BodyCafé charts rapid expansion as demand for organic beauty booms in India

According to co-founder Tanushree Ishani, consumers in India are increasingly moving towards organic products.

“In India, there is this huge demand for organic products. There’s been a spike of Google searches for organic products and more e-commerce websites are looking for organic brands to bring on board. I think it’s because more people are becoming more conscious about ingredients and things like environmental pollution,” ​Ishani commented.

She added that this trend was reflected in the company’s performance since it launched about two years ago.

“We didn’t start this business thinking it would grow to this extent to be honest, but we know we still have miles to go,” ​said Ishani.

She continued: “About 80% of our consumers are regulars. We don’t just have customers in India, we also get orders from the US, Canada, Europe and the Middle East. Our customers have really shown that they believe in our brand. This response has shown us that its time now to go big.”​

Keeping up with demand

This year, the firm has been expanding the brand’s distribution channels to keep up with the demand.

Ishani said: “Now it’s all about growth and expansion. We want to be a household name in organic products.”​

It launched its new website only a few weeks ago and is in talks with both online and offline retailers to carry its handmade products. Additionally, the brand is in talks with a few major e-commerce players in India Ishani declined to name.

“We are also expanding offline into city shopping malls and we are in talks to set up a franchise model. In the coming year, we want to focus on international orders as well,” ​said Ishani.

Ishani highlighted that the brand’s aggressive expansion was necessary in India’s increasingly competitive market.

However, she claimed that the brand had a unique positioning in the market with its emphasis on the “science of aromatherapy”​ as well as its utilisation of Ayurveda principles.

Together, BodyCafé’s products benefits both “vanity and sanity”, ​said Ishani. “We try to bring in ancient recipes but with a modern twist. There are so many Indian and Ayurveda ingredients that can benefit a person’s well-being.”​

Beyond beauty

The company is currently working on a range of products that extend beyond skin care.

“We want our brand that goes beyond the skin. We don’t want to limit ourselves to creating products just for vanity’s sake. That’s why we have baby care, home care and even pet care. We want to create a lifestyle for people,” ​said Ishani.

The new products are expected to drop in the first half of the next year.

Ishani said: “A lot of research goes into our products. We sample and test them on ourselves and we have a panel of experts, people with long-standing careers in the industry, to advise us on the products.”​