Draft:Brihans Natural Products

Brihans Natural Products Limited is an Indian skin care, hair care, and health care products company, which manufactures and markets Ayurvedic personal care products. Incorporated on 20 April 2000 by Mandar Agashe, the company is headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Sheetal Agashe has served as the company's managing director since January 2013. In 2022, their annual revenue was estimated to be IN₹109 million.

Best known for using active ingredients derived from natural products, their products have been widely used for scientific research in the fields of pharmacognosy, botany, chemistry, food technology, and food science. The company's flagship brand, Greenleaf, has been the recipient of several accolades, including a Promising Brands Award from The Economic Times in December 2019, a Femina Power Brands Award from Femina in January 2022, and an Outlook Business Movers & Shakers Award from Outlook in May 2022.

Under Mandar Agashe: 1998 — 2013
Since 1998, the Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate had established Brihans Pharmaceuticals in Mumbai, a division set up to research and develop herbal medication using allopathic delivery systems and Ayurvedic formulae. Noticing the side effects caused by cosmetic products, the company conducted test marketing to determine the gap in the market for skin care and hair care products with Ayurvedic formulae in Andhra Pradesh in August 1999, and then nationally by February 2000. 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.

By September 2001, using a wide distribution network, the company had set up 19 branches serving 700 distributors across India. The company exported its products to the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Malaysia, and the Maldives by then. The company initially launched the brands CleanComb and OraHeal, the former was a dandruff and hair loss prevention lotion, while the latter was 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.

In December 2002, the company launched a shampoo under the CleanComb brand and a skin gel under the brand Greenleaf. It had also established a division to distribute to beauty parlours. In January 2003, the company announced plans to export to the United States and Europe, announcing a partnership with TSI, to export Aloe vera juice and powder to be manufactured into personal care products for distribution within Europe from Germany. The company was additionally exporting to Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Thailand, and South Korea at the time.

By January 2004, the company was manufacturing several Aloe vera-based products under the brand Greenleaf, cucumber based products under the brand CucumWhite, and had introduced a hibiscus based hair gel under the brand JasRed. By November of that same year, the company began exporting to Australia and South East Asia. In January 2006, The Economic Times reported the company processed standardized batches of Aloe barbadensis to prevent contamination in its products. By March of that same year, the company had launched health juices under the brand Brimune, and further launched a turmeric based face wash in June that same year. Since 2007, the company was headquartered in Shaniwar Peth, Pune.

Under Sheetal Agashe: 2013 — present
In January 2013, Sheetal Agashe was appointed as the managing director of the company, having previously served as their chief executive officer since 2005. In October 2013, the company's trade name was trademarked. By May 2014, the company was exporting to Réunion and Singapore and manufactured most of its range with Aloe vera as the prime ingredient, with the company's product range being restructured by Agashe under the umbrella brand Greenleaf by 2016. In October 2016, the company's flagship brand Greenleaf was shortlists as one of India's most trusted brands by the business analysis firm IBC InfoMedia.

In July 2017, the company sponsored Vikram Phadnis's directorial debut, Hrudayantar (2017), starring Mukta Barve and Subodh Bhave. The company's products were placed in scenes throughout the film. In August of that year, the company was reported to be among the major contributors to the India Aloe vera products market, with Patanjali Ayurved, Dabur, the Baidyanath Group, and the Himalaya Wellness Company listed as its primary competitors. In March 2018, the company's flagship brand Greenleaf, was one of the brand sponsors for the Marathi edition of the Mirchi Music Awards. In September of that year, the company further sponsored Femina magazine's Mrs. Stylista beauty pageant. In December of that year, the company was awarded an India's Most Admired Brand Award by the market research firm White Page India.

