
“Mamaearth was supposed to be just a baby care brand…” is what Ghazal Alagh, co-founder of Mamaearth, said in her insightful interview at 21BY72’s Global Startup Summit Season 2. Then how did it move from being a brand for natural baby products to a leading name of personal care products in India? Let’s learn about the Mamaearth success story from the founder herself, Ghazal Alagh, one of the leading women entrepreneurs in India.
You can check out Ghazal Alagh’s full interview video at 21BY72’s Global Startup Summit on YouTube here.
Who is Ghazal Alagh?
When we talk about women-led startups in India, Ghazal Alagh’s name is right at the top. As the co-founder of Mamaearth and its parent company, Honasa Consumers, she is one of the leading influential entrepreneurs who started her entrepreneurial journey in 2016 with Mamaearth, the fastest-growing personal care brand in India.
Her innovative approach and commitment to customer-centric values with a focus on toxin-free skincare provision have earned Mamaearth immense
success. Recognized as a role model for aspiring women entrepreneurs, Ghazal also appeared as a judge on Shark Tank India, further amplifying her impact.
Ghazal Alagh has been part of the Global Startup Summit Season 2 to share some insights with the entrepreneurs and investors of the summit. In season 2, she shared her journey of starting Mamaearth and some tips for startup founders.
Let’s talk about Mamaearth: the solution, struggle, success, and more!
The Problem: How the idea of Mamaearth came to Ghazal Alagh
A mother’s heart is the most tender yet resilient one. Ghazal Alagh was no different. It all started with her dear son, Agastya, who suffered from skin rashes no matter which child product was applied. However, when they went on a trip abroad and bought baby products from there, no rashes appeared. Mama Ghazal was intrigued and decided to do some research on its cause. The answer came when she realized that the baby products used the same formula as the adult ones, and that might be harmful to not just her baby but babies across the country.
Ghazal Alagh, along with her husband, Varun Alagh, started to research and challenge the lack of supervision on the use of harmful chemicals in baby
products. The change begins at home, and thus, Ghazal and Varun co-founded Mamaearth to create toxin-free skincare products for babies with the vision that even if they can help 10K parents, they will be successful. Ghazal and Varun were unaware of the future scope and success of their startup that awaited them.
The Solution and Success: How Mamaearth Became Part of Every Indian Household
As stated in the interview, Mamaearth’s baby-friendly formula took off in the market and became an Amazon best-seller within three months of the launch. The products and the brand’s vision received love and support from parents across the country. Seeing how effective these baby products were, they started getting requests from the Mamas to create a product for them as well. Later on, there was also a campaign from customers to develop toxin-free skincare for men, which they did, and they succeeded in scaling a business catering to everyone’s personal care needs!
The success of Mamaearth lies in their dedication and consistent efforts to cater to their customers’ needs. That’s why, as Ghazal explained in the interview, one of their team members takes a 1-on-1 call with 30-40 customers per month to get customer reviews and suggestions.And through these calls, they were able to identify the unique needs of their audience that Mamaearth alone couldn’t cater to. That’s why Ghazal Alagh diversified the business launching brands like The Derma Co., Aqualogica, Bblunt, Ayuga, and Dr. Sheth’s. Ghazal and Varun manage all these brands under the umbrella of Honasa Consumers.
Lessons to learn from Mamaearth’s success story!
If you listen to her interview, there are some lessons Indian startups should learn from Mamaearth’s success to grow and tackle startup challenges.
1. Listen to your consumers.
As Ghazal Alagh says in the interview, you must listen to your consumers. Being a consumer herself, she struggled to get the skincare brands to listen to her concerns. That’s why she created her brand and focused on listening to their concerns. She took active steps to change her product line and build a brand catering to everyone’s skincare needs! So, if you want to focus on building a brand and succeed, listen to the concerns of your customer (target audience).
2. Choose quality people for your startup.
In the Q&A round of the interview, a visitor asked how Ghazal focuses on balancing the quality and quantity of Mamaearth products. Ghazal gave a
phenomenal answer that Indian startups should understand: invest in quality people. As your startup grows, focus on working with skilled team members and delegating responsibilities to them instead of doing it all by yourself. As an entrepreneur, you should hold on to your core skills while scaling a business and rely on your team members to do the job.
3. Including your customers in CSR activities.
Honasa Consumers is a purpose-driven brand, focused on giving something back to society and Mother Nature. For example, Mamaearth focuses on
manufacturing natural products (natural hair care, natural baby products, and more) for its audience. However, along with the natural products, they use part of the price to grow a plant with the customer’s name. This way they are forming a deeper connection with their customers. So, give something to your audience that they can resonate with and be proud of.
4. Make short-term achievable goals for long-term success.
Creating long-term goals is tricky and confusing. While you must make certain goals, focusing on short-term attainable goals can help you be successful in the long term. For example, during its inception, Mamaearth had a goal to satisfy only 10K customers, but it became one of the unicorn Indian startups in 2022. So, create achievable short-term goals and give it your all; even if you fail, you can stand back up and adapt to the situation.
Ghazal Alagh’s tips for female founders of startups!
During the interview, Ghazal Alagh also shared some advice for women entrepreneurs in India. Let’s look into a few of them.
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Ask for help!
Women entrepreneurs often think that they have to do it all alone, which can take a mental toll on and affect their work. Building a brand isn’t easy.
Therefore, always ask for help from your friends, family, and people around you. In the era of women’s empowerment, you’ll find plenty of support.
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Find the work-life balance.
Ghazal Alagh quotes Indra Nooyi, “The biological clock and the career clock are in total conflict with each other.” She explains that the female founders struggle a little more in finding the work-life balance compared to their male counterparts. So, instead of ignoring the problem, address it by focusing on one aspect on a single day and dedicate the other day to others.
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Raise funds as per your need.
It is wise to focus on raising capital as per your needs rather than chasing valuation. Fundraising should last you for at least two years, and later, you can raise more funds. Focus on finding investors who can add value to your startups and create a bond with them.
Conclusion
Ghazal Alagh is a leading name among women entrepreneurs in India who attended our Global Startup Summit. She is the co-founder of Honasa
Consumers, Mamaearth’s parent company. Mamaearth has become a household name for toxin-free skincare for everyone, especially babies. The foundation of the business lies in finding natural baby products without toxins affecting the delicate baby skin. However, soon, the product gained widespread support, and slowly, it became a brand known for its natural personal care products in India. We discussed the Mamaearth success story and her tips for entrepreneurs to focus on consumer needs, build talented teams, find work-life balance, ask for help, and how to tackle startup challenges.
21BY72 is dedicated to bridging the gap between startups and investors while giving plenty of exposure to startup systems globally. The Global Startup
Summit includes exhibitions for startups, pitching events, panel discussions, and expert interviews. Through the first three seasons, we have had some amazing speakers like Ghazal Alagh, Anupam Mittal, Raj Shamani, Aman Gupta, Parul Gulati, and more, where they share their stories and tips on tackling startup challenges and growth. The speakers also take audience queries to provide insightful answers and advice.
Do you want to learn from industry experts? We have exciting news for you! We present you the perfect opportunity to build your network, find potential clients and investors, and learn from industry experts under one roof with Global Startup Summit Season 4 in June 2025! Early birds get special discounts, so what are you waiting for? Book your tickets and stall for exhibitions now!!!