Just Herbs sells Ayurvedic-sounding skincare made at a plant in Mohali, and much of the coverage around it describes an independent Indian start-up. The register describes something else. Marico Limited announced a 60% stake in July 2021, took the company to 100% in September 2024, and by October 2025 had moved the business onto its own books.
Just Herbs is a Marico brand — wholly owned since 17 September 2024, with its operating company, Apcos Naturals, in voluntary liquidation since 4 August 2025 and its business distributed to the parent. Marico’s own filing puts the brand’s turnover at ₹98.79 crore for 2024-25. On 5 September 2026, all 33 listings on the brand’s own store sold below MRP, by 5% to 90%.
Snapshot
- Brand founded
- Dated to 2014 by the brand, at Mohali, Punjab
- Operating company
- Apcos Naturals Private Limited, CIN U74999PB2018PTC048652, from 19 November 2018
- Current owner
- Marico Limited (BSE 531642, NSE MARICO) — 100% since 17 September 2024
- Disclosed brand turnover
- ₹98.79 crore in 2024-25, or 0.91% of Marico’s consolidated revenue
- Company status
- Voluntary liquidation from 4 August 2025; business distributed to Marico 1 October 2025
- Price band in India
- ₹99 to ₹734 on the brand store, checked 5 September 2026
- Who makes it
- Seven of ten products read name the company’s own Mohali plant
How it started
The About page tells a family story: Dr Neena Chopra, a biochemist, left banking for Ayurveda and formulated at a garden lab in Mohali, working from the Bhavprakash and the Charak Samhita. It dates the brand to 2014; the company, Apcos Naturals Private Limited, was incorporated on 19 November 2018.
- Apcos Naturals Private LimitedIncorporated 19 November 2018, Mohali
- Marico announces 60%14 July 2021
- 52.38% to 56.52%4 July 2022, a further 4.14%
- Marico takes 100%Balance 40% agreed 6 September 2024 at up to ₹70 crore; done 17 September 2024
- Marico Limited absorbs itLiquidation from 4 August 2025; business distributed 1 October 2025
Every step there is a Regulation 30 intimation filed with BSE and NSE, not a press release. Marico told the exchanges on 4 August 2025 that it would wind Apcos Naturals up voluntarily and take its entire business undertaking onto its own books, citing “operational synergies, cost optimization” and a “simplified corporate group structure”. The brand’s contact page names Marico Limited today. Brand and company are different objects, as Bata the brand and Bata India the listed company are.
Winding a subsidiary up forced a disclosure most Indian groups never make. Apcos Naturals’ turnover reads ₹8 crore for 2019-20, then ₹17.25 crore, ₹35.06 crore, ₹59.25 crore, ₹96.03 crore and ₹98.79 crore for 2024-25 — 0.91% of consolidated revenue, and in Marico’s words “not a material subsidiary”. A registry aggregator reading the same accounts carries ₹98.93 crore. Two live registers showed “Under Liquidation” on 5 September 2026 and a third “Active (as of 12-12-2020)”; paid-up capital reads ₹2,48,910 on two against ₹5,60,800 on the third. Both of each pair sit here.
Marico’s FY2026 annual report names Just Herbs once, in a list of group brands, with no brand-level revenue or profitability statement. It names Beardo and Plix as the digital-first brands that have turned profitable; Just Herbs is not in that sentence. The group’s “₹1,100+ crore exit ARR” covers six brands together.
What they actually make
Ten product pages were read on 5 September 2026, and their declaration blocks answer a question most Indian skincare brands leave open. Seven of the ten name Apcos Naturals itself as manufacturer and packer, at the registered office address in Mohali. Just Herbs is not purely a marketer, which puts it nearer Campus, which makes what it sells, than the outsourced model most Indian skincare runs on.
- Seven SKUsApcos Naturals Pvt. Ltd., Plot 202, Phase 9, Mohali
- One shampooMarico Ltd., the same Mohali plant
- Two productsMarketed by Marico Ltd., Mumbai; made by Ameya Plastics, Valsad, Gujarat
Read on justherbs.in product pages, 5 September 2026.
The licence field is where this brand is unusual. Seven of the ten pages print the code 468AY-PB under a heading reading “Approved Name” — “Facial Oil / 468AY-PB”, “Lipstick / 468AY-PB” — not under one reading “Mfg. Lic. No.” The two made by Ameya Plastics in Valsad print a separate field that does read “Mfg. Lic. No.: GC/2113”. Two fields, two different things.
No public register we checked on 5 September 2026 lists the code 468AY-PB. Treat it as a number to ask the seller about rather than one you can look up, and read the “Mfg. Lic. No.” line separately — it is a different field.
