‘You can resist an invading army, but you cannot resist an idea whose time has come’. The saying fits perfectly for two mothers-turned-entrepreneurs, or mompreneurs, who have created quite a buzz in the mother-baby care market. According to analysts, the segment is worth over `12,000 crore in India, but is largely dominated by overseas players like Johnsons & Johnsons and Philips. However, growing at a CAGR of 17 per cent, it also offers lucrative opportunities for home-grown entrepreneurs. Here’s a look at two such women who have created strong brands from scratch:
Malika Datt Sadani, Moms Co
Malika Datt Sadani, founder of Moms Co, calls herself an obsessive mother, but she has turned her obsession into innovation, with the roll-out of the company she founded two years ago. Sadani founded Moms Co after she returned to India from London and wasn’t able to find safe, natural, skincare products for her daughters who suffered from dermatatis and eczema.
When she couldn’t find even a good toxin-free moisturiser for them, Sadani, who is a former engineer, instead thought of creating a native brand. “One of the important things which came up while I was chatting with other mothers in a social media group was the lack of skincare options for expecting and new mothers. That is when the idea of creating Moms Co struck me,” she said.
Sadani spent the next two years meeting manufacturers and investors to turn it into a reality. “I looked for suppliers who could help me find the ingredients that were free from toxins and at par with global safety standards. Today’s Moms Co is the only Indian brand that has received the certifications from Safe Cosmetics Australia: a toxin free campaign. The product ranges are also Made SafeT, Australia Allergy CertifiedT and Dermatologically Tested,” she added.
Moms Co recently received a funding of $ 1million from FMCG investors Saama Capital and DSG Partners and has footprints across major metros and online channels both.
Pallavi Utagi, Superbottoms
An engineer and a marketer, Utagi was on maternity leave when she was schooled on using traditional cloth diapers instead of disposable ones. Utagi began working on an idea to give the traditional langot a facelift and combine the convenience of both disposable and cloth diapers.
“Initially I invested my own savings and only last year did we receive our first investment,” she said. Superbottoms claims to be India’s leading cloth diaper brand now, with an all mother team. “Our sales teams also comprise of mothers present across 20 cities who conduct events, hold awareness workshops and other promotional events for Superbottoms,” Utagi pointed out.
The company is planning to launch a cotton summer clothing line for kids between 1-4 years as well as organic cotton langots for infants.