Harsh Mariwala is an Indian entrepreneur, who is the founder and Chairman of

Marico Marico Limited is an Indian multinational Consumer goods Company providing consumer products and services in the areas of health, beauty and wellness. With its headquarters in Mumbai, Marico is present in over 25 countries across Asia and A ...

, a

Fortune India 500 The ''Fortune India'' 500 is a ranking of the top 500 corporations in India compiled on the basis of latest sales and gross revenue figures. The list is published annually by ''Fortune'' magazine. ''Fortune India'' is ''Fortune'' sixth internati ...

company from

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. Mariwala began his career in 1971 with

Bombay Oil Industries Bombay Oil Industries Limited (BOIL) is an Indian holding company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Its subsidiaries have interests in consumer goods, agriculture, and chemicals. History Bombay Oil traces its origins back to 1862, when Kanji Morarj ...

which was controlled by his family. After working with his family business with his cousins and family from an office located in

Masjid Bunder Masjid (station code: MSD) is a railway station in the Masjid Bunder area of South Mumbai on the Central and Harbour lines of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. It is the penultimate stop for all trains on those lines in the "up" direction. It was ...

in Mumbai, he decided to create the Company

with the support of his Brothers in Family Business Distribution in other subsidiary businesses. In 1990, he founded Marico, a

fast moving consumer goods Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), also known as consumer packaged goods (CPG) or convenience goods, are products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable household goods such as packaged foods, beve ...

(FMCG) manufacturer and distributor that now has operations in 25 countries across

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. He is also the founder of

Kaya Limited Kaya Clinic (also known as Kaya Skin Clinic) is an Indian multinational skincare, haircare, and bodycare treatment provider. It was founded in 2003 by Harsh Mariwala, the chairman of Marico. There are more tha75 Kaya Clinicsacross 26 cities in ...

, which runs a chain of

skin care Skin care or skincare is the practice of maintaining and improving the health and appearance of the skin. It includes washing, moisturizing, protecting from the sun, and treating skin problems like acne and dryness. Skin care can help prevent i ...

clinics across

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

ASCENT Foundation
a non-profit peer to peer learning entrepreneurial platform to exchange insights, experiences and ideas in a confidential environment.; Marico Innovation Foundation, that works towards nurturing innovations in India; Mariwala Health Initiative, that supports

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

causes; and Sharp Ventures, which serves as his family office. As of 2021, Mariwala has been ranked by

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

as the 55th wealthiest Indian, with an estimated net worth of approximately $2.8 billion. As per Forbes list of India’s 100 richest tycoons, dated OCTOBER 09, 2024, Harsh Mariwala & family are ranked 43rd with a net worth of $6.9 Billion.

Family and early life

Mariwala's grandfather, Vallabhdas Vasanji migrated to Mumbai (then Bombay) from Kutch in 1862. Vasanji became known as "Mariwala" as he was dealing in pepper, which is known as ''mari'' in

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

. Mariwala's father Charandas founded Bombay Oil Industries Limited in 1948 along with three of his brothers which manufactured and traded in

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

s and

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

s. Mariwala was brought up in

South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahalaxmi (Western side), Byculla ...

educated at

Sydenham College Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics is a college located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is affiliated to the Dr. Homi Bhabha State University. The college offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in management. It was awarded a ...

in Mumbai and joined the family enterprise in 1971. He started the consumer products business of the company in 1975 and took its two major brands,

Parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut fat) is an edible oil derived from the kernels, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat below around , and a clear thin liquid oil at higher temperatures. Unrefined varieties have a disti ...

and Saffola refined oil to the next level. Innovations such as smaller packaging and use of

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

bottles in place of

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

tins along with focus on

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...

, and

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

helped establish the two brands as market leaders in their respective categories.

Marico

At Bombay Oil Mills, Mariwala had limited autonomy as management responsibilities were shared amongst the family members. Moreover, he saw the firm as a

business to business Business-to-business (B2B or, in some countries, BtoB) refers to trade and commercial activity where a business sees other businesses as its customer base. This typically occurs when: * A business sources materials for its production process for o ...

venture more than the

business to consumer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler ...

venture he envisaged. Therefore, he decided to start Marico as a separate entity. Mariwala initially found it difficult to recruit talented employees given that their office was then located in the crowded market area of

, hence he held interviews at the

Royal Willingdon Sports Club The Royal Willingdon Sports Club is a private sports club in South Mumbai. The club was founded in 1918 by Lord Willingdon, at that time Governor of Bombay. Amenities include an 18-hole golf course, six tennis courts, squash and badminton cour ...

and later moved the Marico office to a more accessible area,

Bandra Bandra ( æːɳɖɾa is a coastal suburb located in Mumbai, the largest city of the Konkan division in Maharashtra, India. The area is located to the immediate north of the River Mithi, which separates Bandra from the Mumbai City district. It ...

