Arata to Continue Betting Big on Online; Eyes to Achieve ARR of Rs 20 crore by March 2021

Consumers today speak the language of sustainability, inclusivity, honesty, and transparency. They are forming new habit patterns and are choosing responsible brands that are not only healthy and effective but also have a positive impact on the environment. With the increasing inclination of consumers towards organic products, there exists a definite shift towards ‘natural’ products that are free from mineral oil, parabens, sulfates, and synthetic colors. The growing awareness regarding the link between good health and beauty is creating a demand for organic and natural products. 

And working on the same lines, Arata - a community-led lifestyle brand with an entire ecosystem - was built around the core philosophy of clean formulations, responsible practices, and sustainability. The company sells all-natural, plant-based, vegan, and chemical-free unisex skin and hair care products for the ‘generation-clean’. The brand believes in the customers’ right to honesty and transparency in personal care and fully discloses all ingredients and formulations. Arata has been selling its products online across various marketplaces, including Amazon, Nykaa, etc., as well as on its website. The company is backed by DSG Consumer Partners, Nikhil Vora (Founder and CEO of Sixth Sense Ventures), and other angels. 

The company is on track to achieve an ARR of Rs 20 crore by March 2021.

Speaking to Indian Retailer, Dhruv Bhasin & Dhruv Madhok, Co-Founders, Arata share the philosophy, future plans and a lot more.

Excerpts from the interview:-

What was the idea behind introducing the brand Arata?

Honesty and Transparency: 

One of the key objectives of bringing Arata to life was to bring a sense of honesty and transparency to the personal care ecosystem.  Historically, most brands use the lowest grade ingredients in their products and misrepresent through claims of 'natural' or 'organic' with wild claims. How can one possibly know what’s natural  and what's good/bad for you if one does not know or understand what is in the product? Our idea was to create a brand that was to be fully honest and transparent with its customers about what ingredients were going into the products along with global certifications and standards that were objectively able to determine Arata as a leading clean label brand, giving our customers the opportunity to make an informed decision about what goes on their body. 

Sustainable is the new Sexy:

The time is now for responsible capitalism. We had full clarity that we would use sustainable practices for our business and not pass the buck to our customers or anyone else. The responsibility for sustainability began with us.  That's why another reason to start the business was to show that business can be a force for change and sustainability. We wanted to make Sustainable Packaging and Practices a mainstream topic- an era of brands taking responsibility instead of passing it on to the customers needed to come to an end. This is the idea behind why we take plastic from the oceans, landfills and other garbage sites- sanitize it, pelletize it, melt it and re-mould it into the Arata packaging you see. Even all our secondary packaging involves no plastic, shrink wrap or any other kind of unsustainable packaging. 

What is the USP of the brand and share the strategies that are helping the brand carve a niche for itself.

Arata is leading the market with safe and effective plant based Hair Styling Products. We believe in honesty and transparency with regards to our formulations as we believe in a customers right to making an informed choice.
 
We're the only brand in India using upto 100 percent recycled plastic across our entire product range. Arata is India's first brand to receive an EWG Certification which objectively shows the integrity of our ingredients. 

Share with us the distribution network of the brand.

Arata is Internet-first brand. We sell on our website, www.arata.in, Amazon, Nykaa, Myntra, Flipkart, Paytm, Tata Cliq and others. 

We currently do not have an offline presence as we feel we still have a lot of headroom for online growth. 

Any plans to foray into new categories?

We are currently offering products in Hair, Skin, Oral and Face categories across 17 SKU's. We are looking to go deeper in to our existing categories with no immediate plans to introduce new categories.

Share with us the future plans of the brand.

We plan to spend the next 2 years expanding our brand online and making Arata the go-to brand for premium, clean and honest products for both women and men, essentially, making Arata a household name.