Varun and Ghazal Alagh launched Mamaearth in 2016 with toxin-free baby products. By 2023, Honasa Consumer had ₹2,000 crore in revenue and a Rs 10,000 crore IPO valuation.
The IPO listed at a premium. The stock dropped 30% in the months that followed.
The problem wasn’t the brand, it was the business model scrutiny that public markets demand. Investors asked hard questions: how much revenue came from paid marketing? What happens to retention when you stop advertising? Is “toxin-free” a moat, or a claim any brand can copy?
Mamaearth subsequently pivoted, leaning harder into dermatology-backed claims, expanding Derma Co., and reducing reliance on digital-only acquisition. The brand is adapting in real time under public market pressure.
The larger lesson for Indian D2C: going public doesn’t end the building; it starts a new, harder phase of it.
