The A Team: How Forest Essentials and Kama Ayurveda drew customers to Ayurvedic cosmetics

The beauty care industry has always been in a state of evolution in India. Ayurveda was considered a way of life and beauty and was defined by long-lasting benefits. When the British came, they brought with them the use of chemical-based cosmetics guaranteeing immediate results.

Domestic players like Dabur, Himalaya and Vicco existed for decades and were well-known for their Ayurvedic and herbal offerings. But international brands seemed to catch the eye of the consumer.

Samrath Bedi, executive director, Forest Essentials, completely agrees with the above. At the time Forest Essentials was established in 2001, and came up with its first store in 2004, Bedi recalls the fascination consumers had with Western products.

He shared how Ayurveda was considered rigorous, tedious and dated. “Everybody understood the benefits of Ayurveda. But going through the process, understanding and saying that my grandmother or great-grandmother uses this, was considered old-fashioned among the younger crowd,” says Bedi.

In the case of Vivek Sahni, co-founder and chairman, Kama Ayurveda, when he came up with the brand in 2002, it led to confusion among people. They used to ask him, “What is Ayurveda? Yeh herbal hai? Yeh natural hai? Yeh organic hai (Is it herbal? Natural? Organic)?”

He explains, “In the early 2000s in India, there were so many brands which had ‘herbal’ attached to their names. This is what people had grown up with. It took us a while to educate people on what Ayurveda is.”

Advertising and marketing: Spreading the ‘word of mouth’

There is a striking similarity in the marketing plans of Forest Essentials and Kama Ayurveda. The strategies of ‘word of mouth’ and ‘sampling’. Forest Essentials began by preparing their products in their home garage which were then distributed among family and friends.

People began to ask for more, and suggested they go the commercial way, which is how the brands came into prominence. Initially, there was no advertising plan because there was no money. The brand did not look to hire a public face. They said, 'Let the product speak for itself, and let us not take away the real focus from the products, which is the star.'

Bedi was very clear that word of mouth would make the brand go round and their stores would be the brand ambassadors. Today, the brand has about 175 stores, works with around 200-250 hotels like the Taj and Oberoi groups, apart from various standalone hotels and more than 100 spas.

Kama Ayurveda’s Sahni mentions that their real strategy was sampling. For example, if Sahni was invited for a dinner, he would carry five tester-size bottles of hair oil, and that became the selling point. All of their money went into testing and trials. Even now, Kama Ayurveda has a 70 percent conversion rate.

Before the establishment of their first store, premium retail outlets and chemist shops were the destination. Places like Taj Khazana, Good Earth, the Park Hotels and chemist shops were chosen to sell the product.

Sahni says, “Over a period, when social media came into play, it transformed the universe with influencers, Facebook marketing and Google ads. It transformed the business. There is a whole universe out there who are experiencing and hearing about the product, and using regional influencers who I think are very important.”

Two decades ago, there was no proper distribution network and Kama Ayurveda's Sahni depended on magazines. The brand would distribute samples and try to get editorials. Two years ago, they ventured into print for the Ayurvedic shampoo they had launched. At present, Instagram and Facebook are their go-to platforms.

A few years ago, Forest Essentials ventured into television advertising and came up with a campaign called ‘Warrior Princess’. The campaign touched upon being strong and yet having the ability to enjoy being feminine. The ads executed so far have been the work of the brand’s in-house team.

Sahni notes that the evolution of digital media changed their business and made it well-known. Bedi agrees with him and realises that digital media is here to stay.

Bedi says, “Whether it is in terms of products, how it is made, where it is made or who we are, what we do and what we represent, digital gives us a huge canvas to not only reach a wider audience but also gives us many ways of storytelling.”

Pre-pandemic, Covid-19 and post-pandemic: Standing of Ayurveda

When Forest Essentials first opened its store, consumers showed more interest in their packaging and the fragrance it emanated. With the arrival of Google, people began to research, understand the difference between the good and the bad and began questioning the ingredients and efficacy of the products.

Bedi mentions that pre-Covid, there was already an awareness about organic and natural products, and an understanding about what ingredients not to use. During Covid-19, it was a situation where everybody was talking about oneself, slowing down, going from various ranges of meditation to wellness and understanding what it is that they will do to make themselves feel better. That added a huge traction to where Forest Essentials is today post-Covid-19.

Kama Ayurveda’s Sahni seconds Bedi’s statement. He states, “People would research online, and began to spend time on their devices. That also transformed the business because a bunch of new players came online who began to sell online. It really transformed the market for Ayurveda, and clean health.”

Justification of price points

Since 1902, Arya Vaidya Sala Kottakkal has been a staunch proponent in the practice and propagation of Ayurveda. However, the cost of their products is less than half of what the luxury Ayurveda brands cost.

