A brand that goes the extra mile to be natural and ethical, BodyCafé offers a choice for buying handmade, cruelty-free, 100% natural beauty and wellness products. 

From an insightful interview with one of the two founders, Tanushree Ishani Das, we bring you the story of BodyCafé. 

Here’s to new beginnings

Considering the variety of beauty and skincare products available in the market, getting a perfect match that caters to your needs should not be difficult, right? Wrong. As Tanushree and her (then) wedding planner- and now business partner, Pooja found out, finding an ideal life-partner is perhaps easier than finding a skincare product that checks all the boxes for you. 

For Tanushree and Pooja, the making, the ingredients, the packaging, and the cost were factors to be considered. Unable to find a suitable brand, they resorted to the tried-and-tested home remedies. It was this that sparked the idea in their minds. And so, BodyCafé- an organic lifestyle wellness brand based on authentic and traditional beauty practices was born. 

For the duo, one of the primary purposes of launching a range of organic skincare was to encourage others to choose a healthy lifestyle. 

They wanted to bring back ancient Indian remedies or "gharelu nuskhe" and what better way to do that than incorporating them into their products.

" We realized that users do not have the option to choose these age-old, ancient remedies in a packaged form. The process is time and energy-consuming, and people usually reserve it for a self-care Sunday. We wanted to change that." 

The factor that they refused to compromise upon was the cost of their products. Affordability is undoubtedly one of the unique selling points of BodyCafé. 

"We realized that our brand had to be price sensitive. Grooming is something that everyone should be able to afford."

Aspiring to make a mark in society, the two founders aim to provide a pocket-friendly range of natural, authentic, and ethically-sourced products.

The 100% organic catalogue

The product assortment of BodyCafé is extensive and offers a wide variety to the customers. Products are categorised under Grooming, Wellness, Babycare, Homecare and Petcare. These products are further classified under Lifestyle range for everyday use and Spa & Luxury range to help you treat yourself to a revitalising spa experience.

By keeping their products paraben-free and avoiding artificial colours, synthetic fragrances and harmful additives, BodyCafé promises a sustainable and ethical lifestyle. 

“Our products are 100% natural and ethically sourced. We strictly follow environmentally friendly manufacturing practices and say no to animal testing.”

To create awareness about eco-friendly and natural products, the brand has a transparency policy in place. The customers can check-out all product-related information like the ingredients, what harmful alternatives they avoid and the benefits of going eco-friendly, on the product page itself. 

The everyday challenges 

The challenges are endless but expected. Dealing with the logistics of sustaining a brand like BodyCafé is not an easy task. Planning, operations and logistics can prove to be exhausting. To add to the obstacles, some people find it difficult to take orders from two women. 

People tend to stick with what they know. Bringing about change, especially in the field of wellness and beauty, is difficult. People are reluctant to try new products, ones that claim to be eco-friendly and organic. They are sceptical about a brand’s claims of being 100% natural, and the possible side effects of handmade products.

“BodyCafé started with the idea of offering support to people who want to have a healthy and pure lifestyle. We based our entire brand on traditional and authentic beauty practices. But the biggest challenge was to convince people to believe in us. They are not comfortable with change. You have to go out of your comfort zone to be able to push customers out of their comfort zone."

Instead of going down the rabbit hole of paid advertising, the duo wanted to grow by word of mouth. 

Why BodyCafé? 

Both Tanushree and Pooja believe in giving back to the community. The business model they have in place aims to create a safe environment for not only their customers but also their employees. 

“We empower the agriculture industry by making it a point to procure raw materials from local, community farmers. Another pressing issue that we address is the unemployment of domestic abuse survivors. We are particular in employing such people to handcraft our products and their packaging."

You're brew-tiful.. 

Let's be real. Taking care of your skin, while necessary, is exhausting! It involves hours of research, browsing, searching for suitable products. And if that wasn't enough, you also have to apply them to your face every day, twice. 

While the world is obsessed with Korean skincare routines, BodyCafé feels like the perfect homecoming. They are here to make skincare less complicated, more affordable and better for the environment. We see it as a win-win situation. The broke, lazy college student in me is rejoicing.