Innovation

IBBANI’s innovation is in body care products. IBBANI products do not use any harmful chemicals or produce any by-products which are harmful for human health, during the whole process. Initially when the idea for a committed change came into Dr. Sahana’s mind, she did not know how to make this huge mission a reality. But with rigid determination, constant experimentations and trials for her products, along with her family’s support, Sahana was able to convert to a business model out of this innovative idea for change.

Much before coming up with a business model, Sahana started with promoting this idea for change to other people in the family, society, and women in the neighbourhood and neighbouring districts. Looking at the acceptance of the idea and viability of its market, IBBANI's business model was formulated with careful consideration to the products' procurement as if it were being made for the family members. A lot of effort has been put into packaging as well, with a majority of the packaging done in glass containers along with other eco-friendly materials. With total focus and commitment towards creating the best IBBANI products with minimum attention to profit margins, in it's initial years IBBANI carved a space for itself that made it stand out in the competition.

Inspiration

A few years back, when Dr. Sahana’s daughter was 3+ years old and her son was about 6 months old, her daughter consumed the body lotion she was applying on her daughter’s body. Out of worry and inquisitiveness, she went through the ingredients of the body lotion printed on the back of the bottle: "To my shock, many of the chemicals and components listed in the ingredients for baby lotion were very harmful!" Realising the long term harmful effects these chemicals can produce on these kids, especially when it is being religiously applied on their bodies every day, she started experimenting which led to the creation of IBBANI. She further realised that a kid's safety also depends on what he or she is getting exposed to everywhere else in the society. She realised that this situation cannot be changed by being selfish, and can only produce the desired result by creating a complete healthier generation.

Alarmed by her realization, and the situation that parents are completely blinded by advertisements on television that console them to believe they are doing the best for their kids, she made it her mission to bring a change in this social situation. She firmly believes that as society gradually moves away from chemicals and starts adopting the natural way of life, exposure to these chemicals will drastically come down for every person.

Overall impact

The overall impact of IBBANI as an idea was felt really strongly when satisfied customers reached out to Sahana with their stories and the difference IBBANI products made in their lives. Sahana also proudly proclaims, “We have multiple testimonials on our products, and whoever uses our product definitely comes back. We have testimonials from clients that matter in our industry, ranging from doctors, moms, makeup artists to corporate women and men. Even kids chose our products to be applied on their bodies, and moms sharing these incidents create a Wow moment. Many say that they are now ‘addicted’ to our products!” In several cases, IBBANI products have proven to be more efficient to relieve the customers from their lasting vagaries and discomforts. A doctor, who himself had a dried swollen lips condition for around 10 years, was able to cure his condition in few days by using the IBBANI lip balm. IBBANI products have also been exceptionally effective on acne and acne scars. Especially, the customisation that Sahana induces in IBBANI products, tailored to the customer’s skin type, is proving really valuable for them.

IBBANI is grateful and really happy for its customers. With each passing year, IBBANI feels more and more satisfied standing by their real intent for creating a positive impact in the society and also providing people with a healthier skin care option.

Business benefit

IBBANI’s success and exceptional customer satisfaction is because of their total commitment to produce the desired social benefit, and zero environmental or health risks produced from their products. Standing true to their mission, IBBANI is continuously innovating to produce better products and a more diverse product range, so that each product has a therapeutic effect along with cosmetic benefits.

Social and environmental benefit

It is proven that a majority of store bought skincare products have ingredients which are linked to skin allergies, endocrine disruption causing hormonal imbalances, infertility, obesity, and even cancers. Along with educating people about the situation, IBBANI also benefits the people by giving them an option to choose for themselves from a healthier range of skin products which are free from chemical stabilisers and preservatives. Society today has no or very limited options to choose products with total awareness, and IBBANI is here to challenge this status quo. IBBANI also believes in using 100% active ingredients and does not have any base in its face creams and body butters. This is the real reason why IBBANI products, even when used in a lesser quantity, produce more positive effects on the body; promoting responsible consumption of the products (SDG #12). Also, IBBANI's production process leaves no harmful by-products, tying itself very well to the responsible production goal of SDG #12. IBBANI only uses glass bottles to package its products. Even the gift packs are arranged in natural bamboo baskets. Though the bigger bottles of IBBANI products are capped with metal lids, IBBANI's next initiative is to replace its smaller plastic caps with biodegradable material, and extensive market research is being conducted in this direction.

IBBANI is also planning a social welfare business model, where they will partner with selected aspiring women entrepreneurs and women distributors, who can create multi-legged marketing and network opportunities to improve the reach of IBBANI products. This will not only give these women an opportunity to work and create something for themselves, but will also help IBBANI in its mission to build a healthier generation.

Interview

Dr. Sahana G.V., Founder