As per Kama Ayurveda’s Sahni, if he is using saffron from Kashmir where he is paying a certain amount a kilo, then the Kumkumadi thailam is going to reflect that cost. Quality of the product and the quality of the ingredients used is what differentiates the brand from the rest, he points out.

If luxury brands are priced higher, the demand is better. Ayurveda is not a luxury product. You cannot say Ayurveda first and luxury next - N Chandramouli, chief executive officer, TRA Research.

Before the establishment of Kama Ayurveda’s first store, he visited chemists selling premium products. He says, “I knew that the customer coming here had the purchasing power to be able to buy the products. If there is an imported cream for Rs 2,500 or Rs 2,000, they can definitely buy hair oil for Rs 400. We basically used that as a tool and it worked.”

Today, a lot of brands have entered the Ayurvedic beauty space. Older brands like Himalaya, Vicco or Dabur have kept it at a very cost-controlled level for mass appeal.

Nykaa’s Nyveda and Vedix are new entrants. Soul Tree, Patanjali, Sadhev, Biotique, The Ayurveda Co, The Tribe Cosmetics and Auravedic are some of the other Ayurvedic brands.

Apart from Dabur and Vicco, brands that also have a herbal range of offerings are Just Herbs, 82E, Soap Square, Deyga and Juicy Chemistry.

In the FMCG space, personal care product company Hindustan Unilever launched its Ayurvedic range of products Ayush in 2017. As per a media report, in February, it was announced that L’Oréal is looking to buy an Ayurvedic brand in order to bring the Indian vision of beauty to the world.

With the proliferation of so many brands in the A-beauty sector, should both the brands scale down on their price points? N Chandramouli, chief executive officer, TRA Research, a brand intelligence and data insights company, says that if luxury brands are priced higher, the demand is better.

He explains that luxury has a perception of quality and it does not fight a price war. “Each time you are using Forest Essentials, there is a sense of high self-esteem. And that has to do with desire. Their price points might not change, should not change, or might not be able to change,” he says.

“When you see Forest Essentials in a hotel washroom, you relate that the product is good. Ayurveda is not a luxury product. You cannot say Ayurveda first and luxury next. Therefore, both the brands have said ‘luxury first, Ayurveda next’,” adds Chandramouli.

As per a media report, in February, it was announced that L’Oréal is looking to buy an Ayurvedic brand in order to bring the Indian vision of beauty to the world.

Touching upon Forest Essentials, a lot of their products are being sold in grey markets all over the world. It is being sold in China, and on Amazon. They are bought from the brand and sold at a premium outside.

As per Research and Markets, the Indian Ayurvedic products market was valued at Rs 62,600 crore in 2022. It is expected that by 2028, its valuation will touch Rs 1,82,400 crore.

The global Ayurvedic market, which was valued at $4.5 billion in 2017, is expected to touch $14.9 billion by 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.14 per cent, a media report states.

On the other hand, as Chandramouli says, with the emergence of several products claiming richness in Ayurveda, herbal brands are clearly under threat.

Increasing competition, clinical research and evolving target audience

Chandramouli states that while Ayurveda has a long history behind it, the 18-48 year old crowd seeks scientific evidence. They want to see whether there is a test done or if there are enough people using it who have benefited from it.

“Despite big companies with heavy budgets, they don’t conduct clinical studies to prove that Bhringaraj will improve the hair quality or Kumkumadi thailam will improve complexion,” he says.

However, Kama Ayurveda’s Sahni has a point to add here. The brand has done clinical trials on all their key products to highlight the science behind Ayurveda. “That is how we differentiate ourselves from the competition. The idea of authenticity, having high-quality production standards, and continuation of clinical trials is to prove efficacy and safety,” he adds.

Post-pandemic, the awareness pertaining to skincare has seen an increase. When Kama Ayurveda was established, its target audience was women in the age group of 28-30. Today, 14-15-year-olds are looking for anti-acne products, and men too have shown interest in the brand.

Forest Essentials is the poster child for the ‘Make in India’ campaign and they work very closely with NITI Aayog, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Air Force and supply products to Rashtrapati Bhavan.

According to Sahni, he feels the heat of competition post-pandemic as compared to pre-pandemic, when there wasn’t that much action in the Ayurveda space. He says, “It is healthy that there is competition. What differentiates us is that we have stayed true to the authenticity of the formulation, which is classical Ayurveda.”

For Forest Essentials’ Bedi, they view competition as opening of the market. "There are many competitors who have come in, who charge half the price or there are competitors who copy the packaging or who copy the philosophies. We have opened our store in London, Dubai, and are competing with the best of the brands worldwide. Most of them don’t even exist in India. We hold ourselves to a competition which is of a very high standard,” he says.

