Hanging on to old traditions is not enough – How the baby care market is evolving

Adgully has been turning the spotlight on the entrepreneurs who fought against all odds to bring their dreams to fruition in our special series – START-UP STARS. We at Adgully wholeheartedly support the ‘Vocal for Local’ movement and have been featuring numerous local/ homegrown businesses, brands, and Apps in the country launched in the last few years.

Culminating out of love and experience in child care over the years, CITTA, is the brainchild of mother-daughter duo Akanksha and Monisha Sharma, who bring a gift of baby-friendly products for millennial parents. The brand envisions to provide the same love and care that a grandparent would, while today’s parents juggle personal growth and parenting all together. The brand was launched in 2021, with the serious desire to create a sustainable Indian product for the discerning customer. Powered by Pune-based Lexicon Group, this home grown brand brings to millennial parents specially curated baby products for the age groups of 0-10 years.

CITTA recently launched its first ever digital campaign ‘Babies can’t make right choice, but you can’, where they have showcased how the right products can be chosen for the younger and elder ones.

In an interaction with Adgully, Akanksha Sharma, CEO & Co-Founder, CITTA, sheds light on their latest campaign, consumer expectations driving the baby care market, the difference between organic, ayurvedic and natural, the controversy over ‘Talc’, and more.

What is the core idea behind CITTA’s latest campaign – ‘Babies can’t make the right choice, but you can’?

CITTA is a baby bath and skincare brand for new-age parents, who are super aware of every ingredient they put on their baby’s skin and will not settle for anything less than the best. With this ad, we wanted to capture this conscious audience and position ourselves as the right choice for parents. 

Babies, being babies, do not know what’s right for them. They will happily eat a strand of grass from the playground or pick up a sharp object, just out of curiosity! This is why on a daily basis, parents are constantly making choices for their kids. What’s the best for them to eat, what’s the best outfit for the season, which is the best school for them – the list goes on. CITTA was created as a brand that makes new parents’ lives a little bit easier by providing them with the safest natural skincare for their little ones which is also the most convenient. We wanted to reiterate these brand values and communicate them in a very short, witty, and fun video ad. 

The ad shows a baby breaking a beautiful vase, something every parent can relate to! It instantly conveys our message – babies can’t make the right choice, but you can – and then we tell them how CITTA products are the right choice as they are natural, safe, and tested.

Could you share some insights on the difference between organic, ayurvedic and natural, and how natural products are disrupting the market?

These terms are often confused with one another, but in fact, they have different meanings! Ayurvedic products are designed on the basis of ancient Indian texts known as Ayurveda. Ayurvedic formulas use plants, but can also contain heavy metals in higher quantities, and hence aren’t as safe as one might think, especially for a newborn or a baby. Organic products are made with 100% pure natural ingredients. Natural products offer the best of nature and science – they use natural ingredients as well as chemicals derived from plants. This is why natural products are disrupting the market right now! Simply hanging on to old traditions is not enough, we need to back the goodness of natural ingredients with science to create efficient and safe products for babies and kids. That’s what we try to do at CITTA. 

Talking about ‘Talc’, Johnson & Johnson has discontinued the distribution of talc. How do the other players deal with this issue?

The incident has been a wake-up call for many companies as well as consumers. Many consumers became aware of the detrimental effects of talc due to this news. Companies, on the other hand, have been forced to realise that they will have to make the safety of products, especially baby care products, a priority. For us, safety and transparency have been a priority from the very start. Our Baby & Kids Powder was talc-free even before this news came out. Our powder is made with natural ingredients every Indian is aware of – Corn Starch and Oat Kernel Flour – in a unique formula that is efficient while being entirely safe for use on even a newborn’s skin. With this incident, other brands too are now innovating and creating talc-free baby products which are safe, and I believe that is a welcome change.

What makes CITTA stand out from its competition?

CITTA’s roots in traditional wisdom backed with science empower it to create innovative solutions to baby skincare problems, unlike any other brand in the market. Our focus on providing ease and convenience to new-age parents drives our unique ingredient selection and product formulation. Our unique formulations are crafted from the finest natural ingredients for maximum efficacy and safety. They are designed to solve skincare issues specific to the delicate skin of newborns, toddlers, and older kids.

For example, our Moisturizing Balm has been crafted with 7 natural oils and Shea Butter to have a unique thick texture that is more suited to babies’ skin than the usual creams and lotions, which have higher water content. Similarly, we created India’s first natural foaming wash and shampoo for babies – to give maximum convenience to the parents while offering gentle cleansing. This is what sets us apart as a brand with the safest and most effective Natural Baby Bath & Skincare products on the market. 

New-age parents are getting conscious about what to use and look for in safe products. What makes CITTA a trusted brand from a parent’s perspective?

We are a conscious brand, in fact, our brand name CITTA is derived from the Sanskrit word “Chitta” meaning consciousness. We are conscious of our product formulations and every ingredient that goes into them. All our products are made with the finest natural ingredients that are safe for baby’s skin and are dermatologically tested. They are free from harsh chemicals like parabens, sulphates, silicones, mineral oils, toxins, and allergens, so that a parent can be carefree while using them on their little one’s skin. Stringent testing is performed in labs to assure the stability, non-reactiveness, and safety of our products without harming any animals. 

We believe that transparency with customers is extremely important, and all the ingredients in our products are listed on their labels without any omissions, so the consumers can be assured of the safety of our products while purchasing them.