Mamaearth Parent Honasa Jumps as It Guides for Early-30s Sales Growth in Q2

Shares of Honasa Consumer, the company behind Mamaearth, climbed sharply on Tuesday after it told the stock exchanges that it expects net sales value (NSV) for the July-September quarter to grow in the early thirties, in percentage terms, compared with a year earlier.

The stock rose as much as 8.2% to Rs 478.20 on the BSE in early trade and extended gains to around 10% on the NSE later in the morning, touching roughly Rs 488. At early-morning prices the company was valued at a little over Rs 15,000 crore.

Younger brands are now the growth engine

The most telling detail in the update is where the growth is coming from. Mamaearth, still Honasa's largest brand, is expected to post NSV growth in the high teens. The company's newer labels, a portfolio that includes The Derma Co., Aqualogica, BBlunt, Dr. Sheth's, Staze, Lumineve and the men's grooming brand Reginald Men, are expected to grow around the mid-forties.

That gap matters for investors. For much of its listed life, Honasa has been judged largely on the fortunes of Mamaearth, and a slowdown in that brand in 2024 hit the stock hard. A portfolio where younger brands grow more than twice as fast as the flagship reduces that concentration risk and suggests the company's multi-brand strategy is starting to pay off.

Offline push still leading

Honasa said offline sales continued to lead growth, with both general trade (neighbourhood stores) and modern trade (supermarkets and chains) expected to post strong numbers. Online sales are also expected to keep growing.

The offline performance follows a distribution overhaul the company called Project Neev, which began in late 2024. It removed the super-stockist layer between the company and distributors so that retailers could be serviced more directly. The reset initially disrupted sales but has since stabilised, and by the first quarter of this fiscal year Honasa's products were reaching more than 3 lakh retail outlets. Alongside this, Mamaearth was narrowed down to five core categories: face wash, shampoo, sunscreen, moisturiser and baby care.

Margins and the base effect

On profitability, Honasa said it expects to hold an operating margin in the early double digits, with a strong improvement over the same quarter last year.

The guidance builds on a solid first quarter. In April-June, operating revenue rose 27% to about Rs 756 crore, and net profit more than doubled to roughly Rs 90 crore from about Rs 41 crore a year earlier. Growth in the early thirties would mark a further step up.

The caveats

The figures are provisional and subject to a limited review by auditors, and the company gave ranges rather than exact numbers. Detailed results will follow once the board approves them. Investors will want to see whether the margin improvement holds once advertising spending for the festive season is fully accounted for, and whether Mamaearth's own growth can stay in the high teens as the brand matures.

The update also comes in a week when several consumer companies are reporting strong pre-quarter numbers, suggesting that demand for discretionary personal-care products held up better than feared through the September quarter.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.