At the 1960s, Medimix soap was recommended in pharmacies in Chennai and subsequently became accessible in general stores. The green bar of soap became commonplace in hospitals and hotel rooms. Medimix created a soap using Ayurvedic oils that was first offered as a prescription product in pharmacies.
Many years before Ayurveda became a global buzzword, the South Indian firm Medimix employed Ayurvedic oils to create a soap that was originally offered as a prescription product in pharmacies in Chennai in the 1960s.
Today, VP Sidhan’s grandson Lasakan Cholayil, 30, is carrying on the family history as the founder of Medimix.
When he joined the Chennai-based firm in 2015, their turnover was Rs 200 crore, but he increased product sales online and launched new items, bringing the turnover to Rs 300 crore in FY 2021-22. Pradeep Cholayil, his father, is the company’s managing director.
Lasakan and his mother, Jayadevi Cholayil, collaborated in September 2019 to develop the Ayurvedic beauty firm Sadhev, which was sponsored by the parent company Cholayil Private Limited.
Lasakan and his mother founded Heirloom Bay Private Ltd, which made Rs 1.5 crore in 2020 and Rs 3 crore in FY 2021-22.
Sadhev products are priced between Rs 300 and Rs 2000 and are made in the Medimix facility in Tada, around 70 kilometres from Chennai on the Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border.
VP Sidhan, an allopathic doctor in the Indian railways, founded Medimix in 1969 in Chennai. He treated sanitation employees in trains who were suffering from numerous skin conditions.
A 75g bar of soap cost Rs 2 in 1969; today, it costs Rs 160. It is now a well-known brand of soap, and a pocket-sized bar of soap is provided free of charge at budget hotels and hospitals, making it the common man’s soap.
Lasakan was well aware that he would have to take over the family company at some point. Lasakan graduated from American International School in Chennai in 2010. He is now enrolled in a postgraduate degree in family business management at the Indian School of Business.
Lasakan recalls spending time with his grandparents, who fostered his interest in Ayurveda. His mother regularly took him to Medimix’s R&D division to watch how the things were made.
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