The claims are easier to pin down. The About page promises “certified organic and wildcrafted ingredients” and “full ingredient disclosure”. No certifier is named anywhere on the site read on 5 September 2026, and no product page carried an ingredient list in international nomenclature. The three SPF products — SPF 50+ PA+++, SPF 35+ PA++++ and SPF 30+ — name no test method, laboratory or standard, and publish no report. One credit in the same breath: neither “dermatologically tested” nor “clinically tested” appeared on any of the ten pages.
What Just Herbs costs in India
Fifty-three listings were read on 5 September 2026 — 33 on the brand’s own store, 17 on Nykaa, 3 on Tata 1mg. Every brand-store listing sat below its printed MRP, from 5% off a hair serum to 90% off the Radiance Booster Cream, at ₹545 and ₹99.
- Brightening Face Wash, 100 ml — MRP
- ₹395, or ₹3.95 a millilitre
- Selling price, brand store
- ₹174, or ₹1.74 a millilitre
- Gap
- 56% below MRP
- Checked on
- 5 September 2026
| Cleanser | Per ml at MRP | Per ml at selling price |
|---|---|---|
| Just Herbs Brightening Face Wash, 100 ml | ₹3.95 | ₹1.74 |
| Himalaya Purifying Neem Face Wash, 100 ml | ₹1.89 | ₹1.70–₹1.84 |
| Biotique Papaya Deep Cleanse, 150 ml | ₹2.13 | ₹1.71 |
| Mamaearth face washes | ₹2.24–₹2.51 | — |
| Forest Essentials Delicate Facial Cleanser, 50 ml | ₹9.90 | ₹9.90 |
Just Herbs and Forest Essentials read 5 September 2026; the rest from our audits of those brands.
A face wash at ₹1.74 a millilitre is priced like Himalaya, not like the luxury Ayurveda shelf the packaging suggests.
The premium sits on a narrow shelf above that: the Glow Boosting Face Serum at ₹64.17 a millilitre at MRP and ₹16.70 at its ₹501 selling price, the Kimsukadi Tail oil at ₹33.17 and ₹11.97. Shampoos run ₹1.15 to ₹1.28 a millilitre.
Channels disagree sharply. A 200 ml Just Herbs shampoo sold at ₹239 on the brand’s store and ₹560 on Tata 1mg the same day, on MRPs of ₹310 and ₹618 — different products of the same size. Both stand; neither is an average. Printing an MRP nobody pays is a habit of Indian retail rather than of one brand, as our Liberty pages show.
Who Just Herbs is actually for
Anyone wanting herbal-leaning cleansers, shampoos and body washes at ₹129 to ₹273 is getting good value at the selling price, mostly made in the brand’s own plant. Anyone buying the Ayurvedic story at the top of the range is paying for a name, and anyone buying the sunscreen for its SPF number has nothing published to read.
Reputation and controversies
The advertising record is where this brand has the most on file. The Advertising Standards Council of India is a self-regulatory industry body, not a statutory regulator, and it examines individual advertisements. Under the advertiser name Apcos Naturals Private Limited, eight complaints were upheld — five on product claims, three on influencer posts. Those are different things: an influencer finding concerns whether a post was labelled an advertisement, and says nothing about a product claim.
The five product-claim matters, with their dates. The Castor + Black Onion Seed Shampoo, for “Combats Hair-Fall, Strengthens Hair Roots & Delays Premature Greying”, 22 August 2023. The Spot Control Foaming Face Wash, for “Get clean, clear & spot-free skin… Boosts Collagen Production”, 25 August 2023. The Anti-Hairfall Shampoo, for “Prevents Dandruff… Minimises Hair Loss”, same matter. The Bath & Body Anti-Acne Body Wash, 19 October 2023. The Kimsukadi Tail facial oil, 29 October 2024.
Each ruling was on one advertisement as it stood on the day it was examined. None is a standing ban on a form of words, none carries force of law, and nobody has ruled on any page as it reads today. The file holds a decision the other way too: a complaint about a Liquid Lipstick post by the influencer Devika Sajeesh was not upheld on 15 February 2023.
What the pages carried on 5 September 2026. The Castor + Black Onion Seed Shampoo was off the brand’s own store and on Nykaa at ₹310 against ₹217. No product named Spot Control Foaming Face Wash was on the site; the nearest, the Plant Salicylic Acid Foaming Face Wash, carries no collagen claim. The anti-acne body wash sells under a different name. The Anti-Hairfall Shampoo page read “Reduces Hair fall by 8X from 1st wash”, the asterisk’s referent not shown. The Kimsukadi Tail page carried its pigmentation and award lines.
