A sustainable skincare brand that celebrates local produce and indigenous ingredients

Starting as an organic beauty brand, Vilvah has now expanded its model to offer organic produce and more to India’s eco-conscious customers.

Founder Kruthika Kumaran says her own experience of treating skin disorders for her mother daughter were the big triggers for focussing on this sector. Coming from an agricultural background, she started experimenting with goat milk to make soaps to create a formulation that she used for her family before selling to customers. The startup began with three goats on its farm and now it has a large herd from where it sources the fresh goat milk for its skincare and haircare products.

The startup claims to have sold products to more than 4 Lakh customers, with lifetime sales of over 9 Lakh products. In FY2021, it reported revenue of INR 20 Cr, which had already grown by 50% till January 2022. While it has two stores in Coimbatore and Chennai, 80% of its sales come from online channels.

Vilvah Store claims that its sourcing of ingredients sets it apart from other organic brands, which rely on third-party companies as a go-between. Vilvah sources from local farmers besides its own farm for the ingredients. Ingredients include goat milk, carrier oils, essential oils, nourishing butter among other local produce. The ECOCERT-certified products are made in small batches and not mass produced, which helps control the quality of the product.

Starting with INR 10K that she invested herself, Kumaran has built up an INR 30 Cr+ brand in terms of revenue in 2022. The company’s haircare range is its best-selling lineup, while its goat milk products are said to be the flagship products as the Indian market lacks competing options. Interestingly, the company has ventured into sales of organic and indigenous grains, rice and other produce as well, which leverages its existing supply chain for its beauty products.

“We have expanded our production space and recently moved to a brand new sustainable building for our corporate office and state-of-the-art manufacturing facility,” Kumaran told us. The 30000 sq ft unit will help the company expand its manufacturing capacity by 4x. With the expanded manufacturing capacity, Vilvah Store is looking to increase brand penetration on ecommerce platforms coupled with retail presence.