This Cancer Survivor Is Building An Organic Lifestyle Products Brand From Gujarat

A two-time cancer survivor, yogini, and now a mom founder of her brand Anahata, Radhika Iyer Talati lives a life of healthy, organic, and natural living. 

About the mom founder

Radhika, with a B.Com and an M.PR degree, started off as a wedding decorator. In 2002, she founded the brand IVY Concepts, with a partner. Two years later, she was detected with first-stage breast cancer and then with uterine cancer. In search of a healing path, she visited Baba Dhuninath’s Ashram in Bhagsunag village in the Himalayas, in 2009. During her four and half months stay in the mountains, she was drawn towards the idea of natural living, Ayurveda, and meditation. 

After training experiences from 7 to 8 yoga universities, she started RAA Yoga in November 2009 with its centre based in Vadodara. As an initiative towards introducing yoga to new people, the mom founder provided free training sessions. She has taught yoga to more than 10,000 people till now. 

However, due to the pandemic, the number of students has reduced to 40 – 50, divided across 7 – 8 batches. When RAA Yoga turned into RAA Foundation, the founder did not want any external donation to run the yoga centre. In the meantime, she came across a few people who told her, ‘If you don’t ingest the right kind of food, doing yogic activities will be in vain!’ So, Radhika thought, ‘Why can’t Anahata be the business company that runs the foundation?’ With the experiences that she learnt in the Himalayas, she introduced Anahata as an organic lifestyle brand.

About the start-up

According to the Vedas and Puranas, Anahata means the heart chakra, that epitomises balance, serenity, and compassion. As the name suggests, brand Anahata offers 100% organic and sustainable lifestyle and wellness products. 

With about 300 SKUs in both food and beauty segments, the product prices range between Rs. 125 – Rs. 900. Anahata sources their raw produce from farmers, mostly habituating the southern and middle parts of India. From Madhya Pradesh and Assam, they get about 100 kg roses per week for products like rose water powder, rose oil, rose scrub, lip balm, etc. Likewise, they get ashwagandha from Karnataka, liquorice from Tamil Nadu, and ink nuts from Himachal.

Located in Vadodara is the brand’s production space where they store the raw materials, which are then traditionally dried and crushed to make the finished products. The brand ensures three to four hours of production every day, and Radhika trains her production team of three people for the preparations. The Boss Mom takes care of the final blending, alongside managing other administrative work. The company also has people to look after finance, brand management and marketing.  

During the pandemic they acquired 450 – 500 customers within eight months of launching, out of which 75 – 80 customers were repeat customers. Their digital sales channels include major online retailers, such as Brown Living, Wedding Brigade, Vanity Wagon, apart from their own e-commerce website. Their next move is to list their products on Amazon and Nykaa.

Product offering

The underlying foundation of Anahata is the use of only organic, chemical-free, and natural ingredients for all their products. They typically include generic ingredients, like turmeric (haldi), that allows everybody to use or consume the items.

In the food category, the brand’s three best selling are ghee, honey, and podis (a ready to cook, pre-mix powder). The top selling products in the beauty section are anti-acne products, soaps, kumkumadi oil, and under-eye mask. Their exclusive product is Nabhira — a navel oil, made from a 2000-year-old recipe handed down from Babaji to her, when she was trained by him in the Himalayas. Nabhira oil lubricates the nadis or nerves ensuring better blood circulation, oxygen supply, and other health benefits.

Anahata does not segment and target a niche market. They currently focus on products that can be purchased and used by anyone, irrespective of their class, age, or gender.

But the future holds a few product introductions by Anahata that shall carry a premium price, aimed to acquire customers with higher paying capacity. The mom founder believes that Anahata’s quality is its USP, and that is worth every penny spent. 

Journey of the warrior mom founder

Radhika feels that not everybody gets the kind of support that a woman deserves.

“I believe if the family members can offer certain help at home, then it will be rewarding for a woman as an entrepreneur. It will take time, we will have to sacrifice a little more, but we will get there!”

Dabbling between both worlds, professional and personal, this mother of three (two daughters and a son) received immense support from her spouse and in-laws, and unconditional motivation from her children. 

On speaking about what cancer taught her, she says, “Until and unless a person is forced to go out of their comfort zone, they will never gain a different perspective from all aspects of life. Just like how a seed has to break for the plant to come out, suffering is inevitable to understand pain and sacrifice.”

The Boss Mom signs off with a piece of strong advice,

“Women need to buck up, get on top of their game, and do what they want to do. I always tell my daughters that it was because of my mother, who did not stay at home and sacrifice her talent, I was able to be who I am today!”