When 26-year old Ghazal was to deliver her first child, she realised there was no cure for her morning sickness, except for popping up pills – certainly not a very healthy option. Even after the delivery of her child, she and her husband saw that the market was full of FMCG products having toxic ingredients including Methyl Parabens.

“India doesn’t have a real regulation as far as baby care is concerned. The only line they have is — baby skin is three times softer than adult skin so the products should be formed accordingly. That’s it,” said Varun Alagh. The duo saw it as a big market opportunity and went on to launch MamaEarth, a ‘non-toxic’ child care products firm.

MamaEarth claims that it discloses 100 percent of its ingredients on its product label and the products are approved by US-based rating agency Made Safe. Made Safe certifies products ranging from baby care to personal care and cosmetics.

MamaEarth which was launched at Amazon Launchpad – a program run by the US-based e-commerce firm to provide a platform for innovative startups, currently offers a range of baby products including body lotion, shampoo, anti-rash cream, body wash, massage oil and sunscreen lotion. It has also launched products for expecting mothers.

“We found out that the reason behind morning sickness was lack of magnesium in the body. So we came up with a mist spray which when sprayed on the wrist and under the feet, fills up the body with the right amount of magnesium required,” said Ghazal Alagh.

It will soon be launching a zero caffeine herb based tea which too will help in morning sickness. Currently, all the products are priced at Rs 299 each and are costlier than the regular baby care products available in the Indian market. The products are only available on Amazon and FirstCry.

Varun, however, claims that they are 50 percent cheaper than the international brands available in the market such as US-based manufacturer of skin care and hair care products Aveeno. MamaEarth plans to launch 15 more categories in the pre-natal and post-natal space.

All the products are manufactured by third party unit in Himachal Pradesh and are GMP (good manufacturing practice) certified. The company has raised an undisclosed amount in its first round of funding from Fireside Ventures among others. The baby care market in India is estimated to be around Rs 4,000 crore. The market has so far been dominated by Johnson & Johnson (India) with 75 percent market share, according to a study by market research firm Euromonitor International.

However, it has now been facing growing competition from Dabur India (10 percent), Himalaya Drug Co (3 percent), and Wipro (2 percent), the study says. MamaEarth will also compete with Yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved Ltd which in August entered into the baby care products category with a sub-brand called Shishu Care. Patanjali claims its products to be ayurvedic and made with 100 percent natural ingredients. Both Patanjali and Johnson & Johnson products are priced in the sub Rs 100 category for 100 ml packets as compared to a standard pricing Rs 299 for Mama Earth products.

Source: Money Control

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