How Forest Essentials was born, and grew

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An ayurveda products brand finds itself a profitable niche.

Mira Kulkarni, an ayurveda aficionado used to casually give away her self-made, ayurvedic handmade soaps to friends a few years ago.

She had no clue then that she would one day be busy with the final details of opening her fourth stand-alone store in Delhi for her natural skincare and haircare brand made from ayurveda recipes "" Forest Essentials.

When Kulkarni started Forest Essentials in the year 2000 with an investment of Rs 2 lakh, and a product range of just handmade soaps and candles, she claims to have been unfazed by competition from established brands like Biotique and Shahnaz in the niche market for ayurveda personal care products.

"That's because I did not start it as a business venture, so never thought of competition," she quips.

As Kulkarni's initial product range of candles and soaps started selling like hot cakes, Kulkarni decided to expand the product range to other skincare and haircare products.

She began with positioning her products in personal care stores but moved to the stand-alone strategy a year-and-a-half ago. "Perception of the brand changes when it's projected the way you want," she says.

Not only is Kulkarni planning to add on a store each in Delhi (which has four now) and Mumbai (which has one) by the end of the year, she is also planning a presence in other metros. "Bangalore, Kolkata and Goa present huge markets for us," says Kulkarni.

So how long does she think the ayurveda fad will last? "Though somethings are faddist, like ayurveda right now, people do get hooked on to good quality product."

You can see how strong the hook is by the growth numbers of the company "" Forest Essentials claims to have grown 100 per cent every year.

It posted sales of Rs 6 crore in 2005-06, and is expected to double that number this year, the constraint to growth being supply rather than demand. "We cannot even produce enough to meet our own demand," claims Kulkarni.

Forest Essentials ventured into the overseas market one- and-a-half years ago for retail supply to hotels and spas and is also seen in up-market hotels and spas in the country.

With a price range of Rs 100 (soaps)"" Rs 2,000 (serums and night creams) in the skincare range and hair oils between Rs 395 - Rs 495 (200 ml), Forest Essentials' clients are from among the well-off, who are scooping up these products from a lady who is a cross between a modern chemist and an ayurveda ved.