From Medimix to Bare Anatomy, consistency proves key for business triumph — our top success stories of SMBs this week
Often in this competitive business ecosystem, many brands fail to maintain the consistency and fall behind in the race. Here are the three Indian brands that show nothing other than consistency gives big results in the business.
Consistency establishes reputations and those who follow this mantra, success is bound to them. This week SMBStory has covered brands that are making big in the industry following a consistent approach both in their quality and quantity.
Medimix
Pradeep Cholayil, Managing Director, Medimix
The birth of Medimix dates back to the time when the Cholayil family used viprathi oil as a cure for skin ailments. The year 1969 proved pivotal to the family legacy, as Late VP Sidhan combined a timeless tradition with his sharp business acumen, to develop a green bar soap that could both nourish and protect the skin.
Medimix saw the light of the day in Sidhan’s kitchen, who worked as an allopathic doctor for the Indian Railways during that period. His profession meant treating sanitation workers who repeatedly suffered from multiple skin problems and weren’t regular with the prescribed treatment. Coming from a lineage of skilled Ayurvedic practitioners, Dr Sidhan decided to find a solution in Ayurveda for these problems and invented a concoction of 18 herbs and natural oils, using which, Medimix was produced.
Strongly rooted in Ayurveda, this amalgamation of 18 herbs and natural oils continues to become a sought after brand.
This legacy, rich with nature’s secrets and preserving the ethos of time-tested study, has been carefully handed down through generations and has resulted in the development of various products and remedies that have the potency to heal the natural way.
Today, 50 years down the lane, Medimix has become one of the leading Ayurvedic brands in the personal care space, growing on the back of quality products, and raising no investments so far.
The company records a turnover of more than Rs 200 crore and offers personal care products in soap, face wash, body wash, moisturiser, shampoo, and hygiene wash, and is looking at expanding the range into new categories.
Bare Anatomy
Rohit Chawla, Co-founder, Bare Anatomy
After exiting as one of the co-founders of The Man Company, Rohit Chawla’s visionary plan to launch a haircare brand that aligned with people’s need saw him scale. In an exclusive interaction with SMBStory, he shares his journey.
“While building The Man Company, I gained enough experience in the personal care market. It was surprising to observe that (after) all these years, we have been using common products despite them not being suitable for us; especially shampoos and conditioners,” says second time startup entrepreneur Rohit Chawla.
As each person’s skin varies, so does the hair profile. So, to cater to people with a customised haircare solution corresponding to their hair type, texture and environment, Rohit struck upon an ingenious idea - Bare Anatomy.
Launched with a range of personalised hair care, Bare Anatomy currently offers shampoos, conditioners, hair oils, hair serums, and hair masks. All the products are personalised as per the customers’ unique needs and are made fresh after receiving specific orders. The starting range of their shampoo is Rs 750.
Bare Anatomy was incorporated in 2018 and the first product was sold in March 2019. In the span of nine months, we have seen a 10X growth hitting 20,000 customers.
Odhni
Puneet Jain and Yatin Jain, Directors, Odhni
In 1999, willing to do something different from an already existing family business and observing the gap in the Indian fashion market, Anju and Shashi launched Odhni, a women ethnic wear brand.
In an interaction with SMBStory Yatin Jain (37), Director of Odhni, says,
“My mother and my taiji (aunt) started from a small 500-sqft saree retailing store. They wanted to step out of the house and use their time and talent, and my father supported them. He poured in Rs 15 lakh from his savings and Odhni was started.”
Later, Puneet Jain (cousin) and Yatin entered the business when they were still in college after which the prime founders happily passed on the responsibilities to them.
Odhni manufactures and sells ethnic women garments including suits, sarees, gowns, Indo-Western kurtis, and accessories. The company manufacture some of its ranges by giving designs to weavers across Farukkabad, Mumbai, Surat, Kolkata, and more. And, the entire range is outsourced. For example, it tames readymade and cotton sarees from Mumbai, Chikankari and Resham sarees from Bareily, Bandhani and Pachola sarees from Bhuj, silk from Coimbatore, Ikkat from Sundernagar, etc.
“We travel for 15 days in a month and take materials and products from weavers and wholesalers located across these regions,” Yatin says.
Odhni’s flagship store, covering an area of 20,000-sqft is located in Pitampura, Delhi, and is one of the largest retail stores of women apparel in north India.
Today, Odhni has three exclusive stores in Pitampura, Vikas Marg, and Kohat Enclave, all covering a combined total area of 50,000-sqft. store and a team of 400 people.
