In 2020, a prestigious brand stopped the manufacture and distribution of its baby powder containing talc. The decision was made following a huge controversy related to the allegations of carcinogens in its products that it continued producing despite knowing the danger. Sadly, many brands still make baby products that have a plethora of chemicals like sulphates, bleach, parabens et al. On a happy note, there are still families in parts of the world that trust Mother Nature to cater to the needs of their body, mind and skin.
Venkatesh Anilkumar hails from a family of Traditional Ayurveda Vaidyan/Ayurveda Doctors, like his grandfather Dr. KGK Panicker, the founder of the most renowned Kerala Ayurveda Pharmacy.
Being born in such an environment, he was automatically inclined towards pure and natural options when it came to lifestyle and basic day to day products. From food to cosmetics to every small need, he looked for solutions from Nature.
Best for baby
The inclination reinforced itself when his son was born and the new parents wanted only the best and natural products for him. But was it so easy? He talks about the time, saying, “We realised that the options available in the market were very limited. It opened a gateway for their own creativity. We then decided to start a brand focusing only on Natural Products starting with our baby oil. We are currently focused on user-friendly Ayurveda & Lifestyle products under the brand Nature’s Veda and Classical Ayurveda Products made traditionally under the brand Aarshaveda.”
It was not easy to be true to their commitment when the market was full of bluffers. He shares, “At the stage of ideation itself we understood that the skincare space was a very difficult one, as it was flooded with many brands and products claiming to be natural, effective etc. However, when we went through them in detail, we understood they were only 98% Natural and most of them contained chemicals and only very few natural ingredients.”
The couple easily understood that at first look, not many can understand & differentiate between these false claims, but they also believed that to be a parent, one would definitely spend more time and effort to understand this difference. Hence they decided to foray into the baby and mom space with the Dasapushpam Baby Oil as the brand’s first product. With time, the brand profile and product line has widened considerably.
A growing market
Anilkumar elaborates, “We have 4 verticals: our Primary Brand and company name Aarshaveda, under which we have traditional Ayurveda products that are Certified Organic and made as per the processes mentioned in the ancient scriptures of Ayurveda. Then we have Nature’s Veda, where we focus on innovative Ayurvedic and Natural everyday use products that are user friendly. Under Nature’s Veda we have the Dasapushpam Range of products focusing on products for Baby and Mom. We also have a new line of products recently launched as Aarshaveda Wellness with everyday use Natural Supplements products in different dosage formats.”
The company has multiple impressive manufacturing and quality certifications such as ISO GMP, Canadian – GMP, NPOP (India Organic), NOP (USDA Organic), EU Organic, FSSAI, AYUSH etc. With the assured purity and quality of the products, the founder has been able to export them to over 15 countries like USA, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Germany, UK, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Austria, Russia, France, China etc. in the past 5 years.
Anilkumar is positive that the market for Natural & Organic products is definitely growing at a rapid pace. “Both in the skincare and also in the lifestyle product space, the preference for these products is increasing,” he says.
With the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda and modern scientific knowledge, he believes that Aarshaveda and its products are poised to excel in this Trillion Dollar Wellness revolution that is happening now. “People have realised prevention is better than cure and also more affordable than cure,” he concludes with this insightful thought.
Read More: The History behind the Science of Ayurveda
