5 wellness and beauty Ayurvedic brands that made it big despite competition from larger players

The ancient healing ways of Ayurveda are making a comeback as Indian consumers increasingly reject chemical-laden products made from artificial substances.

Ayurvedic brands in the wellness and beauty segment are using ingredients such as herbs, plants, and other naturally-occurring ingredients in their products.

While large brands such as Himalaya Herbals, Khadi Natural, Vaadi Herbals, Forest Essentials, and Biotique have made their mark in the space, this has not crippled the enthusiasm of upcoming Ayurvedic brands, which are eyeing a big piece of the pie.

These new brands have been quick to notice the trend and are focussing on treating skin problems and health ailments holistically. Despite being new players in the market, they are carrying forward the legacy of the Ayurvedic system - an important part of the value proposition offered by their products.

SMBStory lists five young and upcoming Indian Ayurvedic brands that are making their mark in the wellness and beauty space.

Dr Vaidya

At an early age, Arjun Vaidya suffered from severe juvenile bronchitis. He was cured after 14 years of meticulous Ayurvedic treatment. Hence, from a very young age, he developed a keen interest in learning the ancient Sanskrit scripts filled with the secret family formulations.

“My grandfather had an Ayurvedic clinic where he used to attend to 350 patients on a daily basis. He took forward the 150-year-old Ayurvedic legacy of our ancestors and wanted me to get into Ayurveda,” he says.

When Arjun’s grandfather passed away, he was in a shock. He recalled a discussion with his grandfather on carrying forward the family legacy. 

In October 2016, Arjun decided to quit his job and follow his grandfather’s wishes. He founded Dr. Vaidya’s in 2016 and built it into a herbal brand with 42 SKUs with 120 formulations. 

With products like LIVitup (Hangover Shield) and Chakaash (World’s First Chyawanprash Toffees), the brand brought in a new wave in the health and FMCG segment with its contemporary approach to traditional science. Other than this, the brand has 35+ products for arthritis, diabetes, asthma, sexual wellness, weight reduction, cough, skincare, etc.

Today, Dr. Vaidya’s claims to be one of India’s largest online Ayurvedic products brands with more than 1,000 orders per day on its platform, and will be building a deeper presence in the offline and global markets very soon. 

Read the full story here.

Kapiva

Budding entrepreneur Ameve Sharma wanted to make the ancient Indian life science of Ayurveda an integral part of day-to-day life and create a diversified Ayurvedic product portfolio. 

He says, “Nutrients enter our body through food. However, our food these days has lower-yielding nutritional values. The type of food we eat and the challenges of a healthy lifestyle have changed significantly in recent years. So, I thought to bring in selectively sourced, natural functional foods through Kapiva.”

An MBA graduate from INSEAD and a third-generation entrepreneur of 103-year-old Baidyanath (one of India’s most respected companies in Ayurvedic products, founded in 1917), Ameve started his venture Kapiva Ayurveda in 2016 along with Shrey Badhani in Mumbai.  

Kapiva is a functional foods brand focussed on bringing selectively sourced natural foods to Indian consumers. Backed by the iconic Baidyanath group, it is helping bring the wisdom of India’s ancient food traditions to modern-day consumers. 

Kapiva has a portfolio of more than 40 functional food products such as herbal juices, A2 ghee, honey, oils, plant nutrition, teas, etc. “We aim to provide 360-degree support to consumers looking for better quality food products by maintaining a quality supply chain from Baidyanath,” says Ameve. 

At present, the brand is pursuing an omnichannel strategy and is present in 4000+ retail stores across the country and in modern trade through Godrej Nature’s Basket, Reliance, etc. 

Read the full story here.

Sacred Salts

Brands like Kama Ayurveda, Khadi, Forest Essentials, and more are dominating the Indian organic and Ayurvedic skincare industry. Stepping into this diverse and competitive market is Chhavi Singh, who founded premium skincare brand Sacred Salts in 2018 in Gurugram. 

“I personally wanted to step into the Ayurvedic skincare industry. Though the industry is already brimming with many organic brands, I felt I can add more value to the skincare segment, understanding the demand of the consumers, and delivering authentic products,” Chhavi says.    

Sacred Salts was launched to bring lesser-known skin elixirs to the fore through products that are rich in nutrients and are high on luxury. 

At present, the brand manufactures a total of 50 SKUs including skincare products and beauty and bath accessories. Sacred Salts is also a pioneer in launching milk facewash and scrub in India, and in just a year, it has recorded an annual turnover of Rs 1 crore.  

It sells on ecommerce portals like Nykaa, Flipkart, and Amazon.in, and in 2019 it went global by selling on Amazon.com. In just a month, it claims it was able to sell 800 products on Amazon.com.

Read the full story here.

Cureveda

Entrepreneur Bhavna Anand Sharma was meeting stakeholders in the pharma industry when she saw an opportunity to address common ailments holistically. Bhavna wanted to start a brand that prioritised the use of standardised herbs, substantiated with clinical validation, to create a premium range of supplements. 

In 2014, Bhavna and her husband Siddhesh Sharma launched a premium range of herbal, organic, and nutraceutical remedies under the brand Cureveda. Cureveda’s range of dietary supplements are therapeutic products. Its popular products are the ones that address common ailments like diabetes, thyroid, and heart health problems.

“Our diabetes, thyroid, and heart health products are more popular since these are common issues,” Bhavna explains. Cureveda has created a wide range of herbal tablets and elixirs by blending several herbs and ingredients in each product.

For instance, Cureveda's heart elixir contains a herbal blend of Arjuna, Shatavari, Balapanchang, Vidharikand, Manuka, Vidang, Dhaiphool, Dhaniya, and 10 more herbal ingredients. It costs Rs 395 per bottle, containing 15 servings.

Bhavna looks at digital as an important channel of sales, and says it will continue to contribute significantly towards the brand’s topline.

Read the full story here.

Ohria

Rajni Ohri was 12-years-old when she first developed an Ayurvedic cream for herself at home. An ardent follower of Ayurvedic research since her schooldays, she created the hand cream by blending bee wax, ghee, and essential oils. 

Seeing the body of research on Ayurveda in the country where it originated, she decided to revive its history and bring home the immense benefits of the science of Ayurveda. This was the impetus behind her beauty and wellness brand, Ohria, founded in 2018.

Ohria Ayurveda is an organic and natural skin and beauty brand which has an extensive range of natural Ayurvedic products made from traditional formulations. Ohria products are free of polyethylene glycol, silicones, heavy metals, preservatives, and pesticides, and are completely organic. 

The product portfolio ranges from bathing bars, mists, moisturisers, serums, and facial cleansers to body lotions, hydrating gels, shower wash, shower oils, body butter, and much more. 

Ohria is right now listed on major online portals including Amazon and Flipkart, and has an offline presence in Taj Hotel in New Delhi. 

Read the full story here.

(Edited by Megha Reddy)