How Root Natural became the marketplace for homegrown clean beauty brands

India’s first clean beauty and wellness marketplace, Root Natural, showcases natural Indian skincare brands. Before the farm-to-face movement gained traction, the brand stood for clean and sustainable beauty therapies sourced from Indian soil, roots, and culture. The brand, which was established in 2020, is home to more than 65 Indian clean skincare businesses. It serves as a one-stop shop for all personal care fans, regardless of age or gender, looking for safe, high-quality, cruelty-free goods. Root Natural strives to promote sustainable wellbeing in the country while giving local eco-certified products a foothold in the market.

The brand recently launched its campaign – #Whatdoyourootfor – celebrating people who defy stereotypes by making decisions in their lives. The majority of people attempt to blend in. In a conversation with Adgully, Pooja Parkar, Founder of Root Natural, said, “We are focused on empowering India while uplifting a sustainable lifestyle that is inclusive to all”. Excerpts:

How did the journey of Root Natural begin and what is its brand vision?

The idea of Root Natural had birthed during my graduation days while working on one of my assignments. My idea was to create an innovative platform that would offer cruelty-free, clean beauty products in India. Our country has a history of effective herbal personal care and wellness alternatives and to bring that to light, many individuals and homegrown brands have curated offerings that make the art of personal care eco-friendly. While I initially thought of setting up manufacturing units and producing such products, the realisation that there are already around 300 Indian clean beauty vendors in the market that people are unaware of had hit me the hardest. Targeting the opportunity right, I decided to build an e-commerce marketplace to promote existing Indian clean beauty brands. After 2 years, Root Natural has boarded 65+ clean Indian brands and has pitched at the Dubai Expo 2022 among 3 other established brands from India. We stand for gender neutrality and strive to contribute to the sustainable development goals for a healthy society.

During my time in Ireland, I also noticed that people from across the world saw India as an overpopulated labour class country with limited awareness of clean and cruelty-free living. That was when I decided to come back to India to work and showcase its naturally rich avenues through education and businesses. The brand aims to support Indian businesses and give them an international identity in the clean and sustainable living industry.

How is Root Natural different from other skincare brands?

Root Natural is the first of its kind, clean beauty skincare marketplace that provides sustainable clean beauty products offered specifically by Indian brands. Most vendors in the same space source and distribute international brands in India, but Root Natural is a committed marketplace for homegrown eco-friendly Indian products. We envision promoting a sustainable lifestyle, while benefiting the people who are helping us make such choices.

Summing up, what differentiates us is that we are focused on empowering India while uplifting a sustainable lifestyle that is inclusive to all. We are gender-neutral and believe that all beauty deserves healthy and clean pampering. We are very grateful to our brand partners as they have taken the mission of making the skincare and wellness industry clean, and we aspire to help them make the impact they desire.

What is the idea behind the campaign #WhatDoYouRootFor?

The campaign is a take on the word ‘root’, which is synonymous with the brand’s name and values of supporting and valuing things we stand for. Through #WhatDoYouRootFor, we want to highlight the extraordinary journeys of ordinary people by exhibiting the stereotypes that they have overcome so far in their lives. Most people try to fit in the box of societal norms and continue to live accordingly, while only a few of them step forward to stand for themselves and their beliefs. The campaign is curated in sync with the brand’s ethos of rooting for natural and sustainable beauty and lifestyle. The digital ad-film also opens a dialogue for the audience to become aware of making choices that they root for and live accordingly.

We have questioned 6 random people from different walks of life about what makes them unique about their ‘choices’ and what have they established after refusing to settle. This ad film is about celebrating their unique stories and choices that came with their own set of challenges. We want to put forth the opinion that if you truly stand by your choices and way of life, nothing can smash it down and life unveils the best way forward when you put trust in what you ‘root’ for.

What according to you is hindering free expression and rightful living in our society?

Mostly what keeps any culture away from breaking free of the value systems or prejudices are the benchmarks its people set in the society. It is only very recently that we started raising voices for changing these archetypes. The problem, however, is that we get so occupied in finding ways to define these systems that we forget to respect them for what it is. The lack of respect towards nature, our fellow beings, and the ecosystem that surrounds us, makes it an eye for an eye circumstance. Only if we filtered out the boundaries that separate us from one another, we could build a better future for ourselves. It also requires us to understand and be aware of our consumption habits and judicious choices that impact the environment as a whole.

The vision of Root Natural is modelled in a circular system to benefit all stakeholders affiliated with it. We strive towards a sustainable ecosystem with inclusive and healthy offerings for all.

How does Root Natural aim to break stereotypes?

The brand has been built on the motive to make people understand that personal wellness can be accessible and sustainable at the same time, for all of us. We want to redefine beauty standards and change how people think about skincare. Usually, skincare and beauty products are associated with and trusted by global cosmetic giants, and we want to break that stereotype, especially for GenZ. Hence, we want to promote as many Indian sustainable brands for cruelty-free and ethically sourced products that provide effective results for your skincare wellness. Since we believe that our brand’s vision is synonymous with variety, prosperity, and ethical procuring, we offer an inclusive platform for everybody. We want to break the idea that skincare is for women, and so we offer a variety of products based on all skin types for all genders.

Our marketing efforts are also tailored in a similar manner, and with the campaign #Whatdoyourootfor, we want to open a dialogue for our audience to know what they stand for in their lives. We have more concepts and plans in the pipeline for the business and its marketing so we can make people believe in what we are rooting for.

What does it mean to live according to one’s own choices?

Living according to one’s own choices means identifying what one feels comfortable and ethical about while respecting others’ circle of choices. Once a mutual ground among what people choose to live by is found collectively in a society, the growth becomes exponential. It is not about doing whatever you want, but doing what feels right to yourself while taking into account the impact it puts on others around you. While the process of ‘living by your own choices' can be overwhelming and non-conforming, the quest to free the expression of what you feel is worth it.

What are the challenges that Root Natural faced in its journey since its inception and how did it overcome them?

Initially, we faced a mix of personal and business challenges. I have acne and people started to question my ability to run an eco-friendly beauty platform. I have personally believed that a great team can do wonders with the brand’s identity and its positioning in the market. While it all started with a plan of action in place, we had kept enough room for innovative new ideas to transform and grow ourselves. Today, we are a close-knit team with entrepreneurial spirits and one aim – ‘to grow’. We want to build our community of customers who believe that personal wellness can be sustainable and valuable.

It’s always a little difficult to make others believe in your vision, and we started with only 10 brands, but success comes to those who do not give up, and we are happy to have 65+ homegrown Indian businesses affiliated with us today. We have witnessed various strides in consumer behaviour in the beauty industry and are glad to cater to consumers who are making conscious decisions about what they want. We want to continue our efforts to build Root Natural as the one-stop shop for cruelty and toxins-free platform by Indian brands.