By April 2019, the company sourced locally produced Aloe vera, Phyllanthus emblica, and Hibiscus rosa-sinensis for its production, further sourcing its raw material from drought-prone Solapur in Maharashtra. The company's marketing strategy further included celebrity endorsements, film product placements, and award show sponsorships. In May of that year, the company was reported to have a significant global market share of Aloe vera on the Indian subcontinent, alongside Patanjali Ayurved, Dabur, the Himalaya Wellness Company, Fabindia, and Forest Essentials. In July of that year, Malaika Arora endorsed the company's Greenleaf Aloe Vera Skin Gel product over social media, and in subsequent sponsored columns in Times Life in May and June of that year, praising the product's ingredients, features, uses, and benefits for the summer. In August of that year, the company's flagship brand was once again shortlisted as that year's most trusted brands from IBC InfoMedia. In December of that year, the company's flagship brand further received a Promising Brand Award from The Economic Times, further appearing as one of the brand sponsors at the 6th Filmfare Glamour and Style Awards.

In December 2020, the company launched an Aloe vera and 60% w/w alcohol based hand sanitizer and an Aloe vera based liquid hand soap amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. By July 2021, the company exported its products across India, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Nepal, and Malaysia. In January 2022, the company's flagship brand was the recipient of Femina magazine's Power Brands Awards. In May of that year, the company itself was awarded a Best of Bharat Award from the Exchange4Media Group, and the company's flagship brand was awarded a Movers and Shakers Award from Outlook that same month. In August that same year, the company was a brand sponsor for the 67th Filmfare Awards. In 2023, the company further brand sponsored the Sakal Premier Awards in April, the Grazia Millennial Awards in June, the Bhojpuri Icon Awards by Filmfare and Femina in July, and the 2023 Filmfare OTT Awards in November. That same month, the company launched a hair serum for hair loss containing Aloe vera, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Lawsonia inermis, Phyllanthus emblica, and Eclipta prostrata as its primary ingredients.

Products
The company manufactures skin care and hair care products that have active ingredients that are derived from the natural products of biological activity as compared to artificial chemicals generally used in most cosmetics.

Greenleaf
Since its introduction in December 2002, Greenleaf has been the flagship brand promoted by the company. The company has manufactured several gels, moisturizers, shampoos, and ointments under the flagship. The products claim to relieve acne, rashes, and dandruff. Aloe vera, Curcuma longa, Melaleuca alternifolia, Cucumis sativus, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Prunus amygdalus, and Garcinia indica are some of the ingredients used in the manufacturing. The products have generally been marketed for the summer season.

The company received the trademarked for the brand in December 2019. Since 2016, Greenleaf has also served as the umbrella brand for the company, with the brands CucumWhite and JasRed initially introduced under Mandar Agashe before 2004, being restructured under the Greenleaf flagship by Sheetal Agashe. The flagship has also been the recipient of numerous accolades from The Economic Times, Femina, and Outlook.

Brimune
The brand Brimune was launched in March 2006. The company has promoted sugar free health juices under the brand label. Previously, the company had exported its Aloe vera juice to Europe without a brand label. Aloe vera and Phyllanthus emblica are the two ingredients used. The juices are typically fibrous in consistency, and are marketed as nutritional supplements and immunity builders.

CleanComb
CleanComb was one of the initial brands launched by the company in April 2000. The brand initially promoted a dandruff and hair loss prevention lotion and the formulation included twelve Ayurvedic herbs, before introducing a shampoo in December 2002. The brand was subsequently discontinued following consumer complaints filed with the Advertising Standard Council of India for the brand's product advertisements in April 2014. The brand's trademark was granted to the Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate, the parent company of Brihans Natural Products, in May 2014. In December 2023, the company launched a hair serum to treat hair loss under its Greenleaf flagship.

OraHeal
OraHeal was one of the initial brands launched by the company in April 2000. The brand promoted a chewable tablet for mouth ulcers, originally marketed as an over-the-counter herbal medicine. Glycyrrhiza glabra and Acacia catechu were the ingredients used in the tablets. The brand's trademark was granted to the Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate, the parent company of Brihans Natural Products, in May 2014.

Research
The company's products have been widely used in scientific research. 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.

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.

Controversies
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.

In October 2017, the Consumer Complaints Council of the Advertising Standard Council of India further upheld consumer complaints against the company's advertisement of their flagship Greenleaf Pure Aloe Vera Skin Gel product. 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.

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. 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.