Inspired by the traditions and knowledge of childcare passed down by grandmothers to mothers, the #Dadi Nani Ke Nuskhe is what CITTA’s range of baby care products pride in. Powered by the prestigious Lexicon Group (Pune). Working on the principle of ‘Tradition backed by Science’ all CITTA products are a culmination of painstaking research into rituals, customers and best practices in baby rearing and caring. Therefore, each one has been designed with thought and age-old wisdom married with state-of-the-art technology and natural Indian ingredients. Startup Reporter recently conducted an interview with Ms. Akanksha Sharma, Co-founder & CEO, CITTA
How Indian Baby care brands are disrupting the industry.
The baby care industry in India has witnessed a remarkable surge in demand for safe baby skincare products in recent years, leading to a significant rise in the presence and growth of homegrown and Indian brands catering to this sector. Several factors have contributed to this upward trend, including increased awareness among parents about the importance of using safe and natural products for their babies, and a shift towards healthier and more sustainable lifestyles. Indian brands offer customized solutions by developing safe and effective skincare products for newborns, toddlers, and kids, leveraging the understanding of local preferences, cultural nuances, and traditional remedies. Moreover, Indian markets are known for their access to high-quality raw materials. India has long been known for its rich reserves of natural resources, and this extends to the ingredients used in baby care products. Indian baby care brands have invested in research and development to understand the unique requirements of Indian babies, considering factors such as climate, skin type, and prevalent skin issues and sourcing locally available ingredients that are suitable for Indian skin. Brands often utilize traditional ingredients known for their nourishing and healing properties, which resonate well with Indian consumers. For example, coconut oil, which is easily available in South India, is known to be beneficial for the skin and is well-suited for the region’s climate.
Similarly, almond oil, which is readily available in North India, is known for its nourishing properties. Other traditional ingredients like turmeric oil, ashwagandha oil, brahmi oil, basil oil, and camphor oil are also beneficial for the skin and are culturally familiar to Indian consumers. Indian and homegrown brands are putting a strong emphasis on natural and traditional ingredients, avoiding parabens, sulfates, silicones, strong fragrances, and potentially harmful chemicals. This commitment to safety and quality has helped build trust among parents who prioritize the well-being of their babies.
Tell us about your brand CITTA, and how it is different from other brands
When I was studying in the U.S, my mom and grandma used to call and check up on me regularly, like most Indian moms, and offer their advice in the form of “nuskhe”—drink turmeric milk before you sleep for healthy skin; use rosewater when you’re out in the sun, oil your hair with coconut oil before you wash them! This was their way of caring for me, even though we were a thousand miles apart. These ‘nuskhe’ are based on Indian traditions and ingredients that we Indians have been using for thousands of years, it is time-tested wisdom that works! I wanted everyone to experience the love and care that I was fortunate enough to experience.
Also, around the same time, a famous baby care brand came under fire for using unsafe ingredients in their baby powder. It was a big deal, I knew so many friends and family back in India who were loyal to that brand and using this product for their babies! This incident gave me and my mom the final push to create a safer brand for babies, and that is how we started CITTA.
CITTA’s roots in traditional wisdom backed with science empower it to create innovative solutions to baby skincare problems, unlike any other brand in the market. Our focus on providing ease and convenience to new-age parents drives our unique ingredient selection and product formulation. We wanted CITTA to be the option parents could completely rely on for their child’s skin health. We are bridging the gap between tradition and science to give parents the best of both worlds. Our unique formulations are crafted from the finest natural ingredients for maximum efficacy and safety. They are designed to solve skincare issues specific to the delicate skin of newborns, toddlers, and older kids.
For example, our Moisturizing Balm has been crafted with 7 natural oils and Shea Butter to have a unique thick texture that is more suited to babies’ skin than the usual creams and lotions, which have higher water content. Similarly, we created India’s first natural foaming wash and shampoo for babies – to give maximum convenience to the parents while offering gentle cleansing. This is what sets us apart as a brand with the safest and most effective Natural Baby Bath & Skincare products on the market.
Share some challenges faced in the baby care industry and how has CITTA overcome them so far.
Gaining the trust of parents is the hardest task — they are the most discerning audience ever! But we support that — parents being conscious of everything they choose for their baby. Slowly, through our products’ efficacy, we have managed to gain the trust of a few thousand parents across India now, and we are only growing. Educating people about our ingredients and their effectiveness is not easy. There are many preconceived notions and misinformation that get in the way, and we are on a mission to right those wrongs, if I may say so. We are doing this by working with doctors to make people aware of our products and their effectiveness and safety. Educating doctors about our products and the research undertaken to create them has been crucial to building people’s trust in our brand and creating demand for our products in offline stores.
