Storyboard18 | Build To Last: Raja Rajamannar talks to Mamaearth’s Varun Alagh about creating iconic brands with purpose

Mamaearth is owned by Honasa Consumer Pvt Limited (HCPL), a digital-first consumer brands company “creating the FMCG conglomerate of the future.” It caters to the needs of millennial consumers through innovative products, evolved propositions, direct-to-consumer marketing, and e-commerce fulfillment. It is Asia’s first brand with Madesafe certified products that offer 100 percent toxin-free and natural baby care, skincare, and hair care products. It’s also expanding into cosmetics.

Backed by Sequoia Capital India, Fireside Ventures, Stellaris Venture Partners, and Sharrp Ventures, HCPL is set to become a billion-dollar FMCG conglomerate in the next five years.

Driven by innovation and using science and ayurveda, Mamaearth caters to all personal care needs of young, aspirational and increasingly conscious Indian consumers.

In a short span of four years, Mamaearth has created a product portfolio of 120+ products, has reached over five million customers in 500 Indian cities servicing 11,000 pin codes, and is the fastest-growing FMCG startup to hit a 500 crore run rate in India.

One of Mamaearth’s winning marketing strategies was its focus on building a strong community of parents (mothers especially), who became ambassadors for the brand early in its journey. Founder and mother Ghazal Alagh still tries every product that the company makes on herself before it is launched.

Last year, the brand saw a massive surge of new buyers coming from tier II and III. As per a feature in Forbes India, as a born D2C brand Mamaearth had a headstart over other FMCG brands when the pandemic hit and offline retail took a huge hit. But, interestingly, it also recalibrated the offline strategy last July. From an offline footprint of some 3,000-odd stores, the brand ramped up its presence to over 10,000 stores. A beefed-up offline was amplified by tying up with the television reality show Bigg Boss, which propelled the brand onto the national stage.

Tune in to find out how the fast-growing, born-D2C FMCG company led by the husband-wife duo – Varun Alagh (who started his career at Hindustan Unilever) and Ghazal Alagh, is building a lasting and legendary Indian brand.

Storyboard18’s Build To Last on CNBC-TV18, Moneycontrol and Forbes India