Baby Forest
On World Ayurveda Day 2026, the conversation around India’s ancient wellness wisdom finds a particularly meaningful expression in baby care. At Baby Forest, Ayurveda is not merely an ingredient story… it is the foundation of a brand born from a very personal parental search.
The story began when founders Gagan Agarwal and Tapasya Jain Agarwal welcomed their first child and found themselves navigating a baby-care market that, in their view, offered limited natural alternatives. Their search for safer, more thoughtful products led them to Kaumaryabhritya, the specialised branch of Ayurveda dedicated to paediatric care and child health. What began as a quest to find better products for their own baby eventually evolved, during the Covid period, into a bootstrapped venture: Baby Forest.
Today, the brand is seeking to bridge ancient Ayurvedic knowledge with the needs of modern parents… combining traditional wisdom with contemporary formulations, convenience and design.
In an exclusive conversation with Sumita Chakraborty, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, TheGlitz, Aditya Dhawan, CMO, Baby Forest, delves into the story behind Baby Forest, the Ayurvedic philosophy that shapes its products, the brand’s approach to clean and natural baby care, and its ambitious vision of taking India’s Ayurvedic approach to baby care to a global audience.
Over To Aditya Dhawan, Chief Marketing Officer, Baby Forest
Baby care is a category where parents are understandably cautious about what they put on their child’s skin. What was the gap you saw in the market that led to the creation of Baby Forest, and how did you decide that Ayurveda could be the foundation of the brand?
The foundation for Baby Forest was laid when the Founders, Gagan Agarwal and Tapasya Jain Agarwal were blessed with their first child. Their own experience while finding baby care products for their child was sub-optimal. Almost all skincare products contained chemical ingredients, and most feeding products were made of plastic.
Their search for natural, safe baby care solutions led them to Kaumaryabhritya, the specialised branch of Ayurveda dedicated to paediatric care and child health. What started as a search for natural baby care products for their child became a bootstrapped startup during Covid. Parents’ positive word of mouth about Baby Forest products helped build a fast-growing baby care company that filled the white space for trustworthy, natural baby care products. Baby Forest today serves that latent need of new parents who want to provide the best to their kids.
You describe Baby Forest as a luxury, Ayurveda-inspired baby care brand. How do you balance the idea of luxury with the very practical, everyday needs of babies and new parents?
Parents are very protective of their kids and are ready to stretch their resources to provide the best products. Our idea of premium isn’t based on price, but on the value the product offers to children and parents. While creating baby care solutions, Baby Forest won’t compromise on the quality of ingredients, materials and packaging, which might make our products cost more than mass-market options made with chemical ingredients or less effective natural ingredients. We combine well-researched, practical solutions with the best ingredients to give parents a sense of security.
Baby Forest is rooted in Kaumarbhritya, the Ayurvedic branch dedicated to paediatric care. How does this ancient knowledge actually translate into the way your products are formulated today?
Kaumarbhritya is one of the eight classical branches of Ayurveda, and its basic principles are derived from Charak Samhita, Sushruta Samhita and Kashyap Samhita. Baby Forest draws its inspiration and knowledge from these ancient texts and translates that knowledge into modern formulations that are easy to use and administer in line with today’s lifestyle. Our R&D team first identifies gaps in current market solutions, then selects the most suited active ingredients to address these needs. We combine natural ingredients with modern science to create what is best for our little consumers
Parents today are increasingly ingredient-conscious and wary of toxins and harsh formulations. What does “clean” or “natural” mean to Baby Forest, and how do you ensure that these claims translate into genuinely thoughtful products?
At Baby Forest, we see ourselves as custodians of parenting concerns. Our brand and product development started with our founders in parents’ shoes. For us, it is important that we live up to every claim which we make on our packaging or communications. For us, clean label and natural ingredients go beyond simply using natural ingredients; it is about the promise we make to every child and parent when we put our products on retail shelves.
The move onto Amazon Now comes alongside your presence on Blinkit, Swiggy and Zepto. Is quick commerce changing the way parents shop for baby care—and has it changed the way Baby Forest thinks about accessibility and availability?
Today, quick commerce has become an integral part of the distribution mix. The move to Amazon Now is part of our objective to be available to parents on their desired channel of purchase. While our own stores continue to serve as experience centres and our online store remains an equally important sales channel, Q Com is emerging as a highly relevant sales avenue.
With winter and the festive season approaching, which Baby Forest products would you say are particularly relevant for parents right now and which products have emerged as your gifting favourites?
With the change in season, especially the shift to winter, problems like severe dryness and skin irritation become quite common among children. Baby Forest formulations like Maasoom Maalish Baby Body Massage Oil, Moh Malai Baby Body Lotion, and Khilta Mukhra Baby Face Cream help with their face & skin care, providing gentle yet effective moisturisation.
With the change of season come sniffles and colds; Baby Forest’s all-natural Komal Shwaas VapoRub is great for plant-derived soothing comfort for babies.
The next 4-5 months are also full of festivals in India, and Baby Forest offers a wide range of gifting options designed especially for the youngest members of the family. Our Nanhi Daawat Kids Dining Set is a highly sought-after gifting product, along with our Nanhi Pitri & Nanhi Sandook gift boxes.
As Baby Forest grows across quick commerce, e-commerce, EBOs and retail, what is the larger vision for the brand? Do you see Baby Forest becoming a global expression of India’s Ayurvedic approach to baby care?
We believe Baby Forest’s product range is suitable for babies across geographies. While our immediate focus is to strengthen our retail footprint and online distribution across India, we also plan to start our online operations in the US, UK and UAE as we aim to become a global brand from India.
TheGlitz Take
This World Ayurveda Day, TheGlitz spotlights Baby Forest… a brand bringing the age-old wisdom of Ayurveda into the very modern world of baby care. Indeed, there is something rather beautiful about that crossover because when it comes to babies, parents don’t simply buy products. They buy peace of mind. Every ingredient is scrutinised, every claim questioned, and every “natural” promise examined a little more closely.
We loved the way Baby Forest draws from India’s rich Ayurvedic heritage while packaging it in a language that today’s young parents understand: clean, contemporary, premium and beautifully presented.