. Along with focus on innovation and investing in brand building, Mariwala focused on establishing a company culture to empower employees and values such as trust to establish it as a force to reckon with. In the late 1990s Marico made its first serious entry into markets outside India by setting up a manufacturing plant in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. Thereafter, the company has set up or acquired other consumer brands businesses in several countries. The company has built a portfolio of brands in the

hair care Hair care or haircare is an overall term for hygiene and cosmetology involving the hair which grows from the human scalp, and to a lesser extent Facial hair, facial, Pubic hair, pubic and other body hair. Hair care routines differ according to a ...

edible oil Cooking oil (also known as edible oil) is a plant or animal liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. Oil allows higher cooking temperatures than water, making cooking faster and more flavorful, while likewise distributing he ...

health food A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy. A hea ...

male grooming Male grooming refers to men paying attention to fashion and enhancing their own appearance. This interest has become increasingly apparent in popular culture. Background and history By location According to Statista, by 2024 the global male ...

, and fabric care space. Its major brands include Saffola, Parachute, Hair & Care, Nihar, Livon, Set Wet, Mediker and Revive. Harsh Mariwala took Marico public with an

initial public offer An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

ing in 1996. In India, Marico bought the hair care brand Nihar from

Hindustan Unilever Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company, headquartered in Mumbai. It is a subsidiary of the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever. Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents, personal care products a ...

in 2006 and personal care brands Set Wet, Livon and Zatak from

Reckitt Benckiser Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, currently branded as Reckitt, formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, United Kingdom. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition prod ...

in 2016. In 2003, Mariwala spotted an opportunity in the skin care clinics space and founde
Kaya Clinic
as a subsidiary of Marico. In 2013, when Kaya was demerged from Marico and listed on stock exchanges as a separate entity it had 107 skincare clinics out of which 82 were located in India and had a range of 54 skin care products in its portfolio. In 2014, Mariwala decided to step down as

Managing Director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

whilst continuing to serve as Chairman. Mariwala brought in professional leadership to replace him in the company and his focus since has been on strategic direction and board management at Marico.

Social responsibility

Mariwala founded the Marico Innovation Foundation (MIF) in 2003 which is the

Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business industry self-regulation, self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropy, philanthropic, activist, or chari ...

(CSR) arm of

. It aims to uplift

start-ups A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses including self-employment and businesses that do not intend to ...

through mentoring and providing them an ecosystem of research, knowledge creation and dissemination. MIF hosts the MIF Awards, a biennial event where innovations across Indian business industry and social causes are picked by a jury. In 2014, Mariwala founded the Mariwala Health Initiative (MHI) and is focused on supporting

issues. In 2012, he set u
ASCENT Foundation
as a

peer learning One of the most visible approaches to peer learning comes out of cognitive psychology, and is applied within a "mainstream" educational framework: "Peer learning is an educational practice in which students interact with other students to attain e ...

platform for entrepreneurs to exchange insights, experiences and ideas in a confidential environment. As of 2024, ASCENT has over 1000 member entrepreneurs. The annual revenue of ASCENT members crosses Rs.1,00,000 crore. The vision for ASCENT is to build a widespread ecosystem across cities that significantly impacts and nurtures 10,000 leaders on their journey to success.

Awards

*2009: 2009:

Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...

'Entrepreneur of the Year' Award. *2020: Ernst & Young World ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ Award. *2022: AIMA Life Time Achievement Award.

Investments

Mariwala has set up a family office, Sharrp Ventures, which is headed by his son Rishabh. The venture invests in listed and unlisted companies. As of 2017, it had invested in eight unlisted equities, five funds and one incubator at the

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

Series A A series A is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. It can be followed by the word round, investment or financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in exchan ...

Series B A venture round is a type of funding round used for venture capital financing, by which startup companies obtain investment, generally from venture capitalists and other institutional investors. The availability of venture funding is among the ...

stage.

Personal life

Harsh Mariwala is married to Archana and they have two children. His son Rishabh runs his venture Soap Opera n More, manages the family office Sharrp Ventures and is a non-executive director at Marico. Mariwala is a committed vegetarian by birth and is also a fitness enthusiast. He works out at gymnasium daily and plays

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

on weekends. He is also known to be fond of playing

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

, and

trekking Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey and may involve camping outdoors. In North America, tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain hu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mariwala, Harsh Living people Businesspeople from Mumbai Indian billionaires Indian chairpersons of corporations Year of birth missing (living people) Gujarati businesspeople Businesspeople from Gujarat