Entrepreneur India – July 2019

JULY 2019 l ENTREPRENEUR l 41

S

ince childhood,
Mira Kulkarni
was intrigued
by the applications of
Ayurveda. Her curiosity
turned into passion
when she established
Mountain Valley Springs,
a brand that hosts
one of India’s leading
cosmetics and skincare
company. Supporting her
throughout the journey
was her son, Samrath
Bedi, Executive Director,
Forest Essentials. An
Economics major from
University of Rochester,
Bedi had a short stint
in corporate banking
before returning to
India upon seeing a
massive opportunity
in the evolving organic
skincare market. “It was
an exciting time helping
build a completely new
category in the natural
beauty space,” he insists.
It is under his

leadership that the brand

has grown to become

the largest player in the

luxury hotel amenities and

spa business. The brand

currently retails from 62

stores across India.

The ability to adapt to

environmental changes

has what kept the mother-

son duo going. Boasting of

a slew of Forest Essentials’

innovative products,

Bedi answers, “Ideas and

inspiration come from

various triggers. It can be

new products, design or

branding.”

THE AYURVEDIC HEALER

SAMRATH BEDI, Exceutive Director, Forest Essentials

B

orn to

influential

parents,

societal pressure

for taking up her

family business — VIP

Industries — was

inevitable but Aparna

Piramal Raje had

dreams of penning

her own destiny.

After completing

graduation from

Harvard Business

School, Raje was

leading their office

furniture business, BP

Ergo. While running

the business, she

realized that CEOs

and designers were

speaking different

languages. She then

thought of connecting

the two via design

writing. “I partnered

with a close friend

and interior architect

Radhika Desai and

we started compiling

case studies on

exceptional workplace

design.”

What started as

a way to aid her

business brought to

fore her penchant for

writing. Connecting

the right dots landed

her with ‘Working

Out of the Box’, a

book that explores

connections between

work spaces and work

styles.

APARNA PIRAMAL RAJE,

Author

AUTHOR OF A

NEW CHAPTER

THE YIN TO

HIS YANG

Bedi terms his and mother

Mira Kulkarni’s operating style

as seemingly opposite. While

Kulkarni is very impulsive

and operates from her gut,

Bedi has a process driven

approach and puts a lot

of thought and logic into

decision making.

SEEKING SOLACE

Amidst the worldly chaos,

Raje finds peace in serving

as a visiting faculty at

universities and speaking

about philanthropy.