In the early days of Mamaearth, co-founders Ghazal Alagh and Varun Alagh had only each other as they set about building a brand that stands for safer products for babies and mothers. Varun’s experience, though, came in handy. He understood the Indian consumer’s pulse, having worked for nine years in sales and brand roles at Hindustan Unilever, Diageo and Coca-Cola. 

Later, the couple roped in junior management professionals, and the team gradually grew with mid- and CXO-level hires. From 14 in 2018, there are over 500 employees now. The business is bigger, too. Mamaearth’s six-year-old parent company, Honasa Consumer, became a unicorn this year, and it has products in baby-care, haircare, skincare and other categories. 

Beyond Mamaearth, Honasa has launched or acquired six direct-to-consumer brands: The Derma Co, Momspresso, BBlunt, Dr Sheth’s, Aqualogica and Ayuga. With Rs 465.3 crore in revenues and Rs 24.6 crore in profit in the financial year ended March 2021, Honasa is one of the fastest-growing players in the consumer internet space.