Ghazal Alagh is an Indian businesswoman. She is the co-founder and chief innovation officer of Honasa Consumer Pvt Ltd (MamaEarth), a personal care brand. She also made a public appearance on the popular reality show, Shark Tank India, which aired on Sony Entertainment Television.
Ghazal Alagh was born in Haryana, Delhi on 2nd September 1988. Her husband’s name is Varun Alagh. The couple has two children- Agastya and Ayaan.
She founded MamaEarth in 2016 with her husband, Varun Alagh. She completed her BCA in Information technology from Panjab University. Moreover, she also did a summer intensive course in Modern Art, Design, and Applied Arts at the School of Visual Arts and the New York Academy of Art.
The net worth of Ghazal Alagh is around US$ 10-20 million.
Further, Ghazal Alagh is a corporate trainer, mompreneur, and artist. She has worked in NIIT Limited and trained engineers and managers from various IT companies like SQL, J2ME, and Oracle.
Moreover, she was the founder of Dietexpert. It was a company that customized diet plans according to a person’s weight, age, blood group, and lifestyle. The company had 300 registered users and 2000 followers. Ghazal Alagh is passionate about art and has exhibited nationally and internationally. Additionally, she has been recognized among ten women artists in India.
She is also the founder of The Derma Co, a D2C brand that redefines the Indian beauty care market with professional solutions.
Ghazal Alagh in Shark Tank India
Ghazal Alagh invested ₹2.1 crores in seven companies. Let’s look at what the startups were all about:
- The Saas Bar is an artisanal bath and body company that produces soaps that look like desserts. The ingredients used to manufacture the soaps are sustainable, vegan, handmade, and ethically sourced.
- Further, Sunfox Technologies is a research and development lab developing innovative solutions to make lives easier. The startup creates a portable and affordable device known as Spandan. It is an ECG device that offers 24*7 ECG monitoring via its smartphone app.
- Then, Watt Technovations came up with an idea to fit ventilation systems in PPE kits. It is a light, compact, and anti-fogging device that is put inside a PPE kit. It also reduces noise and vibrations of the ventilation system.
- Humpy A2, is an organic dairy products startup. They source dairy products from their farms which are pure and fresh. The startup believes in sustainability and follows organic farming practices. They treat their herds ethically and help in the upliftment of farmers. They offer products such as healthy bread, A2 cow milk, A2 ghee, natural honey, etc.
- Then, Gold Safe Solutions is a company that produces anti-suicidal fan rods. The company aims to collaborate with educational institutions, hotels, hostels, jails, government quarters, etc. to reduce the suicidal rate in India.
- Further, Wakao Foods is a food startup that offers products made from jackfruit. It is a sustainable brand that stands to create a better tomorrow. The ingredients are ethically sourced and grown. Moreover, they are hygienically produced and packaged.
- Lastly, Nomad Food Project is a food startup that sells bacon-based jams and thechas. The startup offers versatile and niche food products.
Ghazal Alagh’s focus on sustainability and safety
Ghazal Alagh believes in sustainability and safety. MamaEarth offers 100% toxin-free skincare, haircare, and innovative products for babies and mamas with 100+ SKUs. She believes that goodness is not just in the products that they offer but also in everything they do. Further, she focuses on products, communications and innovations for the millennials because they have the same belief system. She believes in the philosophy of goodness.
Moreover, MamaEarth is PETA certified, Madesafe certified, and a plastic positive company. The company relies on raw materials which are ISO, GMP, and Non-GMO compliant.
Journey of Ghazal Alagh
As parents, Ghazal and Varun faced the biggest challenge of getting toxin-free products for their children. But most of the baby products in India were chemically based and hence they ordered products from abroad. Moreover, they could not find products that could solve problems specifically faced by Indian parents like mosquito bites, etc. This problem triggered the launch of a toxin-free brand now popularly known as MamaEarth.
MamaEarth is Asia’s first Madesafe certified brand loaded with natural goodness. The company is constantly focusing to reduce parental stress and provide innovative products which are safe for both parents and babies.
Nowadays, it is all about fancy names and packaging. The biggest task of MamaEarth was to rebuild customers’ trust in organic recipes. There were around 8000 toxins used in personal care products without any hesitation. Hence, the company had to ensure that they offer products which are 100% natural, chemical-free, safe, and affordable. Besides these challenges, they also had to make a presence in the market which was dominated by giant players. Ghazal Alagh was adamant to find genuine vendors and hire talented people for building a powerful brand.
Presently, they have received validation for their products from more than three lakh parents. MamaEarth is one of the fastest-growing companies in the personal care segment.
MamaEarth
As mentioned earlier, MamaEarth is a personal care beauty brand for parents and newborn babies. It sells its products via its website, on various e-commerce marketplaces, and has a presence in over 500 stores across the country. Moreover, rural sales via e-commerce platforms have experienced growth. More than 50% of revenue is from the top 10 Tier I cities. The company is looking forward to increasing its presence in Tier II and II cities. The baby care segment is growing at 17% CAGR and will continue to grow because of low penetration. Within this market, natural products’ availability is less than 5%.
These days, parents are becoming conscious about the products they use for their babies. With the advent of the internet, awareness regarding harmful chemicals is also rising. Therefore, people are focusing on organic products. With this, the baby product segment is emerging as a niche market.
The biggest hurdle is building brand awareness and visibility in the offline space. Recently, MamaEarth raised funds from Sequoia. The company will utilize these funds for product R&D, marketing, and team building. For future growth, they will focus on brand building via influencers and various other digital channels. Currently, they have one million customers and aim to have ten million customers in the next ten years. They will also focus on expansion in Tier II and III cities.
