Arata Crosses $2.5 Million Valuation – The Story of Sustainable Wellness Solution Provider

Arata is a clean, sustainable wellness start-up that creates and manufactures 100% plant-derived unisex personal haircare and skincare products. Dhruv Bhasin and Dhruv Madhok founded Arata in early 2018 and have around fifteen in-house employees in their New Delhi headquarters with a non-hierarchical working structure. The brand hires out-of-house agencies for advertising, marketing, and the like. Arata uses only ingredients rated 1-3 on the EWG toxicity scale, making their formulations some of the cleanest on the market. The brand follows a practice of manufacturing, packing, and shipping its products within a short window, ensuring that each product is created within the last 60 days.

Note: Arata has been featured in Vogue, Verve, GQ, Economic Times (India), Business Standard, Deal Street Asia, Mint (newspaper) and Little Black Book in India.

Arata Startup : Founder(s) & Team

• Dhruv Madhok Dhruv Madhok is the Director of Arata and an alumnus of the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business. He founded the idea for Arata during the wedding ceremony with his cofounder.
• Dhruv Bhasin Also a Director of Arata, he completed his Master’s at the University of Surrey and Lancaster University.

Arata : Key Points

• Legal Name - Slick Organics Private Limited
• CIN - U36999DL2017PTC310502
• Founded - February 4, 2018
• Founders - Dhruv Bhasin, Dhruv Madhok
• Headquarters - New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Industry - e-commerce, cosmetics, health and wellness
• Financing status - Venture Capital
• Last Funding Type - Series A
• Valuation - $2.34M as of May 07, 2020
• Annual Revenue - $437K as of December 31, 2019
• Products/ Services - Haircare and skincare products
• Company Type - Private, Non-Govt; For Profit
• Website - www.arata.in

Fun Fact : PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) has certified Arata as vegan and cruelty-free since 2018.

Arata Startup - Beginning of the Idea

In January 2016, Bhasin was using his mother’s homemade hair gel to style Madhok’s wedding. When Madhok asked about the possibility of hair falling out or whitening due to the gel, Bhasin replied that it was 100% natural and made from flax seeds, sending him a sample. When Madhok realized the result was the same as any other chemical gel in the market, he told Bhasin they should make a safe alternative with the organic gel. They noticed that carcinogens weren’t just in styling products but almost all personal care products. These ingredients are banned in North America and Europe while still being sold in India.

This led to the creation of Arata, where products are chemical-free and safe to use.

Note : Arata first began selling a single product - hair gel - to men and are now a unisex brand with over 25 different products catering to all, regardless of age, gender, and such.

Arata Startup – Top Features & USP

• PETA-certified vegan
• PETA-certified cruelty-free
• Recycled plastic (not just recyclable) and no plastic waste
• Fully transparent
• Safe - chemical-free
• Australia - Certified Made Safe & Non-Toxic
• EWG Verified - the first brand in India to receive this certification;

Arata : Competitors

• MamaEarth
• Plum
• Honest
• ELF Cosmetics
• Aegte

Fun Fact: In 2020, the company switched to post-consumer recycled plastic for all its products, dropping its single-use plastic packaging. They even print the labels in food-grade (non-toxic), biodegradable ink!

Arata Startup Business Model - Selling through Digital Marketing

Arata is internet-first and sells the formulae on their website, alongside other marketplaces like Amazon, Nykaa, Myntra, Flipkart, Paytm, and Tata Cliq. They use the power of digital marketing across Facebook, Google, Instagram and other marketplaces. They also focus on customer delight, ensuring their customers get more than what they thought they were getting in terms of product samples, gifts with purchases, and post-sale customer care. Digital marketing allows customers to discover the band from the comfort of their computers and phones; and enables Arata to reach a wider audience. Their USP is that they are the first and only brand in India to have received the coveted EWG Verified certification for our products.

Arata - Funding & Investors

Arata has raised approximately $1.5 million in two rounds of funding since 2018. Nikhil Vora, Rohan Vaziralli, and DSG Consumer Partners led the funding.

Note : Arata’s Revenue for the Calendar Year 2019 stood at $437K, up from $103K in the Calendar Year 2018.

Arata : Challenges and Solutions

Challenges are aplenty in any start-up, from developing the correct formulation to identifying the proper positioning and price-point for an SKU, raising funding or finding talent, not to mention acquiring and retaining customers – being agile and creative is required at all times.

Fun Fact - Arata won the Vogue Beauty Awards 2021 in the Category Best Daily Shampoo

Arata : The Brand with an Ethical Vision

Arata’s vision has always been being non-toxic on the inside and out. In the next three years, they aim for Arata to be the go-to brand for premium clean label, honest and sustainable products. Arata is a brand with global sensibilities- creatives, communications, and language. They will establish the brand Arata in global marketplaces, competing head-to-head with international brands. Their goal is to be doing projected annual revenues of 100 Crore. Currently focusing on online distribution for this year, they are in the early stages of international expansion. Over the next year, they aim to evaluate the offline distribution.