Meet Indian woman, 45, who built Rs 8300 crore skincare brand, now competes with Lakme and others

Belonging from the Tehri Garhwal region of Uttaranchal which is the Ayurvedic hub in India, Mira was exposed to the Ayurvedic way to life very early in life. Here’s what she did next.

We all have heard success stories of many men who faced hardships in their life but later created a business empire worth thousands of crore but today, we have a story of a forty-five year old single mother from Uttarakhand who created an Ayurvedic skincare brand of Rs8500 crore through her consistent handwork and talent. Here is the story about Mira Kulkarni, the founder and managing director of Forest Essentials.

Talking about her education, Mira Kulkarni graduated in Fine Arts from Stella Maris College, Chennai. Belonging from the Tehri Garhwal region of Uttaranchal which is the Ayurvedic hub in India, Mira was exposed to the Ayurvedic way to life very early in life. Additionally, she had varied interest in painting in journalism, watercolours, organic plants and herbal culture.

In reference to her interest in Ayurveda, Mira worked for many years with Vaids and modern Biochemists to produce a range of products. During these research days, her focus was on the inherent properties of Ayurveda intact and still make a product which was saleable.

How Mira launched Forest Essentials

In this journey of Forest Essential, Mira discovered an Ayurvedic soap and started selling it. A big opportunity came for her when Hyatt Regency ordered these soap for their hotels and also wanted to have Forest Essentials’ soaps in their rooms. Slowly but steadily, the company started getting orders from such a big hotel, and the rest of the products also picked up.

Net worth of Mira Kulkarni

Due to her successful entrepreneurial journey and leadership qualities, Mira Kulkarni has been honoured with many prestigious awards and commendations including, Fortune India’s ‘Most powerful women in business’. Meera Kulkarni’s reported net worth as of 20224 is estimated to be more than Rs 1200 crore.

About Forest Essentials:

Forest Essentials is a traditional, luxury Ayurvedic skin care brand which claims that its foundations is in the ancient science of Ayurveda. In its website, the company has also claims that it is the only Indian brand which is involved in the conception, formulation, manufacturing, bottling and sale of the products in its own Company owned stores.

Forest Essentials is also the leading supplier to the majority of the Luxury hotel chains in India including the iconic Taj Group of Hotels and The Oberoi Hotels. Operating under a ‘company owned, and company operated’ model, Forest Essentials has 155 stores across all major cities in India.