Ayuga — Honasa/Mamaearth's Ayurvedic skincare brand that never found its market

Ayuga was launched in December 2021 by Honasa Consumer Ltd, the parent company of Mamaearth, as an online-only ayurvedic beauty and skincare brand targeting Indian millennials. Honasa had built Mamaearth into a unicorn by selling toxin-free baby and beauty products, and Ayuga was meant to extend that success into the Ayurvedic wellness segment — one of the fastest-growing categories in Indian consumer goods. The brand was positioned as modern Ayurveda, with products like face washes, moisturisers, and serums made with traditional Indian ingredients in contemporary formats.

Despite being backed by Honasa's distribution, marketing muscle, and brand credibility, Ayuga never gained traction. The brand was revamped in late 2023 based on consumer feedback, but the relaunch failed to improve its trajectory. In June 2024, Honasa began sunsetting the brand. On 9 August 2024, during its Q1 earnings presentation, the company announced it was discontinuing Ayuga, citing poor product-market fit. The closure resulted in a one-time impairment loss of ₹14.7 crore ($1.77 million). About 20 employees were affected, some relocated to other Honasa brands.

After Ayuga's discontinuation, Honasa's portfolio was reduced to six brands: Mamaearth, The Derma Co, Aqualogica, Dr Sheth's, BBlunt, and Staze. The company's core business remained strong — Q1 FY25 operating revenue rose 19% YoY to ₹554 crore and net profit rose 62% YoY to ₹40 crore — but the Ayuga experiment showed that even a well-funded, well-connected brand could fail in India's increasingly crowded Ayurvedic beauty market, where competitors included Nathabit, The Ayurveda Company, and Kapiva.