Legacy ayurveda brands take the new age wellness route to stay relevant

₹500 crore in revenue and forming the backbone of its sales—such as Dabur Red Paste, Dabur Amla hair oil, Dabur Honey and Chyawanprash, are widely perceived as “boomer brands,” Mahasuar said.“Gen Z is very particular about ingredients, and look and feel—and most importantly they want visible results,” he told Mint. “Companies in skin care and hair care have been struggling over the last three to four years.

Earlier, rural demand was sustaining them, but you can’t grow on that alone if your other segments are flat or degrowing.”Leading legacy players say wellness is no longer episodic or age-linked, forcing changes in both product design and positioning."It is an everyday behaviour. Consumers want science-backed efficacy rooted in tradition, but in formats and language that suit modern lifestyles,” said Durga Prasad, ethics and marketing head at Dabur India Ltd.Chyawanprash, long associated with thick, sugar-laden tonics, is now available in tablet form.

Dabur’s newer launches are also increasingly sugar-free or low-sugar. “Clean-label and no-added-sugar claims are no longer premium, they are baseline expectations,” Prasad said.The challenge, executives say, is not just format but translation.Ayurvedic concepts are often unfamiliar or abstract for Gen Z consumers, requiring reinterpretation rather than dilution.

Dabur has responded by reframing classical ideas into outcome-led language—immunity, gut health and stress relief—while retaining traditional formulations.“Our role is to stay true to classical principles while expressing their benefits in everyday terms,” Prasad said. “These are not new ideas; they are modern expressions of the same Ayurvedic intent.”Hamdard Laboratories Ltd, a 117-year-old Unani medicines