Incorporated by Dr Neena Chopra, Arush Chopra and Megha Sabhlok in 2014, Just Herbs has been focussed on selling directly to its customers The Marico merger in 2021 helped the Ayurvedic BPC Brand expand to over 500 retail touchpoints across India from just six The founders claim to have grown their top line 448% post-acquisition, from INR 17.5 Cr in FY21 to INR 96 Cr in FY24 In 2014, when Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) wasn’t the norm and ecommerce giants like Flipkart and Amazon ruled the online retail arena with an iron fist, Mohali-based ayurvedic beauty and personal care startup Just Herbs had already marked its foray into the Indian D2C realm. Now, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that today the trio of Just Herbs’ founders, Dr Neena Chopra, Arush Chopra and Megha Sabhlok, have seen it all — the beginning of the era of online marketplaces, the rise and fall of private labels, and the rise of the D2C paradigm in India.
Imperative to highlight the meteoric rise of D2C was marked by the influx of venture capital funding around 2016-2017 and the emergence of new fashion, beauty, furniture and other kinds of brands. During this time, companies like Pepperfry, Urban Ladder, and an array of lesser-known brands received significant growth and investment. This led to an increase in competition and customer acquisition and retention costs.
While some survived, many had to close shops as funding dried up in the ecosystem and runways ran thin. Amidst the hysteria related to VC funding,.