Meet Mira Kulkarni: From single mother without any support to one of India’s richest women, know her business

The success story of cosmetics queen Mira Kulkarni is a ready-made script for an epic movie. She chose marriage over education and left her parents’ home at 20. She returned as a single mother and soon found herself orphaned. But years later, she started a business aged 45 and emerged as one of the richest women in India.

Mira Kulkarni is the founder and CMD of Forest Essentials, one of the leading natural cosmetics brands in India specialising in Ayurveda. The journey to becoming a market leader and successful businesswoman began for Mira from a small candle-making gig which turned into a handmade soap “obsession”.

Mira Kulkarni returned home to Delhi with two young children after her marriage did not work. However, she lost both her parents at just 28. The single mother made ends meet by renting out a part of her house.

At 45 years of age, Mira started the business after marrying her daughter. She began making candles and soon switched to making hand-made soaps. She received training in soap-making due to a chance advice while visiting her son who was studying in the US. Her son Samarth Bedi now leads the firm as executive director.

Mira Kulkarni started her business with just Rs 2 lakh investment and 2 employees. Today, her brand has over 110 stores across India and a dozen abroad. She has a clientele of over 300 hotels which includes the likes of Taj and Hyatt, as well as nearly 150 spas. The company clocked a revenue of Rs 253 crore in FY20 and Rs 210 crore in FY21. Mira was named Kotak Wealth Hurun – Leading Wealthy Women 2020 as one of India's richest women with a net worth of Rs 1,290 crore.