Khanak Gupta on Building Sohrai, The Magic of Mahua and Her Vision For The Future of Indian Beauty
Written by the Tuacha Editorial Team | Published on August 10th 2026
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When Khanak Gupta decided to make the move from the US to India, she could not have had imagined the journey that she was in for. Three years in, the co-founder and CEO of Sohrai reflects on her journey of building the brand, why she believes in the magic of Mahua and what she is dreaming up for the future of Indian beauty.
What made you see Mahua not simply as a traditional ingredient, but as one with the potential to anchor a contemporary beauty brand that could go global?
Mahua has an extraordinary backstory. It was historically banned. Structurally, it's remarkable; it's one of the few butters that truly penetrate and nourish skin with benefits at scale. Shea butter gets all the attention globally, but Mahua has equal (if not superior!) efficacy. What won me over was seeing how many women in tribal communities have used it for generations, weaving it so cleverly and thoughtfully in their everyday lives. That intersection of traditional knowledge, real performance, and untapped potential felt like the right anchor for a global brand.
What does building an Indian beauty brand around an indigenous ingredient require in terms of responsibility — to its origins, the communities associated with it and the story you tell consumers?
Everything. Authenticity isn't optional, it's the entire foundation upon which the brand is based. Sohrai started because my co-founder saw his mother, a woman from a tribal village, using Mahua. We have a responsibility to tell that story with a lot of care and reverence. We're committed to supporting over a million women through fair trade and direct sourcing — not for marketing, but as real duty towards the land, the ingredient and the people that make Sohrai what it is. And once we have the scale and distribution infrastructure to do our own sourcing ethically, we will. That's not something we're rushing, but it remains one of our biggest priorities as a company.
"Authenticity isn't optional, it's the entire foundation upon which the brand is based. Sohrai started because my co-founder saw his mother, a woman from a tribal village, using Mahua. We have a responsibility to tell that story with a lot of care and reverence."
How do you ensure that Sohrai’s use of Mahua goes beyond ingredient storytelling and is supported by performance, formulation and evidence?
We're explicitly not a "natural brand"— that's where most brands lose credibility, in my opinion. We're heavy on the science. Rupesh, my co-founder, is a scientist leading our R&D around Mahua's actives and formulation. This year, we're also investing in clinical trials, which honestly, most beauty brands never do. The ingredient story only matters if the product actually works.
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What has building Sohrai taught you about the opportunities and structural gaps within India’s beauty ecosystem?
There's a massive middle missing. You have the beauty giants that have been around for decades in the country, and then the international brands. Anyone with purchasing power tends to gravitate towards Korean or Western beauty right now. That needs to change — there's real innovation and heritage in Indian beauty that should be celebrated globally, not just consumed domestically. We're trying to prove that an Indian brand can command the same prestige.
As an Indian founder building for a wider world, what would meaningful global recognition look like to you? Is it commercial scale, cultural recognition, or something else entirely?
It's the emotional piece for me. I want a woman sitting in France to tell her friend, "I use Sohrai — it's this incredible Indian brand," and see that same spark of joy and pride that people have when talking about Korean beauty. I haven't seen that yet with Indian brands globally. That's the win, both for Sohrai and me.
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