Neha Marda’s Phitku Is Giving Traditional Phitkari a Modern Identity for Gen Z Consumers

From alum-based deodorants to a growing personal care portfolio, actor and entrepreneur Neha Marda is building Phitku around a simple idea: traditional Indian ingredients must demonstrate relevance and usefulness rather than depend entirely on nostalgia.

Mumbai, November 6, 2026: At a time when India’s personal care market is filled with elaborate skincare routines, ingredient-focused advertising and a growing number of direct-to-consumer brands, actor and entrepreneur Neha Marda is taking a different approach with her personal care brand Phitku.

Instead of introducing an unfamiliar ingredient or building a marketing campaign around complicated beauty rituals, the brand is placing phitkari, commonly known as alum, at the centre of its product identity.

Phitkari has been used in Indian households for generations and is familiar to many consumers through traditional grooming practices, particularly its association with barbershops.

However, Phitku is attempting to give this everyday ingredient a contemporary identity through product design, personal care applications and messaging aimed at younger consumers.

In an interview with LiveMint, Marda explained that the brand does not want to persuade Gen Z and millennials to use a product simply because earlier generations trusted it.

Instead, the focus is on explaining why the ingredient matters in modern routines and whether the finished product delivers the intended benefit.

The approach reflects a broader marketing question for consumer businesses: how can companies make familiar traditional ingredients relevant to younger buyers without relying on nostalgia alone?

Why Neha Marda Is Positioning Phitku Differently

Traditional Indian ingredients have long been part of the country’s beauty, grooming and wellness culture.

From turmeric and sandalwood to neem and alum, many ingredients have remained familiar across generations.

Consumer brands frequently draw on this heritage by emphasising family traditions, cultural identity and the appeal of longstanding household practices.

While heritage can establish familiarity, it does not automatically explain why a product should be incorporated into a modern personal care routine.

Marda’s strategy for Phitku attempts to address this distinction.

Rather than treating phitkari’s historical use as sufficient proof of its value, the brand is focusing on contemporary product formats and practical applications.

This allows Phitku to communicate with consumers who may recognise an ingredient but do not necessarily associate it with their current grooming or wellness requirements.

For a young brand, the strategy may also offer a way to distinguish its products in a competitive market where many companies use similar claims about natural ingredients and traditional wisdom.

Moving Beyond the Nostalgia-Driven Marketing Formula

Nostalgia remains a familiar advertising technique in India’s consumer goods industry.

Brands often use family memories, traditional rituals and multigenerational trust to establish emotional connections with buyers.

However, emotional familiarity and product relevance are not the same thing.

In her conversation with LiveMint, Marda argued that younger consumers need to understand how a product fits into their lifestyles rather than being asked to follow older practices without explanation.

This distinction is central to Phitku’s positioning.

The brand is not abandoning the historical identity of alum. Instead, it is attempting to use that familiarity as a starting point for a modern product proposition.

The marketing challenge is to retain the ingredient’s recognisable identity while making the experience feel appropriate for current consumer preferences.

For Phitku, that means presenting alum through contemporary personal care products rather than depending primarily on stories about its traditional household use.

From Traditional Barbershops to Modern Personal Care Products

One of the biggest challenges for a brand built around alum is changing how consumers perceive the ingredient.

Phitkari has traditionally been associated with practical applications rather than premium beauty products.

Its familiar uses include aftershave applications in barbershops and certain water treatment processes.

As a result, consumers may not immediately connect alum with modern deodorant or wellness products.

Marda acknowledged in the LiveMint interview that early responses to the idea of an alum-based deodorant included surprise and scepticism.

The challenge was not necessarily a lack of awareness about phitkari.

Instead, it involved persuading consumers to reconsider what kinds of products could be developed around it.

Phitku’s response has been to offer the ingredient through formats associated with contemporary personal care.

This repositioning illustrates how a familiar commodity ingredient can be used as the foundation for a differentiated branded product.

However, the success of such a strategy depends on factors beyond branding, including formulation quality, customer experience, safety and repeat purchases.

How Phitku Is Expanding Its Product Portfolio

Phitku initially focused on an alum-based crystal roll-on deodorant.

The brand has since expanded its portfolio into additional personal care categories.

The products discussed by Marda include:

Crystal Roll-On Deodorant

The alum-based roll-on reflects the brand’s original positioning around everyday odour care.

The format offers consumers a familiar way to apply a product containing a traditional ingredient.

Its commercial appeal depends on whether users find it convenient and suitable for their personal care routines.

Deo Bar

Phitku’s Deo Bar extends the brand’s approach to odour care into the shower.

Rather than focusing exclusively on underarm application, the product is positioned as part of a wider body hygiene routine.

This creates an opportunity for the brand to reach consumers seeking products that fit into their existing bathing habits.

Mouth Paste

The brand has also introduced an oral care product described as Mouth Paste.

Its inclusion indicates that Phitku is exploring personal care categories beyond deodorants.

However, the formulation, specific benefits and clinical evidence supporting the Mouth Paste were not detailed in the supplied interview.

Consumers should therefore evaluate its ingredients, directions and relevant product claims independently.

The portfolio expansion suggests an attempt to build a broader personal care business rather than remain dependent on a single deodorant product.

What Is Phitkari and Why Is It Used in Personal Care?

Phitkari is the Hindi name commonly used for alum, a family of chemical compounds.

The material traditionally recognised as phitkari is often potassium alum, although commercial alum-containing formulations may use different compounds.

Alum has a long history of use in grooming and certain water treatment applications.

In personal care, particular alum compounds are used in products intended to help manage body odour.

However, the effectiveness and safety of any finished product depend on its specific ingredients, concentration, formulation and intended method of use.

It is therefore important not to assume that every product marketed as alum-based will have the same characteristics or benefits.

