Market, consumers best teachers for biz growth: Mamaearth co-founder

Discussing broader societal trends, Mamaearth co-founder Alagh expressed optimism about women's increasing participation in the workforce

Market and consumer insights are the best teachers to learn from to grow business, a philosophy which has guided Mamaearth's decisions, contributing significantly to its growth, its co-founder Varun Alagh said on Thursday.

Alagh, co-founder and CEO of beauty and personal care brand Mamaearth, speaking at the 119th Annual Session of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) here, stressed the significance of consumer feedback in shaping business strategies.

"I think the market and the consumer are the best teachers. As long as you're listening, they keep telling and teaching you. There is no better teacher than them. And we have treated the market and consumer like that, which has been very helpful because they have guided a lot of our decisions and got us to where we are today," he said.

 

Alagh further highlighted the transformative impact of e-commerce and digital marketing in India, noting that these platforms are crucial for expanding access to products across diverse income levels.

Discussing broader societal trends, Alagh expressed optimism about women's increasing participation in the workforce.

The co-founder said he believes this shift will shape various market categories over the next two decades, following significant advancements in women's education over the past twenty years.

"A macro trend that we are very bullish on is women joining the workforce. The last two decades have seen the trend of women in education. And next two decades, the women in the workforce are going to be a mega trend, which is going to shape multiple categories," he noted.

Reflecting on Mamaearth's journey, Alagh recounted how becoming a parent in 2014 sparked a passion in him and his wife Ghazal for creating safe personal care products.

"We realised that there was a lot of negative sentiment around certain toxins found in personal care products. Globally, cases were reported where certain carcinogens were found in personal care products," Alagh said.

"I don't think we started with a vision that we will have a public company in seven years. We just started with a vision that can we make a difference to parents around us? Can we provide certified safe, toxin-free products to babies in India? And that's how Mamaearth was born," he said.

Mamaearth was listed on the stock market in 2023.

Honasa reported a 28.6 per cent growth in revenue from operations by clocking Rs 1,919.90 crore in FY24.