External links
- Official website
- Business data for Brihans Natural Products Limited:
- Brihans Natural Products at Crunchbase
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| Company type | Company limited by shares |
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| ISIN | INE04ZC01014 |
| Industry | Ayurvedic skin care, hair care, and health care products |
| Founded | 20 April 2000 |
| Founder | Mandar Agashe |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | |
Key people | Sheetal Agashe (managing director) |
| Products | Gels, moisturizers, shampoos, lotions, ointments, juices, tablets, and herbal medication |
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| Total equity |
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Number of employees | 65 (2023) |
| Parent | Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd. |
| Website | brihansnatural |
| Footnotes /references [1] [2] [3] [4] | |
Brihans Natural Products Limited is an Indian consumer goods company headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra. Incorporated on 20 April 2000, it is best known for manufacturing and marketing Ayurvedic skin care, hair care, and health care product ranges, which have received several corporate awards, most notably from The Economic Times , Femina , and Outlook Business .
Best known for using natural product-derived active ingredients, its various products have been widely used in scientific research in the fields of pharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacognosy, botany, chemistry, food technology, and food science, but have also received notable criticism from the media and academia for their advertising and labeling practices.
In 1998, the Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate established Brihans Pharmaceuticals in Mumbai as a division to research and develop herbal medication using allopathic delivery systems and Ayurvedic formulae. [5] The company conducted test marketing to determine the gap in the market for skin care and hair care products with Ayurvedic formulae to address the side effects caused by cosmetic products in Andhra Pradesh in August 1999, and then nationally by February 2000. [6] [7] Brihans Natural Products was formally incorporated by Mandar Agashe on 20 April 2000 as a private limited company, and as a subsidiary of the Syndicate. [8]
By September 2001, the company via a distribution network, had set up 19 branches serving 700 distributors across India, exporting its products to the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Malaysia, and the Maldives. The company's initial products were CleanComb, a dandruff and hair loss prevention lotion, and OraHeal, a chewable tablet for mouth ulcers. That same year, the company was awarded an Udyog Ratna Excellence Award from the Institute of Economic Studies, in New Delhi. [6]
In December 2002, the company launched a shampoo under the CleanComb brand and a skin gel under the brand Greenleaf, [a] and further established a division to distribute to beauty parlours. [9] In January 2003, the company announced plans to export to the United States and Europe, announcing a partnership with TSI Consumer Goods, to export Aloe vera juices and powders to be manufactured into personal care products for distribution within Europe from Germany. The company also exported to Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Thailand, and South Korea at that time. [12]
By January 2004, the company was manufacturing several Aloe vera-based products under the Greenleaf brand, cucumber based products under the brand CucumWhite, [13] and had introduced a hibiscus based hair gel under the brand JasRed. [14] The company has also been a member as pharmaceutical formulations and herbal or neutraceutical products manufacturer of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India since May 2004. [15] [16] By November of that same year, the company began exporting to Australia and South East Asia. [17] In January 2006, The Economic Times reported the company manufactured standardized batches of Aloe barbadensis to prevent contamination in its products. [18] By March of that same year, the company had launched health juices under the brand Brimune, [19] and further launched a turmeric based face wash in June that same year. [20] As of 2007, the company was headquartered in Shaniwar Peth, Pune. [21]
In January 2013, Sheetal Agashe was appointed the managing director of the company, having previously served as its chief executive officer since 2005. [22] By May 2014, the company was exporting to Réunion and Singapore and manufactured most of its range with Aloe vera as the primary ingredient, [23] having secured a trademark for its trade name in October 2013. [24] By 2016, the company's numerous products and brands had been restructured under an umbrella and flagship brand, Greenleaf, [22] which in October of that same year, was shortlisted as one of India's most trusted brands by the business analysis firm IBC InfoMedia. [25] [26]
In July 2017, the company sponsored Vikram Phadnis's directorial debut, Hrudayantar (2017), starring Mukta Barve and Subodh Bhave, with its products being placed in scenes throughout the film. [25] By August of that year, the company reportedly was a major manufacturer in the Indian Aloe vera products market, alongside its primary competitors Patanjali Ayurved, Dabur, the Baidyanath Group, and the Himalaya Wellness Company. [27] [28] In September 2017, the company was also part of a shopper marketing trade show in Navi Mumbai hosted by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. [29] In March 2018, the company was a brand sponsor for the Marathi edition of the Mirchi Music Awards. [30] In September of that year, the company further sponsored Femina magazine's Mrs. Stylista beauty pageant. [31] In December of that same year, the company was awarded an India's Most Admired Brand Award by the market research firm White Page India. [32]
By April 2019, the company was sourcing locally produced raw material for its production, notably from drought-prone Solapur in Maharashtra, and the company's marketing strategy relied on celebrity endorsements, film and television product placements, and award show sponsorships. [25] In May of that year, the company reportedly had a significant global market share of Aloe vera on the Indian subcontinent, alongside Patanjali Ayurved, Dabur, the Himalaya Wellness Company, Fabindia, and Forest Essentials. [33] In May and June of that same year, Malaika Arora endorsed the company's products in sponsored columns in Times Life , [34] followed by posts over social media that July. [35] In August of that year, the company's flagship brand was once again shortlisted as that year's most trusted brands in India from IBC InfoMedia, [26] and in December 2019, received a Promising Brand Award from The Economic Times, [36] [26] with the company further sponsoring the 6th Filmfare Glamour and Style Awards that same month. [37]
