14-year-old entrepreneur found organic perfume brand for teenagers; made Rs 65,000 in just three months
Mumbai-based Aryahi Agarwal, a Class 9 student, is the founder of Bella Fragrances, an organic perfume startup that touts itself with a 100% organic perfume brand for youngsters.
This is her second foray into the world of business. When she was 11 years old, she launched a company upcycling used t-shirts into bags. She won first prize in a contest for it.
Three years later, she launched her second company. She feels the inspiration came from a need to find a low-cost perfume for herself. The bulk of high-quality perfumes cost upwards of Rs 2,000, making them prohibitively expensive for a student to buy on their own. She wanted to make something that her friends could buy at a reasonable price.
During lockdown, this 14-year-old was hunting for a good perfume. She’s never been able to find a perfume she can wear to school. The components were either too old for her or had an excessive floral scent.
This is how Aryahi came up with the idea for an organic perfume and fragrance brand focused specifically at young women. Rather than relying on her mother’s collection, she wanted to make a perfume that she could afford. She also wanted to produce something that would be suitable for wearing to school. Aryahi worked on her business plan for about six months before establishing her company.
She met with a number of industry experts and veterans, all of whom warned me against going into the field. They informed her it was impossible to make an organic perfume in the price range she desired. As a result, that source of aid was also unavailable.
Aryahi spent over six months experimenting with essential oil mixtures before deciding on the optimal organic perfume composition. Everything is homemade, and she concocts her own recipes. Each batch she made was given to others to try. Based on their suggestions, she fine-tuned the recipe at every stage.
Since her primary audience was teens, she had a ready testing group when she came up with the idea.
Every several months, she’d give her friends a bottle of perfume and ask for their thoughts. They’ve provided her with the best, and possibly most crucial, advice she could have asked for.
Bella Organics and Bella Naturals are the two organic perfume perfumes currently available. Both cost Rs 599 for a 30-ml bottle. Bella Naturals features 21 notes, is skin-friendly, has a floral aroma, and lasts longer.
Bella Organics, on the other hand, is gentler, has three notes, and is mostly formed of rose. Each bottle holds up to 80 spray counts and should last up to three months.
She began taking orders in December 2021 and has witnessed steady growth, resulting in a profit of approximately Rs 65,000. Her father had initially invested Rs 20,000 in her business, and she is pleased to report that she was able to quadruple that amount in less than three months.
-Chaithra Srinivas
