In 2019, Disha Dinakar and her parents co-founded Digvijaya Herbals in Vittal, Karnataka. In two years, she has built a range of 140 herbal products, encompassing haircare, skincare, baby care, herbal powders, and more.​

1. Starting her business with Rs
10k, she built a Rs 3Cr revenue
herbal products brand in 2 years
In 2019, Disha Dinakar and her parents co -founded
Digvijaya Herbals in Vittal, Karnataka. In two years, she
has built a range of 140 herbal products, encompassing
haircare, skincare, baby care, herbal powders, and more.

2. Disha Dinakar, and her mother Vijaya Dinakar, have a habit of
reading the labels of beauty and health products before buying
them. According to Disha — a doctor by profession — these
products look aesthetically pleasing but often contain harmful
chemicals, as indicated by their labels.

3. She says, “My mother and I have always been
strong believers in organic products and their
benefits. We were taken aback to see the
harmful chemicals used in a wide range of
Indian beauty and health products. This
inspired us to start making our own organic
herbal products that were 100 percent natural
and authentic.”

4. Disha joined hands with her mother and her
father, MN Dinakar Bhat, to launch her own herbal
products brand ‘Digvijaya Herbals.’ She started with
a small investment of Rs 10,000 in Vittal, Karnataka
— a town near Mangaluru — in 2019.
Disha says, “Coming from a family of doctors and
ayurvedic practitioners, we launched Digvijaya as a
homegrown brand. We also joined hands with a panel
of doctors who worked with me on the formulation of
our herbal products.”

5. A
promising
start
In a short span of time, the business has boomed for the
entrepreneur trio of father, mother, and daughter. The newly-
launched herbal brand recorded Rs 1 crore turnover in its first
year and approximately Rs 3 crore in its second year, Disha
claims.
At present, Digvijaya Herbals has a range of 140 products,
encompassing haircare, skincare, baby care, herbal powders,
and more. The family-owned and operated business has no
other investors or shareholders. The brand has an all-female
workforce of 15 employees.
So far, Disha has spent a considerable amount of time on
product research and development to differentiate her brand
from its competitors.

6. A promising
start
“Our competitors are homegrown organic beauty
brands such as Tribe, Ruby’s Organic, Khadi
Naturals, etc. But the ingredients used in
formulating Digvijaya Herbals’ products are what
sets us apart,” she says.
Disha adds, “The ingredients used in our
products are 100 percent natural and sourced
from Digivjaya’s own organic farms. The
manufacturing process takes place in our
manufacturing units, keeping all health and
hygiene factors in place.”
Digvijaya Herbals uses cold-pressed carrier oils
and essential oils that are unprocessed. Sourced
from abroad — especially from the Middle East —
Digvijay’s organic products are then formulated by
a panel of doctors.

7. A D2C retail strategy
Disha says, “Our business strategy is to reinforce
a direct-to-consumer relationship. We reached our
customers as an entirely new and unique brand,
and are now trying to connect with them better
through our online presence and strategic
campaigns on social media.”
Besides overseeing procurement and
manufacturing, the doctor-entrepreneur also
handles customer queries and concerns personally.

8. A D2C retail
strategy
Disha feels most organic brands today are
expensive for an average customer. So she sells
Digvijaya Herbals’ products from Rs 99 to Rs
1,650 and terms these prices as “affordable.”
The brand retails its herbal products exclusively
on its website and through social media
platforms. Besides the Indian market, it ships
to 45 countries in the Middle East, Europe,
Australia, North America, and more. This year, it
is planning to enter ecommerce and offline sales
in India.

9. A D2C retail strategy
She says this is no easy task as she practices full -time as a doctor for
seafarers and is also pursuing a fellowship programme in aesthetic
medicine from the University of Greifswald, Germany.
“My mother has stood by me as a pillar of strength and helped me
manage both my practice and Digvijaya Herbals. A tough challenge for
us has been to maintain sustainability during the pandemic when
business took a hit. However, rising awareness of organic products and
their health benefits helped us stay afloat,” she says.

10. Ambitions for the future
As Indian consumers increasingly reject chemical -laden products made from
artificial substances, the ayurvedic and herbal product's market in India is
expected to grow from Rs 30,000 crore in 2018 to Rs 71,087 crore
in 2024, according to Research and Markets data.
Looking to tap into this growing market, Disha, and her brand, are
launching new products and planning to open an 85,000 square feet
manufacturing unit to boost production and provide more employment
opportunities to women workers.
“My dream is to see Digvijaya Herbals reach Rs 100 crore revenue in
five years,” Disha says.