The Indian natural beauty company conceived Lotus Botanicals as a premium brand targeting the growing demand for safe and natural cosmetics, which has accelerated in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Lotus Botanicals is a clean beauty, botanical powerhouse that is pure, potent and truly transformative. It was conceptualised and curated after months of social listening and consumer interactions,” said Nitin Passi, managing director, Lotus Herbals.
“The idea of the brand is nested in delivering clean beauty solutions for the problems that consumers are facing today. We saw a growing segment of aware and educated consumers looking for safer, cleaner products. These consumers are already aware of what kind of ingredients would work well for their problems. We saw this gap in our existing offering and started working on a new brand that would imbibe all these qualities.”
Lotus Herbals was founded in 1993 and remains a stalwart in India’s natural beauty space. Aside from the Lotus Herbals brand, it also owns the Ayurvedic beauty brand Soultree.
Using traditional ingredients
Its latest brand debuted in March with 100% vegan and cruelty-free skin care and hair care based on traditional ingredients such as ginger root and red onion.
“At Lotus, we trust in the power of nature and are inspired by the beneficial properties of natural ingredients, centuries-old traditions and the power of science to provide high-quality beauty and personal care solutions,” said Passi.
He added that the company chose to utilise ingredients that would be familiar to the Indian consumer to instil a sense of trust.
“Baking soda and red onion extracts are not new ingredients for Indian consumers. We all have been using these kitchen staples to tackle skin and hair concerns. But the struggle and effort one has to go through to make these recipes at home is undeniable. [Our products offer] quick solutions and easier application with known ingredients in the most potent and natural form,” said Passi.
Passi told CosmeticsDesign-Asia that the company is aiming for Lotus Botanicals to surpass 100Cr (USD13.8m) in sales this year.
Aside from the e-commerce boom, the company believes it can tap into several opportunities in the market today, such as the use of ‘trending’ ingredients, the introduction of new product formats as well as packaging innovation.
Currently, the brand offers 13 skin and hair care products and is intending to expand its product line-up this year as part of its second phase.
The brand has a direct-to-consumer strategy as the company intends to leverage the accelerated growth of the e-commerce market.
Aside from its official website, the brand will only be available online through third-party e-commerce websites, including India’s top platforms like Nykaa, Amazon and Myntra.
While the Lotus Herbals brand has been established international, the company is focused on scaling the business domestically first.
