Demand for natural products has surged in the past decade: Just Herbs CEO 

Consumer demand for natural and fragrance-free products has grown over the past decade, Chandigarh-based Just Herbs co-founder and CEO Arush Chopra has said.

“Conscious consumption trends in beauty products have accelerated faster than food, with natural and clean cosmetics adoption happening quicker than clean food adoption,” said Chopra, who launched the firm inspired by his bio-chemist mother Neena’s experiments of creating lotions using Ayurvedic principles. 

Launched in 2014, Just Herbs has rebranded from traditional Ayurveda to modern, new-age Ayurveda to appeal to younger consumers. Currently, the Chandigarh-based firm is a subsidiary of FMCG firm Marico, which took controlling stakes in 2018. 

Sourced from farmers

One of the unique features of the company’s offers is that they are sourced from vegan, plants and natural products. “Our raw materials are sourced from farmers and come via our suppliers,” he told businessline in an online interaction.

Chopra said the company’s mission is to create Ayurvedic products for Gen Z and millennials, modernising the ancient practice for a contemporary audience.

Another feature of the company is that it crowdsources product ideas from repeat consumers and creates a lightweight make-up foundation for working women, the Just Herbs co-founder said. 

“My wife Megha, who is another co-founder, and I discuss launching a product by prioritising clean ingredients and honesty in product development,” he said.

3-4 new products a month

Dwelling on the company’s plans, Chopra said it plans to continue innovating and launch an average of 3-4 new products every month.

The firm recently launched its products in the fragrance sector in perfume, deodorant, body mist and roll-on deo categories. It has launched this as cruelty-free and vegan products.  

The launch of Just Herbs lipstick has an interesting background. The company launched it during the pandemic when most of the companies refrained from introducing any new product.

“One of the USPs of the lipstick brand was that each shade was named after a customer, who helped create it. This saw increased sales despite initial scepticism from others in the industry,” he said.

The other feature of the lipstick offering was the company solved the problem of lipstick waste by offering a small pack, reducing plastic use and cost.

Own website sale

The company has launched 16 shades of lipstick. Just Herbs has become one of the largest lipstick sellers on Blinkit in less than 12 months of listing, Chopra said.

Just Herbs’ top-selling products are makeup (lip care, lipstick), skincare (lip balm, under-eye gel, and face wash), and haircare (shampoo and hair oil). “Our natural makeup approach changed the game for the brand. Now 40 per cent of D2C sales are on our website,” the company’s co-founder and CEO said.

Beginning his journey with loans and savings, the company raised 85 per cent of the company’s revenue through sales on its website for 36 months before Marico stepped in to acquire stakes, said Chopra.

“Today Just Herbs’ marketplace business makes up 50 per cent of its total revenue, while 30 per cent of its business comes from direct-to-consumer and the rest 20 per cent from offline retail,” he told businessline in an online interaction.

Most demand

The company has 25 lakh-plus customers on its website only. Chopra and his wife first scaled up sales on Amazon and then to Flipkart, where it claims to have captured 17 per cent market share in the make-up kits category. 

Per data from websites, the company gets most of its demand from Maharashtra and Bengaluru. “Beyond the top 3-4 cities, the rest of the orders come from a mix of tier 2 and 3 cities across India,” said Chopra.  

Currently, Just Herbs, with over 300 employees, has over 500 retail touchpoints across the country. It has a facility at Mohali in Punjab where most of the employees are based, said the company’s co-founder and CEO.