From being a young girl interested in economics to leading a and skincare brand just after college, Seethala Karipineni’s journey is a fascinating one. Her desire to nurture a beauty brand stemmed from her deep-seated belief in the power of nature and the need for sustainability in the beauty and skincare sector. Having studied in Rishi Valley–an alternative school in Andhra Pradesh that uses natural history, music and art, among other things to impart education–Karipineni realised that while the world was advancing technologically and economically, it was also straying further from the principles of sustainable living.
In school, as part of an internal assessment, Karipineni led a project that trained the school helpers or ‘ ’ to make natural soaps and sell them to teachers and parents. “Having learnt how to create daily use products from nature in the school curriculum, this project became easy. After associating with the project, the who were earning Rs 4,000 as their monthly salary, started earning Rs 20,000-25,000.
One of them has a son who now works at Walt Disney,” says Karipineni, who comes from a family that manufactures auto ancillary units. The success of her school project provided the spark to her entrepreneurial journey, leading to the birth of Saka Organics—a brand offering 100% organic, eco-friendly, and ethically produced products. After working on the initial formulation and manufacturing basics in 2020, Karipineni launched Saka Organics in 2.