This skincare brand from Himachal Pradesh is combining the best of Ayurveda and modern science

Skincare products tagged as herbal or organic have many takers in India. This bothered Jayati Goel who embarked on an entrepreneurial journey to start her own skincare brand Hanoor in 2021.

“That herbal and organic equals good is a very big myth in India. I started looking at the ingredients of various brands and realised some of them were harmful to our skin and hair and to the environment as well,” she tells HerStory.

Founded in 2021 in Parwarnoo, Himachal Pradesh, Jayati says the product’s main selling point lies in combining Ayurveda and modern science that makes the most of herbal ingredients as well as chemical ones like AHAs and BHAs, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, among others.

Available on its website and Amazon, Hanoor has seven SKUs including facewash, bodywash, and shampoo, all priced between Rs 499 and Rs 899.

Hanoor initially started targeting late teen girls and women in their thirties but soon discovered a significant group of men taking interest in their products and purchasing online.

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Market competition and other challenges

As Indian consumers increasingly look for personal grooming products, the skincare market in India is becoming more and more competitive with many large and small brands. The Indian skincare market is expected to reach $2.7 billion by 2023, thanks to increasing disposable income and rising demand, according to TechSci Research.

With so many new brands entering the market, it is not easy to crack the code. For Jayati, gaining customer’s acceptance remains a huge challenge. 

She says three out of its seven products are well received and Hanoor’s research and development team is constantly looking to reformulate and redesign the remaining products to suit customers’ needs. 

Although promotion is important to create brand awareness, younger brands are up against established brands like Mamaearth and Wow Skin Science with huge marketing budgets. “But we have to make the products visible and carve our own place,” she says.

However, what sets Hanoor apart is its control on quality in manufacturing, according to the founder. 

“Most brands do get their products manufactured from third party units and they essentially become marketeers of these products. So when they get the products made from somewhere else, the quality gets compromised,” Jayati says.

She adds that is not the case with Hanoor. Jayati owns a manufacturing facility and makes sure of consistent and stable quality. The unit also takes care of manufacturing for three other skincare brands. 

To win over them, pricing strategy has been key.

“Pricing was a challenge as we wanted to find a fine balance between price and quality. We compared and evaluated pricing strategies of many brands,” she says.

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The entrepreneur observed that while Forest Essentials—a skincare brand-- remains true to its claims of being organic, its products are sold at a premium price. 

At the same time, being based in Himachal and the fact that Hanoor is sourcing herbal ingredients directly from the local farmers helps add a certain appeal. 

With a focus on affordability, Hanoor aims to introduce more well-researched products in the market soon. However, Jayati says that she is happy to focus on quality and go slow and steady instead of scaling fast.