Organic Skincare India: Megha Asher on Juicy Chemistry's Rise

Revolutionising the rules of organic skincare.

The Foundery: South Asian Innovators Shaping our World

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For the longest time, the Indian beauty space has relied on pantry saviours like multani mitti, haldi, neem, besan and many more for crafting safe and effective skincare recipes. These beauty rituals revolve around the human mind and body’s credence towards the goodness of organic ingredients — be it the food we consume or the skin and hair care products that we avail on a day-to-day basis.

The superficial Tiktok beauty trends are gearing away from influencer-era and fancy packaging by taking a U-turn towards authentic recipes that are result driven. Skincare junkies are prioritising their personal care by gradually eliminating nasty chemicals and preservatives from their roster. According to a TechSci research report, the personal care market for organic products in India stood at USD 721.56 million in 2023 and is anticipated to grow by 14.31% between 2025-2029.

Megha Asher along with her husband Pritesh Asher tapped into India’s organic beauty market with the advent of Juicy Chemistry. At core, their goal was to explicitly create a skincare and haircare range that is bona fide organic. They have established themselves as one of the more affordable organic skincare brands in India while proudly abiding by their ‘soil-to-shelf’ maxim.

Organic skincare benefits for all skin types and addresses numerous skin concerns owing to their process of creation. Natural organic ingredients for skincare like coconut oils, botanicals, shea butter and others are grown without pesticides, additives, GMO’s or chemicals. This makes the organic emollients safe to use, gentle and potent, making it more effective.

For this installment of the Foundery, we speak to Megha Asher one of the leaders in the organic skincare space in India on how she built her company. She also demystified the blurry line between authentic and faux organic skincare and shared her top beauty hacks for a wholesome skincare routine.

How Juicy Chemistry became an Organic Skincare Leader

In the endless sea of skincare brands in India and beyond, there were hardly any trustworthy and transparent Indian organic skincare brands that catered to the needs of South-Asian skin types and concerns. The Ashers entered the market with Juicy Chemistry, as a one-stop organic store that shelves all things natural, clean and chemical-free. We delved deeper into the making of a successful skincare brand in India and here’s all that went behind the curtains.

How was Juicy Chemistry founded?

“After struggling with PCOD-related skin and hair issues for years, I decided to go the organic route and see if things would change. A chance encounter with a salesperson selling a product that seemed ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ but was anything but that prompted Pritesh and me to take a closer look at the Indian beauty market”, tells Asher.

“Juicy Chemistry began when consumers didn’t know what to expect from ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ products. There was no truly ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ brand available. This was the clear market gap that we saw. We also wanted to combat the perception that natural products aren’t as strong as their synthetic counterparts. We wanted to show our customers the best of organic personal care and in line with this idea, we were the first brand in India to have its entire range certified organic by ECOCERT COSMOS, under the V3 standard. The purpose behind the certification was to show that we were truly a brand that walked the talk”, she adds.

What’s Inside the Best Organic Skincare Products in India?

The organic label is an umbrella with understated meanings and claims. What really goes behind whipping up those formulas is hardly known to its consumers. Asher unravels the reality behind an organic product by focusing on Juicy Chemistry’s lab secrets. She highlights the blend of science and nature that creates a perfect good-for-skin formula and truly remains organic through its transparent and trust-worthy process. From the inception of resourcing to maintaining the freshness and taking care of the product waste, there’s a lot that goes behind the scenes.

“Being an organic brand doesn’t mean there’s no science involved. At Juicy Chemistry, we create efficacious products with scientifically backed ingredients and superior formulations. In the initial stages of product development, we decided that the customer deserves to get pure organic and unadulterated products. Therefore, our products are freshly made and in small batches. We also limit the use of preservatives, using them only where necessary”, explains Asher.

Most of our formulations are designed to possess a shelf life of 9 to 12 months without the use of preservatives - some are anhydrous formulations that stay fresh for long periods, some formulations do not provide a conducive environment for bacterial and microbial growth, thus remaining uncontaminated etc. We put in a lot of effort to educate our customers and community about what our brand stands for, what our mission is, and why formulations are made this way”, she continues.

“Our questioning doesn’t exclude production processes. Sourcing the right ingredients is the easy part, but making sure they don’t lose their essence by the time they touch your skin, is a whole other battle. We asked ourselves, ‘How do we keep the potency of our ingredients intact?’. Turns out, where there’s a will, there’s a gentler way. We only use processes like cold-pressing, steam distillation, sedimentation, and natural filtration on our botanicals. At Juicy Chemistry, no botanical is over-processed or wasted. Our methods are eco-friendly, and all kinds of wastes are reused or repurposed”.

