The makeup and skincare industry has been rapidly growing in the current decade as cosmetics become more accessible and cater to all skin types and colours. With the advent of natural and organic products that avoid animal testing, often clubbed together as ‘clean beauty’, people are leaning heavily towards using these. It is being perceived as the next big thing after ‘inclusive beauty’. But before buying the tag of being ‘clean’, modern consumers must reflect on what it actually means. Wordplay or captivating designs on packaging can easily deceive one to go for it while actually not being organic or natural. Brands that are clean about their certification, however, are the ones driving the natural and organic cosmetic industry forward, heralded by folks like Harini Sivakumar.
JOURNEY FROM A SINGLE-ROOM WORKSPACE
Harini Sivakumar founded Earth Rhythm in 2019, but its conception goes a long way back. Struggling to find suitable chemical-free soaps for her elder son, she put her own knowledge to work and watched soapmaking tutorials to create something new. She was a passionate mother: her son, Bhargav, could not use fragrant, mass-produced chemical products on his sensitive skin. The risk was high as his immunity was not strong, being a five-year old with Down’s Syndrome. So, she set to work in 2015, not thinking anything about selling her small- scale projects.
In the next two years, her passion intensified, and she studied organic and inorganic chemistry to understand her path to her goals better. She shared soaps and body butters she made with the people around her, and they loved it! Harini went a step ahead and created a ‘tiny little brand’ called Soapworks. Her reach was limited, but the products received love, rewarding the tedious hours she spent “creating, crafting, and making products from scratch”.
The turning point in her entrepreneurial journey came in 2018, when KFC approached Harini to make lip balms for their new burger launch; in mustard and chilli flavours. She was a one-woman army at that point, and toiled day and night to make 3000 lip balms, all alone, feeling excited about being part of such a huge brand campaign. Support came in form of her father, who wanted to help, and together they finally rebranded in 2019, and Soapworks became Earth Rhythm.
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