Organic Harvest has been awarded as ‘India's Most Promising Brand’ and is the first Indian homegrown brand which has an entire range of organic skin care, body care and hair care products to offer to its consumers. In an exclusive interaction with Buisness2Business, Rahul Agarwal, CEO, Organic Harvest shares his entrepreneurial journey and all a lot of interesting insights about Organic Harvest:

The story: Sharing more on the formation of Organic Harvest Rahul shares, “I have always been a believer of the nature and purity and I wanted to do something in the consumer products industry with my belief. A few years back, when I started tracking this industry, I discovered that there is a big push among the consumers of Organic products and there is a gap for organic beauty products. We explored that there was a huge scope in this space; however, we always aimed to deliver best to the consumers. I observed that people had tried all kinds of products - synthetic, herbal & even natural products, but not organic products. 2011 was the time when people had started recognizing the concept of Organic and understood its importance. I realized that the time was right to introduce organic personal care products.”

He adds, “Although nature has been my inspiration throughout, but on a serious note, Organic Harvest came into existence after we witnessed an increase in the shift from regular to organic products in India. Everyone desires their skin to stay beautiful naturally. In the recent times, there has been a drastic increase in the number of beauty conscious consumers who are moving towards an organic skincare regime. We then observed that the market is either flooded with mainstream beauty products that carry harmful skin damaging chemicals or international organic skin care brands which are not affordable. Keeping this fact in mind, we thought of introducing our brand which is packed with the goodness of nature and the innovation of science and is also priced keeping in mind the sensitivities of the consumer.”

Product Range: Rahul shares, “We introduced Organic Harvest in the year 2013, eventually making it a leading homegrown brand with an entire range of organic beauty products which speaks of nature in its purest form. The brand embraces the organic power of plants and its botanical extracts in abundance combined with organic and natural ingredients. The Organic Harvest product range carries EcoCert, OneCert&Natrue certifications. The raw materials are derived from plants, which are grown completely sans chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. Hence, the Organic Harvest products, true to its name, are an ode to nature in its purest form.”

Future marketing and expansion strategies: When asked about the national and international expansion and marketing strategies, Rahul shares, “We provide 360 degree support to the brand with ATL, PR, Digital and BTL activities. These tools provide us the right edge required to take our brand to another level.” He adds, “Organic Harvest is currently available in 5,000 outlets and we plan to increase the presence to 50,000 in India within a span of one year. We are exporting our products to 3 countries this year and gradually want to increase the number to 10. Also, in terms of our exclusive brand outlets, currently we have 11 EBOs and plan to have 25 in a span of one year. Internationally, we debuted in the UAE market last year. Organic Harvest is already present in Bangladesh and Nepal with its extensive range of organic beauty products. We are growing at a rapid pace internationally. We will soon start exporting new countries like Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Singapore. We are also looking at markets including Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and rest of GCC countries.”

Investments made till date: Rahul shares, “We made an initial investment of 6 million dollars. The different segments wherein the investment was divided were R&D, Sales & Marketing and Capital expenditure. Till date we have invested more than 15 million dollars.”

Target growth percentage: Rahul shares, “Till now we have been growing more than 200% year on year, but now since the base have grown substantially so we are aiming at 50% per year.”

Pricing: Sharing more on the what factors go into deciding how much a final product will sell for, Rahul shares, “The pricing is a factor of two considerations; first is, we try to keep our pricing in the range of Olay, Neutrogena and L’Oreal and the second is the product cost and the perceived value of the product.”

Best Sellers: Rahul shares, “Organic Harvest’s current product range includes organic skincare, hair care and body care products. Organic Harvest products are one of its kind and the brand currently does not have any direct competitors in the Indian market. Our products use raw materials that are derived from plants, are are grown completely sans chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. The raw materials are certified by reputed international organizations like EcoCert, OneCert&Natrue. This is why Organic Harvest products, true to its name, are an ode to nature in its purest form.” He adds, “Some of the best-selling products of Organic Harvest include 3-in-1 Face Wash, Exfoliating Face Scrub, Sunscreen SPF 60 and Anti Pigmentation Cream. The brand has a vast range of Cleansers, Sunscreens, Toners, Shower Gels, Shampoos, Conditioners, Treatment Creams, serums and Lip Balms to name a few.”

Long term vision: Rahul shares, “Organic Harvest should be seen as a global beauty brand promoting the concept of safe skin. We believe that organic as a concept is very well accepted by everyone in the global community and we foresee ourselves as becoming first beauty brand coming out of India which has global acceptance.”

What makes Organic harvest different – When asked that, is there anything you wish people knew about your products that they probably don't know, Rahul shares, “People in India are still developing their share of understanding about the different kinds of personal care products available in the market. A lot of people still need to understand the difference between Herbal, Ayurvedic, Natural and Organic. The products that we manufacture are completely organic and skin friendly. We make our products extremely effective and power-packed by using our knowledge about the organic plants extracts. Our R&D team consistently works on developing new formulas that can act as a breakthrough in the personal care industry.”