Delhi-based Honasa Consumer, that boasts of toxin-free and safe mother and childcare products under the Mamaearth brand name has Shilpa Shetty Kundraas a new equity investor on board. The Bollywood actor and entrepreneur has expresses her own preference for toxin-free baby care products. The amount invested by Shilpa Shetty has not been disclosed.
The firm, promoted by Delhi parents Varun and Ghazal Alagh, has already received a funding of $1 million last year after the promoter couple and some of their friends had invested the seed capital in 2016, the year Mamaearth got launched. The Alagh couple chose to enter the business after they had their experience as parents and felt children and mothers need to be protected with certified ‘made-safe’ products to keep them healthy.
“We are a 'mum-powered' company and work with a large number of mothers who are involved right from the ideation, conceptualization stage to developing the actual product. Our mum community has helped us come up with innovative products like easy Tummy Roll-on and Clean Cuties, which are based on little problems of parents that only mums understands. As our First Mum Shilpa will share her knowledge and experience with us which will help us at Mamaearth create more innovative and relevant products going forward," Ghazal Alagh said.
The venture claims to have built up a customer base of over 100,000 and they plan to take this to 250,000 by the time 2018 ends. They have their business operating in 121 cities, though 90% of the business is done online. From the 3 offline stores currently operating in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, Honasa expects to add more and make it 10 stores soon. In the ecommerce space, the Mamaearth products can be bought on Amazon, Flipkart, Firstcry and Nykc. Their one mamaearth.in site also has a store.
On her investment, Shilpa Shetty Kundra said, “I am really excited about my investment in Mamaearth. The brand is the future and so relevant for today’s India! Parents like me are always looking for the best in quality products for their children which are also “safe” and legit. I myself have been using the shampoo, oil and other products for my son Viaan-Raj for the last three months and totally love them. The Mamaearth philosophy, especially the use of natural and non-toxic, chemical free products, resonates perfectly with my green ideology as this does impact our lives in the long run. "
Some of the innovative products launched under the Mamaearth brand are: India's 1'st Bamboo based baby wipe, toxin free mosquito repellent, easy Tummy Roll-On with Asafetida and Fennel for colic and digestion relief, lactation Tea based on fennel & fenugreek, talc-Free Dusting Powder for babies with Arrowroot and Oat Starch, edible Nipple Butter for Mothers with no preservatives and a 100% natural plant-based toothpaste for children between 0-10 years.
The startup claims that all their products are 100% toxin-free and made from natural inputs and are considered absolutely harmless to the baby’s skin.