Inside Megha Asher's Skincare Routine

As the co-founder of an organic skincare brand, Asher has her own pretty little skincare secrets which are fueled by Juicy Chemistry bestsellers.

Morning Routine

To maintain your skin radiant and healthy, Megha Asher's age-defying skincare tips are going to be your best-mate. Asher says, “I keep my routine simple and straightforward. In the morning, I cleanse with our nourishing Carrot, Rosehip, & Neroli organic soap (it can be used for both the face and body), followed by our organic Bulgarian Rosewater, Vitamin C Juicy Active, Aloe Gel and lastly Moisturising Mineral Sunscreen. If my skin is drier, I swap out the Aloe gel for our Saffron & Red Raspberry facial oil.”

Night Routine

She also broke down her night-time routine saying, “at night, I use our Cleansing Balm to gently remove sunscreen, dust, grime, and makeup, followed by a second cleanse with the same soap, Rosewater, and Cold Pressed Rosehip Facial Oi l”.

Gentle Hydration is Key

“The key to naturally glowing skin is ensuring it is healthy and moisturised. Using gentle cleansers, spritzing rosewater, adding vitamin C and AHA actives to your routine, and using a facial oil all help keep your skin healthy and glowy.

Lifestyle Choices

Having said that, skincare is only a part of the process. Eating a healthy diet, low on sugar and processed food, sleeping well, maintaining stress levels and exercising are just as important”, explains Asher.

The Future of Juicy Chemistry: Innovation and Sustainability in Organic Skincare

Sustainable ingredients in organic skincare is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to curating a truly eco-friendly and sustainable brand. From the inception of the recipe to its formulation, packing and waste management, there are some crucial parameters that shape and build not only the present, but also the future of clean beauty in India.

Asher notes the challenges of organic skincare brands and how Juicy Chemistry mitigates them naturally. “Innovation is a key aspect of product development. We’re intentional about the products we choose to develop and spend countless hours researching how we can create a meaningful product that is efficacious and impactful. Our Juicy Actives are a never-before-seen formulation that makes use of a revolutionary technology like the Cellular Extraction — that extracts the pure plant profile in a hydrating medium of rain-harvested water and ethically sourced glycerine. The result serums are efficacious, nourishing, and purely plant-powered. Similarly, our colour cosmetics line, Color Chemistry combines high performance and skin nourishment. Over the years, we’ve been able to prove to the world how potent and efficacious organic personal care can be, and now we’ve set our sights on yet another target that stays true to our mission - to revolutionise how organic makeup is perceived and show just how high-performance it can be without damaging your skin”, elucidates Asher.

@colorchemistry.in

“We constantly encourage and endeavour to inspire our consumers to embrace sustainable beauty practices. Our products reduce waste and are reusable too. To enact its ethos, here’s how Juicy Chemistry makes the best of eco-friendly skincare packaging:

We make use of glass bottles and tubs that are reusable.
Some products, like our deodorants and dry shampoos, are made from recyclable and biodegradable materials.
We use recyclable plastics such as PET bottles for shampoos and body washes.
The outer packaging of our products reduces excess filling material. We have an internal cardboard structure that prevents breakage.
We’ve recently forayed into makeup via our new brand Colour Chemistry. Its product packaging is made of bamboo, glass, and paper”, she continues.

“As an organisation, we’re very mindful of waste. As a result, we segregate our waste and compost our organic waste - such as fruit peels. Any remaining organic food material from our productions, for instance rice from rice water, is donated to animal shelters. Even while sourcing, we get the misshapen produce that a consumer might leave behind because of its appearance, although it is not lacking in nutrients in any way”, adds Asher.

“At both Juicy Chemistry and Colour Chemistry, we prefer to use plastic as little as possible, but in certain situations, a product requires the use of plastics; for example, in the twist-up mechanism of a lipstick or the pump of a bottle. However, we've ensured that they're easily separable from the packaging for recycling. At the beginning of 2022, we also became plastic-neutral and partnered with The Disposal Co. to recycle more plastic than we consume and reduce our carbon footprint. We also take back empties in our stores across the country as a part of our Recycle and Reward programme to encourage more mindful disposal of emptied products. If a store is not nearby, we encourage our customers to collect empties and send them together to our office in Coimbatore”, she iterates.

As they continue to incorporate nature-benign rituals and strive to achieve better everyday, Juicy Chemistry can surely take strides in influencing the future of organic skincare and its impact on the environment.

By staying true to their roots and growing through sustainability, Juicy Chemistry aims to mould the way people perceive organic and natural skincare in India and beyond. Switching to ‘organic only’ is a global phenomenon which is bound to expand over the coming years owing to its many benefits.

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