Forest Essentials is the poster child for the ‘Make in India’ campaign and they work very closely with NITI Aayog, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Air Force and supply products to Rashtrapati Bhavan. He says, “When people talk to us, it is not just about the quality of the product. It is about sustainability, women empowerment, CSR, and they are happy to see us represent India.”

Endorsing via celebrities aka well-known faces

Forest Essentials’ Bedi was very clear that the stores and the people who sell and buy their products are the brand ambassadors. They define themselves according to beauty in everyone, whether it is inside or outside.

This year, for Forest Essentials’ Yuvati Collection, a 15-year-old content creator from Dharavi, Maleesha Kharwa, became the face of the campaign. Speaking on the roping in of Kharwa, Bedi says, “For us, Maleesha depicted who we are, and what we represent beautifully. When we discovered Maleesha, the fact is that she imbibes women empowerment, is a child and is on her way to becoming a woman. She defines the philosophy that if you work hard and dream big, you can do whatever you want to do. It doesn’t matter what your background is, for there are still opportunities for everyone.”

Currently, Kharwa has a following of 336,000 on Instagram and her hashtag for her posts go by #theprincessfromtheslum. So far, she has been featured in magazines like Cosmopolitan, Peacock, Grazia, Elle and Vogue in India, according to a media report.

In the case of Kama Ayurveda’s Sahni, they have started using multiple faces for their brands and being as real as possible. For Nalpamaradi thailam, Shibani Dandekar Akhtar was used as its face. For Kama Ayurveda’s rejuvenating and brightening night cream, Mira Rajput Kapoor was chosen as she was the user of the product.

Sahni adds, “We did a campaign on hair colour where we roped in actor Sameera Reddy. Initially, we were thinking of how to promote the brand and that is how we came across her, who was a user of the brand’s Indigo henna. Here, it became a natural endorsement.”

He said, “Here was someone with a loyal following who was using the product. When an engaged person like her shows her hair and says that this is what she has got and this is what she has been using, it works. There is a feeling of trust that comes in. We found that the sales of our hair colour kit went up exponentially by using someone like her.”

For the Ayurvedic shampoo that was launched two years ago, they did not rope in a celebrity. The print campaign featuring a guy, three girls with different hair types—curly, straight and problematic—went across the board.

Partnerships and future aspirations

It was in 2008 when The Estee Lauder Companies acquired a 15 percent minority stake in Forest Essentials. Bedi highlights that this partnership, now in its 15th year, is to take their brand global. “First, we decided to grow the brand in India, become leaders in our space, and then take this outside. That is what our partnership is. Globally, they have the best brands in the world,” he says.

This year in March, Forest Essentials announced its strategic partnership with Apparel Group, a fashion and retail lifestyle conglomerate that has 2025 stores across 14 countries. Through this partnership, the plan is to open 25 Forest Essentials stores in the Gulf Cooperation Council region over the next five years.

So far in Dubai, two stores have been opened. Forest Essentials has plans to open 8-10 stores this year in the region. Over the next year, their partnership aims to open up six more stores in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, states a media report.

In 2012, Kama Ayurveda opened its first retail store in the prime retail destination, Khan Market in Delhi. The brand has over the years been moving into lower-profile areas and smaller towns, and most recently opened a store each in Siliguri and Bareilly. They are opening in Guwahati and have just opened up in Kozhikode.

Internationally, the brand came up with a store last year in London, and this year in June, they came up with its store within the Apparel Group in Kuwait.

In 2012, Kama Ayurveda opened its first retail store in the prime retail destination, Khan Market in Delhi. The brand has over the years been moving into lower-profile areas and smaller towns, and most recently opened a store each in Siliguri and Bareilly.

They are opening in Guwahati and have just opened up in Kozhikode. The brand has a total of 150-plus retail touch points across the country.

In 2019, Spanish fashion and beauty major Puig invested Rs 100 crore for a minority stake in Kama Ayurveda. In 2022, it was announced that Puig had acquired a majority stake in the brand.

Sahni states, “We are partnering with them specifically because they are global brands and will take us out there in the world. With their partnership and with their help, we are now opening in the UK.” Recently, the brand entered the UK market with the launch of their D2C website.

He hopes that in the next 20 years, they are able to take Ayurveda out there to the world, and explain to the people its benefits, and use beauty as a tool to spread the message of Ayurveda.

For Forest Essentials' Bedi, one of their aims is to represent India and Ayurveda globally. "Whether we talk about women empowerment, CSR or the region we make it in, we want to be a grounded company which just does not talk about money,” he concludes.