth's products are entirely natural. Thus, they are safe to use.

Is Mamaearth Ayurvedic?

Mamaearth is an innovative brand that uses Ayurveda and science to develop natural, toxin-free products.

Who is the owner of Mamaearth?

Mamaearth founders are Varun Alagh and Ghazal Alagh. However, the majority stakes of the company are with Varun Alagh and Ghazal Alagh, who holds 37.35% of Mamaearth's stakes.

Is Mamaearth organic?

The products delivered by Mamaearth are 100% natural and manufactured using organic and safe ingredients. Mamaearth takes pride in promoting non-toxic and chemical-free products.

Is Mamaearth vegan?

Mamaearth is certified "cruelty-free" by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). It does not promote or conduct animal testing.

Is Mamaearth Shampoo sulfate-free?

Mamaearth relies on natural ingredients. Its shampoo is sulfate-free and does not harm the user.

Is Mamaearth available in stores?

Mamaearth products can be found in stores. One can also purchase them online at discounted rates.

How do you buy Mamaearth products?

Mamaearth products are sold online at Nykaa, Amazon, and brick-and-mortar medical stores.

Who is Mamaearth manufacturer?

The manufacturer of Mamaearth is Honasa Consumer Limited that also owns other brands: The Derma Co, Aqualogica, Ayuga, BBlunt, and Dr Sheth's.