Does marketing campaigns and influencer marketing benefits brands?
Yes, marketing campaigns and influencer marketing can provide significant benefits to brands. Marketing campaigns help raise brand awareness, attract new customers, and increase sales. They allow brands to communicate their unique value proposition and engage with their target audience through various channels and messaging strategies. On the other hand, influencer marketing leverages the credibility and reach of popular individuals to promote a brand or product. Influencers have a loyal following who trust their recommendations, which can result in increased brand visibility, customer engagement, and conversions. By partnering with influencers, brands can tap into new audiences and build authentic connections, ultimately benefiting their overall brand reputation and business success.
Just like our latest campaign – ‘Babies can’t make the right choice, but you can’. With this ad, we wanted to capture the new-age-conscious parents who are super aware of every ingredient they put on their baby’s skin and will not settle for anything less than the best, and we tried to position ourselves as the right choice for parents. CITTA was created as a brand that makes new parents’ lives a little bit easier by providing them with the safest natural skincare for their little ones which is also the most convenient. We wanted to reiterate our brand values and communicate them in a very short, witty, and fun video ad. The ad shows a baby breaking a beautiful vase, something every parent can relate to! It instantly conveys our message – babies can’t make the right choice, but you can – and then we tell them how CITTA products are the right choice as they are natural, safe, and tested. For this campaign, we roped in some of the best Instagram influencers to amplify the message of the ad. As a result, we got 165K views, 5000+ likes, and more than 500 shares, and people are talking about CITTA already. It’s hard to work with babies, especially for campaigns where we need everything perfect within a limited time frame, but with this ad campaign, CITTA has cracked the code.
How do you ensure that CITTA products meet the highest standards of quality?
We follow the highest standards when it comes to the quality and safety of our products. Our ingredients are Eco-Cert, COSMOS, and FDA certified. They are ethically sourced from reputed vendors and manufactured in hygienic environments that adhere to the Good Manufacturing Practice standards. And of course, we are a cruelty-free brand, like all brands should be. There are multiple quality checks that every product formulation undergoes before it is out in the market for use on a baby’s delicate skin. No parent should ever have to compromise on their baby’s skincare, and we work hard to achieve that. Our products are formulated after researching the best traditional practices across India that have proved to be effective for thousands of years. Then we combine that with the expertise of doctors and create innovative and safe formulations that are the best of both worlds. Time-tested natural ingredients and safe, high-quality naturally-derived ingredients that science demands. Our products are dermatologist approved.
How CITTA products are bridging the gap between 5–10-year-old children.
Our skin is the largest organ of our body, and yet little attention is paid to it. Most of us only get around to following a good skincare routine in adulthood, and by that time, there’s a high possibility that a lot of damage has already been done – either by environmental stressors like the sun and pollution or because of medical skin conditions. We have created CITTA so that it can be a good skincare companion for people from the very start of their lives, simply so that they can have better skin since childhood itself. Babies and kids who are using CITTA will grow up with healthier skin, and that I think is one of our biggest positive impacts. Also, my mother’s and grandmothers’ nuskhe helped me stay connected with my rich Indian heritage and traditions. And every child who uses CITTA products gets to experience the same through our products. CITTA is a way of passing on the love of dadi-nani to every child.
Moreover, CITTA products are designed to be safe for newborns — the ones with the most sensitive skin. And what is safe for a newborn’s skin is safe for everyone! Our products are formulated after a lot of research to create that perfect blend of tradition and science that is nurturing, safe, and effective at the same time. We keep out all the toxic ingredients and formulate our products to tackle various skincare issues at their root level — which makes them suitable for newborns, babies, kids, and teenagers as well because they will continue to solve those issues regardless of age. For example, our Moisturizing Balm solves skin dryness with its unique oil-based zero-water formula, and it works just as well for a baby’s dry skin as for an adult’s.
How do you envision the future growth and development of CITTA, both in terms of product range and market presence?
We plan to enter more states through General Trade and Modern Trade channels both. We also want to reach more and more doctors across India and educate them about our products. We are already working on that. We want to establish ourselves as the leading Baby Bath & Skincare brand in India and enter the international market. We believe our Indian roots and philosophy can help us carve a unique niche in the market, Indian and international both. When more people start believing in our brand ethos of bottling traditions backed by science, we will be able to get into the adult skincare market as well. We would like to explore the women’s beauty segment and also open experiential stores across India in the future.
