Ecotrail Personal Care, a company headed by two Ahmedabad-based Jain sisters, launched in the city on Wednesday Iba Halal Care– India’s first halal cosmetics brand.

Announcing the launch of Iba Halal Care, Mauli Teli, CEO of the company, said, “We are creating an entirely new category of cosmetic products — halal cosmetic products. Halal (meaning lawful) cosmetic products are entirely hygienic, ethically manufactured products and meant for use by everyone.”

Iba Halal Cosmetics range of around 60 products includes face creams, body lotions, hair oil, shampoo, conditioners, lipsticks, kajal, soap and perfumes. “These cosmetics products are free of alcohol and are popular in countries like Saudi Arabia, Canada, the UK, Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia. They are known as mineral makeup products in European markets,” Mauli said.

Grishma Teli, vice-president, research and development, Ecotrail, said only extracts from vegetables and fruits are used in the cosmetics products manufactured at the company’s unit in Sanand. “The source of every ingredient is researched and it is ensured that products are 100% free of non-halal ingredients such as alcohol, chemicals like sulfate, paraben and mercury and animal-derived inputs,” she said.

India is home to the world’s second largest Muslim population but the community is still highly untapped as a consumer market for cosmetics products. Mauli Teli said that India’s personal care market is growing at 15-17% every year. “Ecotrail is currently focusing only on meeting the domestic demand,” she said.

Muhamed Meeran, executive director of Halal India, apex body of halal certification, said the market for halal products, including food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and services, is expected to grow from $1.62 trillion in 2012 to $2.47 trillion in 2018. “Halal cosmetics sector is currently worth $26 billion and is expected to grow to $39 billion by 2018,” Meeran said.

In Ahmedabad, the products will be available through two exclusive stores — one in Mithakhali and the other in Juhapura — from Sunday. The company has plans to expand its network through stores in cities like Surat, Bharuch and Vadodara (in Gujarat) as well as in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kolkata and other cities.

*This article was originally published on The Times of India on 4 September 2014. Read the original article here.