Mamaearth parent bets on Made-for-India goods in fastest-growing beauty mkt

Honasa Consumer Ltd., the newly listed parent of India’s personal-care brand Mamaearth, is taking on global giants in the world’s fastest-growing beauty market with onion hair oil and curd-and-turmeric face masks. India’s consumers increasingly want products made from local natural ingredients and crafted specifically for them, Varun Alagh, co-founder and the chief executive officer of Honasa Consumer, said in an interview. International competitors, on the other hand, mostly offer Indian consumers products from their international portfolios, he said. Honasa’s products are made with India’s tropical weather and cultural nuances in mind, Alagh said. “That’s where we have an edge,” he said.One-third of the beauty and wellbeing brands made available in India by Hindustan Unilever Ltd., or HUL, are from Unilever Plc’s global portfolio of products, based on data from their websites. But companies like HUL — now marketing its own new personal-care products such as Simple and Love, Beauty and Planet — are switching gears. Estee Lauder Companies Inc. in March rolled out limited-edition lipsticks called “the colour story of India.” The strategy of adapting products to local tastes worked in next-door China — at least initially.