Mamaearth | The success story of this toxin-free beauty and baby care brand

Mamaearth is an e-commerce platform selling health, skincare, baby, and hair care products. Founded in 2016 by Ghazal Alagh and her husband, Varun Alagh. In 2021, the company was valued at $1 billion and entered the Unicorn club. Recently, the company acquired BBlunt’s products and salon business from Godrej. Mamaearth recorded a revenue of around Rs 50 crores in the previous year. The founders started Mamaearth because they struggled to find natural products to treat their son’s skin condition. Mamaearth’s products are free of toxins and other chemicals. Here’s the company’s success story.

Founders of Mamaearth

Varun Alagh

Varun Alagh is one of the founders and the CEO of Mamaearth. After finishing his BE from the Delhi College of Engineering, he attended XLRI, Jamshedpur. Varun has worked in companies such as Coca-Cola, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, and Smirnoff. At Coca-Cola, he worked as the Senior Brand Manager for three years. Finally, in 2016, he co-founded Mamaearth.

Ghazal Alagh

Ghazal Alagh is the co-founder and the CIO of Mamaearth. She attended Panjab University and graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Computer Applications. In addition, she also graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from the New York Academy of Arts. In 2008, she worked as a corporate trainer at NIIT Limited. Later, she founded two start-ups called dietexpert.in and Being Artsy. Finally, when Ghazal and her husband couldn’t find any products to treat their son’s skin condition, they started Mamaearth. 

Mamaearth’s history

Unable to find chemical-free products for their son’s skin condition, Ghazal and Varun Alagh decided to create safe and toxin-free products. The couple discovered that many toxins used in India are banned outside the country as they are harmful to a baby’s skin. They invested 90 lakhs in the company, including their savings and a couple of angel investors. 

In 2016, the parent company, Honasa Consumer Pvt. Ltd launched Mamaearth. The couple’s main goal was to create products free from any harmful chemicals and safe on the skin. In the beginning, the company sold six products, including lotions, creams, shampoos, body wash, oils, and diapers. Today, Mamaearth sells over 100 products. In just four years, the company made Rs 100 crores in revenue. 

Mamaearth’s success 

Within five years, Mamaearth became one of the fastest-growing brands in the country’s FMCG sector. It sells over 100 products in the baby care, skincare, and hair care category. To date, Mamaearth has served around five million customers in over 500 cities. The company also employs around 400 people. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur and mother, Ghazal Alagh is also among the top 10 women artists in India. At Mamaearth, she is responsible for product development and managing the community. Varun Alagh is the CEO of Mamaearth.

Recently, the company entered the unicorn club with a more than $1 billion valuation. In an interview, Ghazal stated that numbers don’t matter to them. What matters is the trust their customers put in them. In 2019, The ET Brand Festival chose Mamaearth as ‘One of the Best Brands’ in India. Mamaearth is the first Asian brand to get the MadeSafe certification for its chemical-free products. In addition, the company bought BBlunt’s products and salon business from Godrej. The parent company, Honasa Consumer Pvt. Ltd will manage the acquired business.

Latest updates

Ghazal Alagh hosts Gyaan Day to mentor and trains the freshly-minted founders for ‘Shark Tank India’ entrepreneurs, aiming to make her ventures successful as she believes the experience of budding entrepreneurs never to give up & be consistent. With this, mamaearth is planning to raise at least $300 million in a planned IPO next year, seeking a valuation of around $3 billion. In moving forward with reaching heights Mamaearth had closed a $50 million funding round led by Belgian investment fund Sofina, valuing the company at $730 million, one of the most valued new-age D2C brands in the country

In May 2022, Mama Earth’s parent company, Honasa Consumer (HCPL) declared that the company has bought a major stake of “Dr. Sheth’s”. Dr. Sheth’s is a renowned premium skin care brand. The brand is popular for its dermatologist-formulated products. HCPL also declared that Mr. Anees Sheth, founder and chief executive of Dr. Sheth’s will continue his work as the leader. 

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