Prasanna Vasanadu started Tikitoro out of a personal need. She was on the hunt for personal care products for her 5-year-old son, but found only two extremes: the ‘fully safe’ products were not effective, or the ‘effective’ products were not fully safe. She sought to solve this gap in the market by herself and built a brand from scratch. Non-toxic, vegan, cruelty-free, and allergy-safe, and trademark registered in over 11 countries.
After Prasanna had her son, she dove headfirst into holistic wellness, in an attempt to fix her hormonal imbalances and improve her family’s welfare overall. She read about the ingredients used in the majority of skin and hair care products and how they have the potential to mimic the body’s hormones and cause long-term issues. “After having been through so many health issues myself, I didn’t want my son to go through anything similar. I became one of those moms who read and Googled every product label. I was so paranoid! When he was an infant, we’d use home remedies or products formulated for newborns, which were genuinely safe to use. Once he outgrew those? There seemed to be nothing for that age group. I couldn’t use adult products because they were too harsh, and I couldn’t use baby products because they were too mild. That’s when I realised there was a huge void in this space,” she explains.
Around this time, COVID hit. Online, she talked to mothers across the country, building a community of those concerned about their children’s well-being. She conducted an in-depth market research and found that every parent she spoke to was compromising on their kids’ products. She had an ‘Aha!’ moment and thought, why not provide a solution? After 18 months of ideation and formulation, the brand launched in 2021, becoming a category creator for kids’ and teens’ products.
Tikitoro is India’s first brand to introduce age-specific products, categorised into two segments: Tikitoro Kids and Tikitoro Teens. She talks about the thought process behind this idea. “Kids and teens grow and develop very differently. Kids’ progress is a bit more linear, but teens inching towards puberty face a lot of hormonal changes. Obviously, the same products won’t be effective. We have an R&D team of experts who formulate the products from scratch for Tikitoro, which then go to a focus group to try out. They give us feedback, we work on it, and only once everyone is a 100% happy with the product, we confirm the formulation. Before launching the actual product, it goes through dermatological testing, paediatrician verification, FDA approval and international certifications. If we make a claim on our labels—anti-dandruff, or anti-acne—we get the testing done at a third-party lab to ensure it truly is effective.”
As for the name ‘Tikitoro’, Prasanna laughs, “It has no real meaning to it. We wanted a name that could go beyond borders and grow across the world, allowing everyone to relate to it and remember it. We went through over 500 names and shortlisted 10, which we then gave to our target customers—kids and teens—and asked them to choose. I wanted them to be a part of the brand because it was a brand for them. This is what they picked!”
Prasanna receiving the SHE100 Award for Achievers in 2024
Prasanna talks about her background. “I have a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and a Master’s in Business Administration and Marketing, which I pursued after getting married. I was a homemaker for 18 years, but I was constantly learning something. After my son was born, I got certified as a parent educator by doing an international course. I wanted to learn more about child development and parenting. I also volunteered with a nonprofit in Chennai called Parenting Matters. Because I’ve been working with parents for so long, my interest in the children’s space isn’t new; I’ve always advocated for them. Becoming an entrepreneur with Tikitoro is an extension of that. Let me tell you, building a brand at 40 was not easy, but worth every second,” she smiles. What started as a 2-person team has now grown to about 40.
Prasanna winning an eXtrepreneur award at Forbes Select 200 for Tikitoro in the category ‘Companies with Global Business Potential’
She talks about some of the challenges faced while setting up the brand. “Having to learn everything from planning to finance to operations to marketing, it’s been a huge challenge. People won’t care if the entrepreneur is a first-timer or a seasoned one; all that matters is the product, which has to speak for itself. Scaling is also a slippery slope; we have to figure out how to improve and upgrade our existing systems. Formulating a variety of products for different age groups takes time, money, and effort. We usually work on developing our products anywhere from 6-12 months, sometimes even more. There have been times when we had to scrap a product, even if we loved it. It was a tough pill to swallow, but we had to let go,” she chuckles.
Looking into the future, Prasanna details that they are aiming to grow profitably and by 2030, be a 100 crore brand. They did a global compliance check with an international agency, and their products passed with flying colours, which means Tikitoro is ready to go global! The technical aspects will have to be dealt with, like the packaging and labelling, but quality-wise, they are viable and in accordance with global standards.
The Tikitoro Kids range of products- body wash, shampoo, bath bar, hair oil, face wash, body lotion, sunscreen
Talking about lessons learned over the years, Prasanna details, “Retaining customers is one of the most important things as a business, more so than getting new ones. From day one, we have primarily focused on our customers and our products, which is why we have great customer loyalty; they come, and they stay,” she smiles proudly. “We also have parallel processing. Currently, we have 10-11 products being tested at different stages simultaneously. We refuse to compromise on quality and ingredients, so even if it takes longer than usual, we’re committed. Going that extra mile is what makes Tikitoro stand out. Another major eye-opener was to focus solely on things I can control and try to ignore things that are out of my control. I need to work on things that are in my circle of influence and give it my best. That way, things fall into place naturally.
She adds that prioritising tasks made it possible for fewer cases of putting out fires. The team has become more proactive instead of reactive, leading to a systematic workflow. Being more process-oriented, she says, is key to scaling efficiently. If one team member perfects a process by being disciplined, they can train another, and the chain goes on. Experiencing being a homemaker and an entrepreneur taught her countless things on the go, making Tikitoro what it is now.
Greenwashing is a huge issue in the market, Prasanna says, clarifying how many brands claim they have specific actives in their products, but upon research, they are present only in marketing dosages. When Tikitoro was presented on Shark Tank, it was called an ‘honest brand’; what they claim is what the product actually contains. “We use the actives in the percentages that are needed for it to work. When people use our products, there’s no going back. We have shampoo, conditioner, lotion, body wash, face wash, bath bar, hair oil, face cream, sunscreen, and we formulated India’s first water-only deo mists! We also offer anti-dandruff and anti-acne kits for teens. Everything is clean, effective, and completely safe for children. It has become my life’s mission to help children be safer and have access to the best quality products. With all the hard work we’ve put in, we feel so validated when a kid or teen tells us how much they love our products. That’s all I need to keep going. Kids deserve good products, and we are proud to provide them,” she says.
The brand also launched an initiative called Tikitoro Cares for their fourth anniversary, by partnering with an NGO called Prayatna. Children with learning disabilities are trained to create art and make products. Tikitoro buys from them every month to give as gifts for certain purchases on their website. They hope to grow this initiative and support more NGOs in the future. Everything they do is for the children, and all of this leads to the greater good, Prasanna concludes.
For further details, check the Tikitoro website www.tikitoro.com
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