In a July 2020 report prepared by the National Institute of Agricultural Marketing, the company was cited as a major operator in the Indian Aloe vera market. [38] In December 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the company launched a 60% w/w alcohol based hand sanitizer and a liquid hand soap. [39] By July 2021, the company was exporting its products across India, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Nepal, and Malaysia. [40] In December of that year, the company was part of a shopper marketing trade show organised by the Rotary Club of Madgaon. [41] In January 2022, the company's flagship brand was the recipient of a Femina magazine's Power Brands Award, [42] and was awarded a Movers and Shakers Award from Outlook in May 2022. [43] The company itself was awarded a Best of Bharat Award from the Exchange4Media Group that same month. [44] In August that same year, the company was a brand sponsor for the 67th Filmfare Awards. [45]
In 2023, the company further sponsored the Sakal Premier Awards in April, [46] the Grazia Millennial Awards in June, [47] the Bhojpuri Icon Awards by Filmfare and Femina in July, [48] and the 2023 Filmfare OTT Awards in November. [49]
The company has manufactured gels, moisturizers, shampoos, and ointments under its flagship brand Greenleaf since December 2002, [50] [9] and has been cited for using the balanced scorecard strategy in its business performance management. [51] The products are typically manufactured with natural products such as Aloe vera , Curcuma longa , Melaleuca alternifolia , Cucumis sativus , Hibiscus rosa-sinensis , Prunus amygdalus , and Garcinia indica as active ingredients in their formulations. [26] [52] The products have generally been marketed for the summer season. [53] Since 2016, Greenleaf has also served as the umbrella brand for the company. [22]
The company has manufactured sugar free health juices containing Aloe vera and Phyllanthus emblica since March 2006. [19] [12] The juices are typically fibrous in consistency, and are marketed as nutritional supplements and immunity builders. [26] [54] The company has manufactured a dandruff and hair loss prevention lotion since April 2000, [55] before introducing a shampoo in December 2002, [9] and then a hair serum containing Aloe vera, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Lawsonia inermis , Phyllanthus emblica, and Eclipta prostrata in Novemeber 2023. [56] The company also manufactures a chewable tablet with Glycyrrhiza glabra and Acacia catechu for mouth ulcers, usually marketed as an over-the-counter herbal medicine. [6] [54]
The company's various products have also been used in scientific research, [50] [18] [5] particularly in the fields of pharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacognosy, botany, chemistry, food technology, and food science. [57] [58] [59] The company's Greenleaf Aloe Vera Gel was used as the research material in a July 2008 study published in the journal Phytotherapy Research conducted by Rishi et al, studying the anti-inflammatory property of Aloe vera on the inflammation caused by the Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica subspecies of the genus Salmonella OmpR when applied topically or administered by intraperitoneal injection, concluding that the superoxide dismutase present in Aloe vera mediated the inflammation by increasing macrophage levels. [60]
The company's initial organic Aloe vera juice exports to Europe were cited in a December 2009 study published by the journal Beverage & Food World conducted by Singh et al from the food technology departments of the Allahabad Agricultural Institute and the National Productivity Council, researching the use of hurdle technology in determining the effects of pasteurisation or the use of preservatives as efficient preservation methods on the pH and total suspended solids in Aloe vera juice. [61]
Aloe vera obtained from the company's products was further used in a 2015 study published in the Research Journal of Pharmaceutical, Biological and Chemical Sciences by Lakhanpal et al from the department of pharmacology at the Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital & Research Centre, studying the healing of household burns using Aloe vera in differing formulations with Framycetin sulphate on Sprague Dawley rats, concluding that Aloe pulp obtained directly from the plant was the faster and safer remedy. [62] The company has been cited as a significant exporter of Aloe vera grown in India to Malaysia in a 2015 doctoral thesis submitted to Osmania University. [63]
In a September 2023 study published by the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology in January 2024, Sahoo et al sought to study if N-acetylcysteine would photo-stabilize avobenzone under natural sunlight by integrating avobenzone, N-acetylcysteine (as a wound healing agent), and glutathione as a skin whitener into the company's Greenleaf Aloe Cucumber Gel using Ellman's reagent. Their findings concluded that their integrated formulation with the Greenleaf Aloe Cucumber Gel protected the skin against UVA radiation because the N-acetylcysteine deactivated the keto-avobenzone, and promoted keto-enol tautomerization. [59]
In April 2014, the company's advertisement for its hair loss lotion brand CleanComb was complained against to the Consumer Complaints Council of the Advertising Standard Council of India. The complaints alleged that the advertisement misled customers in violation of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. The company's brand was one of several consumer brands from the health care and personal care products industries to be complained against. [64]
In October 2017, the Consumer Complaints Council of the Advertising Standard Council of India further upheld consumer complaints suo moto against the company's advertisement of their flagship Greenleaf Pure Aloe Vera Skin Gel product in the personal care products category. The complaints alleged that the company's use of the "India's Most Trusted Brand Award 2016" from IBC InfoMedia was unreferenced within the advertisement, further alleging that the survey methodology, survey data, evaluation criteria, and competitor analysis for the award were missing from the advertisement. [65]
The complaints further alleged that the product's claimed effects against acne, sunburn, rashes, skin allergies, cuts, and wounds were inadequately substantiated with comparative research for product efficacy, and thus misleading as per the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. [66] [67] As a result, the company conducted clinical trials in April 2018 for the product which allegedly proved that it reduced inflammation and improved healing of the skin. [40]
The company's 2017 advertising flaws were cited in a February 2020 analysis published in the Asian Journal of Multidimensional Research by C. L. Avadhani at Annamalai University, studying the advertising laws and regulations of India that applied to the healthcare industry. [68]
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