Hyderabad (Telangana): The COVID19 lockdown turned Vanapalli Manaswini, an M Sc graduate in Clinical Nutrition Dietetics, from Arutla in Manchala of Ranga Reddy district, into a budding entrepreneur. Using the dragon fruits cultivated by her father, she has started making cosmetic products and she sold her products online during the lockdown.
There is always a demand for beauty products but the harmful chemicals used in manufacturing them is a concern. Realizing the huge potential for organic herbal-based beauty products, Manaswini saw an opportunity to produce toxin-free beauty products.
Manaswini started experimenting during the 2020 lockdown and has been making steady progress. Her father Srinivasa Reddy was a dragon fruit farmer by profession. So, she experimented with the fruit as a raw material for her products. She also set up a laboratory for her experiments.
"I wanted to bring alternatives for chemical cosmetics which is the reason I started researching organic cosmetics. During the lockdown in 2019, I got this idea of organic cosmetics production. I have been researching ever since," the young entrepreneur said.
But it was not an easy task since she has to derive the correct proportion of ingredients and it involved a lot of research as well. Finally, she managed to succeed in her venture.
"My father is cultivating dragon fruits so I selected them as the key ingredient. With encouragement from my father and professors, I could succeed in the research. I am manufacturing soaps, body lotion, bath salt, lip scrub and lip balm using dragon fruit. As this fruit contains more percentage of water it is good for the skin," Manaswini explained.
She launched her products under the brand name Natural Hues by Manu. She marketed them online owing to the pandemic and lockdown. Without compromising on product quality, Manaswini has been taking every step to provide natural products to consumers.
After getting to know Manaswini’s innovations with dragon fruit, a team led by Vishal Mahendra Gada, the founder of Aroch Agro Products Pvt Ltd visited Manaswini’s laboratory and production units.
Manaswini’s efforts have facilitated people to get quality cosmetics and farmers earn extra income. At present, she is only using dragon fruits produced on her father’s farm. If there is increased demand for the fruit in the coming days, she may have to source the fruit from other sources. This will help several farmers directly.
Proud of his daughter's achievement, Srinivas Reddy said that youngsters these days have so much potential. If youth come forward to start their own start-ups and ventures, there will be no unemployment in India, he said. Reddy said that he is happy about Manaswini's venture and there is great demand for her products.
With changing trends among youth, the demand for natural and organic products is on the rise. To make use of these opportunities, Manaswini is preparing to launch a store in Hyderabad soon. Celebrities have applauded Manaswini’s decision to provide quality cosmetics.
