Meet Moumita Sahoo | Founder and CEO of ZAILA Skin

We had the good fortune of connecting with Moumita Sahoo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Moumita, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
ZAILA was inspired by my South Asian culture and love for fun skincare. We make modern & effective Ayurvedic skincare with sensorial formulas and clinically-proven ingredients. I came up with the idea for ZAILA while I was traveling for work. I had taken my Indian clay mask called Multanni Mitti with me on this trip. It comes in a powder form in a plastic bag. Although it works great as a mask, it is very messy to use, especially when traveling. I wanted a shelf-stable skincare brand that combined Indian botanicals with modern-day actives like niacinamide, peptides, etc. The idea for ZAILA popped into my head and I got started on it right away!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
ZAILA creates fun and effective skincare products for young women on the go. Our formulas harness the power of Ayurveda, India’s ancient holistic medicinal system. We reimagined traditional Ayurvedic skincare by fusing Indian botanicals with clinically-proven active ingredients from Western medicine. Instead of hand-mixing tulsi, neem, and yogurt into a messy homemade face mask, busy women can use our shelf-stable and travel friendly products. We use amla to brighten, neem to control acne, sandalwood to calm inflammation, etc. We also cater to a broader audience by incorporating niacinamide, vitamin c, peptides, etc. from Western medicine. Lastly, ZAILA makes traditional Ayurveda fun for a younger audience through our modern branding, storytelling, and focus on sensorial experiences.

We’re most proud of the community we have built through ZAILA. We’ve built strong relationships with many South Asian influencers well before our launch. We have never spent any money on marketing, paid influencer posts, or ads. We generated $7,000 in sales within the first 10 hours of launching due to these relationships, and were able to create a lot of organic hype on social media.

We also have the competitive advantage of being the first Ayurvedic beauty brand for a younger audience. We execute product development using a community-first approach. Prior to launching ZAILA, we gathered insights from over 1,000 real people and utilized their insights to develop our products. We also had more than 60 people try our lab samples through multiple iterations until we developed formulas that they loved. We have a strong dedication to our audience and community members and the ability to garner organic media presence.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Chicago so there is tons to explore! I’d take my friends to the River Walk for a nice stroll in the heart of the city, get drinks at a rooftop bar, and end the night with sushi at Yuzu Sushi.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Sravya from Mango People https://mangopeopleofficial.com/

Website: https://zailaskin.com/

Instagram: @zailaskin