Why going online was the only way forward for this Delhi-based D2C essential oil brand

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, several businesses suffered major losses or shut their shops, while others pivoted to stay relevant in the market. 

Among such businesses is the New Delhi-based D2C brand Speaking Herbs. The essential oil brand — founded by Tanaya Sarma and Amis Ahmed in 2018 — had many challenges ahead of it. 

An MTech graduate in Biotechnology, Tanaya met her batchmate and co-founder Amis at the Vellore Institute of Technology. In 2013, the duo had launched Aaidah Life Sciences Pvt Ltd. 

Aaidah — the pharmaceutical firm — used to produce black seed oil, among other ayurvedic products in capsule form, and sold it across Delhi and parts of Uttar Pradesh. 

“It was run as a pharmaceutical business. We had distributors and retail stores where our products were sold. We also used to sell through Amazon. But it didn’t work out very well for us,” Tanaya says. 

After they were unable to scale the pharma business, they decided to focus on something else. After realising that most mainstream brands were not selling natural products, the duo decided to start Speaking Herbs in 2018. 

“We were getting good reviews, but the sales were not in place. So we decided to take our black seed oil, develop some other products, and start a new brand,” says Tanaya. 

Operated under Aaidah Life Sciences, Speaking Herbs’ website started in October 2018 with four stock-keeping units (SKUs) — Black Seed oil, Jojoba oil, Sweet Almond oil, and a trial pack consisting of all small bottles of these oils.   

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She says, “As Biotechnology students, we understand the back labels, and many oils have more minerals than the actual herb.” 

“Going online was a really good decision. We started getting more visibility compared to retail stores. More people were using our brand, giving us feedback, and even ideas for new product development,” she adds. 

The duo has invested between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 20 lakh in the business and has also started a floral water line. The brand sells at least 15 oil variants and four water variants. 

At present, Speaking Herbs has a total of 49 SKUs of oils and floral waters, including Argan, Eucalyptus, and Lavender oils, and Rose and Peppermint water, and Lemongrass hydrosols. 

“To educate people about the usage of essential oils, we have product categories based on concerns such as hair fall, dandruff control, and anti-acne oils, among others,” says Tanaya. 

The brand claims to source raw materials directly from farmers and have also tied up with a Delhi-based manufacturer for production. 

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the brand was selling at least 3,000 units a month. However, between April and June, the sales were almost zero due to strict lockdowns, which created problems in manufacturing and distribution. 

Speaking Herbs also outsourced most of its tech development to freelance web designers. In fact, occasionally, its website would stop working due to high traffic on it. 

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At present, except for graphic design and manufacturing of products, Speaking Herbs develops everything in-house, including its website development. 

“We realised we need to have a lot more control in our hands when it comes to tech development,” says Tanaya. 

With more word-of-mouth marketing, the brand claims to be back to its pre-pandemic levels and is growing 15-20 percent monthly. 

While Tanaya did not reveal the revenue, she says Speaking Herbs sells 3,000-3,300 units every month, priced between Rs 399 and Rs 5,000. Its average order value is around Rs 1,500.   

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands have seen a major boom due to more people shopping online. 

Speaking Herbs competes with many established brands, including Kama Ayurveda, Nykaa’s private label that sells essential oils, and Forest Essentials, among others. 

Moving forward, Speaking Herbs aims to increase its SKUs to 100 and expand to cities outside of Delhi and the Uttar Pradesh region.