The award is real, and narrower than the sentence suggests. Cosmopolitan India published “The Eight Best Facial Oils of 2019” on 13 June 2019, under “the Cosmo India Beauty Awards 2019, presented by amazon.in”, and the Kimsukadi Tail is one of the eight named. ASCI’s guideline on awards, in effect from 1 February 2020, asks an advertiser to name the awarding body with the month and year, and to use an award only within twelve months of its being given. On 5 September 2026 the page read: “awarded among the best facial oils for glowing skin in India by Cosmopolitan Magazine and Amazon.” No year appears on it.
A search of India’s public judgments database under the company name, Apcos Naturals, found nothing on 5 September 2026. The brand name is two ordinary English words the database cannot isolate, so read that as what one company name brings back, not a clean bill across every regulator.
Buying it in India
Read the block headed “Approved Name”
On seven of ten products read it carries the code 468AY-PB — a different field from “Mfg. Lic. No.”, which appeared on two products as GC/2113.
Read the manufacturer line
Some are made at the brand’s own Mohali plant, some by Ameya Plastics in Valsad, and one Mohali-made shampoo names Marico Ltd. The declaration tells you which; the brand name does not.
Use the selling price, never the MRP
All 33 brand-store listings read on 5 September 2026 sold below MRP. Work the per-millilitre price out on what you will pay.
Ask what an SPF number was tested against
The three SPF products read name no method, laboratory or standard and publish no report. A number on the front is a claim until a report sits behind it.
Common questions
Who owns Just Herbs?
Marico Limited, outright. A 60% stake was announced on 14 July 2021, the holding reached 56.52% by 4 July 2022, and the balance 40% completed on 17 September 2024 at up to ₹70 crore.
Is Just Herbs an Ayurvedic brand?
It sells on Ayurvedic formulations and classical names, and seven of ten products read print the code 468AY-PB under a heading reading “Approved Name”. No public register we checked lists that code, so this audit reports what the label prints and says nothing about which licence regime it sits under.
How big is Just Herbs?
₹98.79 crore in the year ended 31 March 2025, disclosed by Marico on 4 August 2025, or 0.91% of its consolidated revenue. A registry aggregator reading the same accounts carries ₹98.93 crore.
Should I pay the MRP?
Nothing on the brand’s store was offered at MRP on 5 September 2026. Compare per-millilitre prices across the brand store, Nykaa and Tata 1mg, which differed widely that day.
How we research and verify brand audits: our methodology.
References
- Marico Limited, Regulation 30 intimation, 4 July 2022 — 52.38% to 56.52%; early turnover
- Marico Limited, Regulation 30 intimation, 6 September 2024 — the balance 40% at up to ₹70 crore
- Marico Limited, completion intimation, 17 September 2024 — 100% completed
- Marico Limited, Regulation 30 intimation, 4 August 2025 — the liquidation; ₹98.79 crore; 0.91%
- Marico Limited, Integrated Annual Report FY2025-26 — the portfolio mention; the ₹1,100+ crore exit ARR
- Zauba Corp, Apcos Naturals, read 5 September 2026 — CIN, incorporation, status, capital
- The Company Check, Apcos Naturals, read 5 September 2026 — the ₹98.93 crore reading
- Business Standard, 14 July 2021 — the 60% announcement
- Just Herbs, About us, read 5 September 2026 — the founding account; the organic wording
- Just Herbs, Contact us, read 5 September 2026 — names Marico Limited
- Just Herbs, Kimsukadi Tail facial oil, read 5 September 2026 — “Approved Name / 468AY-PB”; the award line
- Just Herbs, Anti Hairfall Shampoo 480 ml, read 5 September 2026 — “Mfg. Lic. No.: GC/2113”; the “8X” claim
- Just Herbs, skincare and hair collections, read 5 September 2026 — the 33 store prices
- Nykaa, Just Herbs brand page, read 5 September 2026 — seventeen listings
- Tata 1mg, Soya Protein Shampoo 200 ml, read 5 September 2026 — the ₹618 MRP and ₹560 price
- Cosmopolitan India, 13 June 2019 — the awards feature naming eight oils
- ASCI, Guidelines for Usage of Awards/Rankings in Advertisements — in effect 1 February 2020
- ASCI complaint outcomes, Apcos Naturals, checked 5 September 2026 — five upheld product-claim matters, three upheld influencer matters, one not upheld
The best thing about Just Herbs is not the Ayurveda; it is the factory. Seven of ten products read are made at the brand’s own Mohali plant, which few Indian skincare brands this size can say, and the cleansers, shampoos and body washes at ₹129 to ₹273 are honest value at the price charged.
The top of the range deserves more scepticism. A ₹1,925 serum and a ₹995 oil sit on a base selling face wash at ₹1.74 a millilitre. The site promises certified organic ingredients and names no certifier, three SPF products publish no report, and the award line carries no year.
Buy the ₹174 face wash and the ₹236 shampoo; leave the ₹1,925 serum until something is published behind it.
