Our Story
Three friends from India, learning as we go.
We grew up with these ingredients, couldn't find them made well here, and decided to make them ourselves.
Who we are
Three time zones, one group chat.
We're Gaurav, Pratik and Rahul. We met in high school in a suburb of Mumbai, and grew up in middle-class homes where kokum, mango and coffee were part of what we ate, and haldi and ubtan were part of how we looked after our skin.
Life took us in different directions. Gaurav lives in Toronto, Pratik in Dallas, and Rahul is in Mumbai. Most days we're on a call across three time zones, arguing about textures, scents and label fonts.
Between us we've worked in engineering, sales, technology, product and marketing. What none of that gave us was something of our own. So we talked about starting a company for months.
In December 2025, Rahul and Pratik went to Cosmoprof India to meet manufacturers and makers. We asked family and friends to bring kokum butter and mango butter products back from India so we could use them ourselves and see what actually worked.
Then, in July 2026, Pratik quit his job. That was the day it stopped being a conversation. Fifteen days later, Indus and Ivy was a registered company. We won't pretend everything since has been easy, but we're glad we stopped waiting.
- High schoolThree friends meet in a suburb of Mumbai.
- Dec 2025Rahul and Pratik visit Cosmoprof India to meet makers.
- July 2026Pratik quits his job.
- 15 days laterIndus and Ivy is a registered company.
- NextOur Kokum Butter Balm launches on Amazon US.
The honest part
We're not chemists. We're learning this one ingredient, one conversation, one sample at a time.
How we're learning
Here's what most brands leave out.
We're learning skincare formulation as we go. We work closely with our manufacturing partner in India, test every sample on our own skin, and change the formula when something isn't right. So far, that's meant:
Removing the colorant
It only changed how the balm looked. We'd rather give you fewer ingredients that we fully stand behind.
Bark oil to leaf oil
We switched from cinnamon bark oil to cinnamon leaf oil after looking closely at how each behaves on skin.
Refining the base
Our own samples smelled more oily than we wanted, so we changed the oil in the base.
We're digging into every ingredient: what it does, how much of it matters, and what it works with. When we learn something that changes a product, we'll tell you. And we'd love your feedback as we grow.
Meet the founders
Three cities. One spice box.
Gaurav Sharma
A marketer with a decade in advertising, digital marketing and product marketing across India and Canada.
Pratik Maganti
A product manager with 12+ years in marketing and analytics, including 6+ years at Amazon building and shipping consumer products and subscription services.
Rahul D'souza
10+ years in heavy-equipment engineering sales and consulting for government and private-sector clients. Rahul is our person on the ground in India.
What we believe
Rooted in India. Made for your ritual.
Solve a real problem
Products should do a job, not just look good on a shelf.
Give India's ingredients credit
Kokum, moringa and more should be named for what they are, not blended into "exotic botanicals."
Earn trust, don't claim it
We'll talk about giving back when we have something specific to show you, and not before.
Why three men are making skin care
Heels crack, elbows get rough and knees dry out, whoever you are. So we make products for the skin everyone has.
What we won't do
You won't see "whitening," "brightening" or "anti-ageing" on anything we make. We'll tell you what an ingredient does, and that's it: one botanical, one job, a short ingredient list.
Made in India, for real
Every jar is made in India by our manufacturing partner. Rahul, who lives in Mumbai, is the one who visits.
What you can expect from us
Every ingredient listed in plain language. No claims we can't back up. When we change a formula, we'll tell you why. And when you write to us, one of us will write back.
Starting small
One product. Made with care.
We've put everything we've learned so far into our Kokum Butter Balm. We hope it earns a place in your routine.