Ghazal Alagh

About

On a recent visit to Jaipur, Ghazal Alagh met a small-town salon owner who spoke fluently about serums and active ingredients. A few years ago, that level of awareness would have been rare outside metros. Today, it sits at the heart of how Alagh reads India’s fast-evolving beauty consumer and, in many ways, explains the arc of Honasa Consumer Ltd itself. “The past year has probably been one of the most instructive years we’ve had as a company, and not because everything went right,” she says. Honasa ran what she calls a dual-track strategy, fixing its foundations while continuing to build. The company’s science-led brand, The Derma Co., has emerged as a breakout engine, touching a ₹750-crore annualised revenue run rate. In Q3 FY26, Honasa delivered its highest-ever revenue of ₹630 crore, up 21.7% YoY. Profitability followed, with PAT at ₹55 crore before exceptional items, nearly doubling from a year ago. For Alagh, the quarter was less about the milestone and more about validation. “A year before, we were dealing with losses and a lot of external questions. That quarter felt like validation that the harder choices we made were the right ones.” At the core of her playbook is a single idea. “Trust. Without qualification.” It traces back to the origins of Mamaearth, built when she and her husband struggled to find safe products for their son. That lens now shapes every decision, from ingredients to claims.