”The biggest pain point for women today is the abundance of choice in beauty but lack of awareness/ knowledge to be able to navigate through this” Nikita Deshpande, Co founder ilana organics
A tree called ilana
“Ilana” means to be like a tree in Hebrew. That is anything that possesses the quality of a tree. It comes from this very meaning, of possessing the qualities of a tree, that are sustainability, lean growth, being a compensating structure.
Ethical, organic, sustainable, non toxic -just convenient buzz words ?
While these are buzz words, some of them are also ambiguous. It’s a brand’s responsibility to put out the true meaning of these terms for a consumer to make an informed decision. We at Ilana believe in addressing all questions and talking about anything and everything openly. While navigating, the consumer can read and understand all these things on the website and on our social media. https://www.ilana.shop/pages/our-practices
You have a blur concealer and pearlescent highlighter- can make up actually be completely silicon and paraben free ?
Yes, most certainly. Parabens are mostly used as preservatives in formulations, and there are natural/ nature identical preservative alternatives available; that are even approved by ECOCERT. Silicones are plastic identical fillers of sorts that help you create a clean canvas and the product to glide on. There are a lot of natural light weight oils/ butters that do the job. In some cases fractionated oils are used where the fats are separated from the oil making it nature identical.
The beauty business seems to be oversaturated – what has been the response to Ilana? What do you think are the things Indian women are desperately looking for in skin care?
Ilana has always been appreciated for its transparency, clean formulations and ethics. 3 years ago when Ilana was introduced; the industry really lacked a brand that did it all. 3 years later we are somewhat closer, but still trying to make the most on every front. The biggest pain point for women today is the abundance of choice, and lack of awareness/ knowledge to be able to navigate through it. The industry is growing at a pace where there’s new trends getting introduced left, right, centre. It’s really hard for anyone to keep up. It’s important to do justice to the formulations and also make them visible the right way.
Do you make your own products or are they made to your specs by a manufacturer?
We formulate the products ourselves, however manufacture them under a third-party FDA approved facility under our specs.
Where to next ? A new line ? A Nykaa style IPO?
What’s next is we want to increase our base in India, by being the go to brand for Superfood Beauty while making our skincare extremely unique and efficient. We plan on introducing Hair Care next with some active based skincare. An IPO maybe, but that’s a long way off.
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