Soulflower’s Natasha Tuli on building trust through innovation and transparency

Product innovation as a differentiator

Soulflower has distinguished itself in the cosmetics and personal care market by prioritizing product innovation over marketing-driven growth, according to Tuli. She cited the example of rosemary oil, a product that saw a nearly sevenfold increase in search interest between 2021 and 2026, per Google Trends data. The surge in popularity followed Soulflower’s decision to educate customers about its uses and offer it in larger quantities post-pandemic.

Another example is Soulflower’s oil-based soap, priced at Rs 400, which defied industry trends favoring shower gels. Tuli noted that such products were developed by studying customer preferences—including analyzing shopping carts to identify complementary purchases. This approach led to the creation of a non-oily rosemary hair serum for North Indian customers who disliked traditional oily formulations.

Transparency as a trust-building tool

Tuli highlighted transparency as a cornerstone of Soulflower’s strategy. To build customer confidence, the brand filmed and shared its soap-making process, despite concerns about revealing trade secrets. This practice, along with direct engagement, positioned Soulflower as a brand that prioritizes honesty over conventional marketing tactics.

She also addressed the limitations of marketing and discounts in driving repeat purchases. Tuli argued that while advertising attracts initial buyers, retention depends on whether the product delivers on its promises—a principle Soulflower embeds in its operations.

Scaling direct customer engagement

Tuli’s personal involvement in customer interactions—including responding to messages late at night—has been a hallmark of Soulflower’s approach. However, she acknowledged that this model is not sustainable as the business scales. To address this, Soulflower developed ‘Ask Natasha’, a bot trained on her past conversations to maintain engagement during her unavailability.

Despite these tools, Tuli posed three questions for founders to consider: why customers choose their brand, why they return, and how trust can be retained as the company grows.

What this means

Lazyfounder analysis — our interpretation, not reported fact.

Soulflower’s approach underscores a shift in how emerging brands can compete in crowded markets like cosmetics and personal care. Instead of relying solely on marketing or discounts, Tuli’s strategy prioritizes product differentiation and direct relationships with customers—both of which are harder for competitors to replicate.

For founders, the takeaway is twofold: First, transparency can be a powerful tool for building trust, especially in industries where consumers are increasingly skeptical of claims. Second, while personal engagement scales poorly, technology like bots can help bridge the gap without losing the human touch that customers value.

This model may resonate particularly with direct-to-consumer brands in India, where customer loyalty is often driven by perceived authenticity and innovation rather than price or advertising spend.

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