Consumers should also distinguish between deodorants and antiperspirants.

Deodorants are primarily intended to manage body odour, whereas antiperspirants are designed to reduce perspiration.

Some products may perform both functions, but an alum-based product should not automatically be described as an antiperspirant without appropriate evidence.

Likewise, a traditional history of use does not establish that a product is suitable for every skin type or application.

These distinctions are especially important when an ingredient is introduced into new personal care categories.

Why Phitku Is Focusing on Product Performance Rather Than ‘Chemical-Free’ Claims

A notable aspect of Marda’s approach is her rejection of the idea that natural ingredients are automatically superior to synthetic ones.

The personal care market has seen extensive use of terms such as natural, clean, toxin-free and chemical-free.

However, these expressions can be imprecise when they are not supported by clear definitions or scientific evidence.

All cosmetic ingredients consist of chemical substances, whether they originate from natural or synthetic sources.

Consequently, a product’s safety and effectiveness cannot be determined solely by whether its ingredients are described as natural.

In her LiveMint interview, Marda emphasised that product effectiveness should take priority over simplistic claims about ingredient origins.

This positioning may help Phitku communicate with consumers who prefer explanations about product function and formulation rather than broad statements about natural superiority.

It also creates an important responsibility for the brand.

If effectiveness is central to the marketing strategy, product claims should be supported by appropriate testing, evidence and clear consumer information.

The interview demonstrates the company’s stated philosophy, but it does not independently establish the clinical efficacy of individual Phitku products.

Why Gen Z Consumers Are Important to Phitku’s Strategy

Gen Z consumers represent an important audience for emerging beauty and personal care companies.

Many younger shoppers encounter brands through social media, digital advertising, online marketplaces and creator-led product discussions.

They may compare product claims, ingredients, packaging and customer reviews before making purchase decisions.

For companies targeting this audience, cultural familiarity may help attract initial attention, but it does not necessarily create lasting demand.

Phitku’s strategy attempts to combine a recognisable Indian ingredient with product formats that can fit contemporary routines.

This approach has several possible advantages.

First, a familiar ingredient may make the brand easier to explain.

Second, modern packaging and convenient applications can help reduce the perception that the product belongs only to older grooming traditions.

Third, an emphasis on practical functionality may support clearer communication about why a consumer might choose the product.

Nevertheless, the brand’s ability to build loyalty will depend on actual product experiences, affordability, distribution and competition.

The supplied information does not include independent customer research demonstrating how Gen Z consumers have responded to Phitku’s products.

Can Traditional Indian Ingredients Become Premium Consumer Brands?

Phitku’s positioning raises a larger question about the commercial potential of familiar Indian ingredients.

Many traditional ingredients are available in relatively inexpensive, unbranded forms.

Creating a premium consumer product around such an ingredient requires more than simply changing its packaging.

Brands must identify what additional value they provide through formulation, convenience, quality control, product experience and customer support.

For example, a standard commodity ingredient and a finished personal care product can differ in formulation, manufacturing standards, application method and other characteristics.

Consumers may be willing to pay for those differences if they find them meaningful.

However, premium pricing alone does not establish better performance.

The product must deliver sufficient value to justify its position in the market.

Phitku’s approach illustrates a possible route for Indian consumer brands seeking to modernise familiar ingredients without discarding their cultural identity.

Its long-term commercial success remains to be demonstrated through business performance and consumer adoption.

What Makes Phitku’s Brand Strategy Distinctive?

Phitku’s positioning combines several elements that are commonly discussed in consumer-brand development.

Ingredient familiarity: Alum already has recognisable associations in Indian households and grooming culture.

Contemporary product design: The brand uses modern personal care formats rather than limiting the ingredient to its traditional applications.

Functional messaging: The marketing philosophy focuses on relevance and product performance instead of relying solely on sentimental appeals.

Category expansion: Moving from a crystal roll-on to additional products creates opportunities to reach consumers across more daily routines.

Founder-led communication: Marda’s involvement gives the brand a public-facing entrepreneur who can communicate its positioning.

These factors may support brand differentiation, but they do not independently establish competitive advantage.

That would require evidence such as sustained sales growth, repeat purchasing, customer retention and profitability.

The Business Challenge Ahead for Phitku

Repositioning a traditional ingredient can create consumer interest, but building a durable personal care company requires execution across several areas.

The first challenge is product consistency.

Consumers who purchase a product because of its promised usefulness will expect comparable experiences across repeated purchases.

The second is trust.

Brands making functional claims need to communicate accurately about ingredients, expected benefits, usage and limitations.

The third is distribution.

A product can generate awareness through digital channels, but availability and accessibility influence whether interested consumers can purchase it conveniently.

The fourth is competition.

India’s personal care market includes established consumer goods companies, specialist beauty brands and emerging direct-to-consumer businesses.

Phitku will need to demonstrate why consumers should choose its products over the available alternatives.

Finally, expansion across product categories brings formulation, manufacturing and regulatory responsibilities that vary according to the nature of each product.

The brand’s ability to manage these requirements will matter as its portfolio grows.

A Broader Lesson for Indian Consumer Brands

Phitku’s strategy reflects an opportunity for businesses seeking to introduce familiar ingredients to new generations.

Traditional knowledge may provide a starting point for product development, but historical familiarity is not a substitute for modern standards of safety, effectiveness and quality.

Similarly, contemporary branding can make a product more approachable without proving that it performs better than alternatives.

The most credible approach combines a clearly defined consumer need, suitable formulation and transparent product communication.

Marda’s stated emphasis on practicality rather than nostalgia offers one example of how a founder can approach this challenge.

Whether Phitku achieves lasting commercial success will depend on how effectively the business translates that philosophy into products consumers continue to purchase.

Conclusion

Neha Marda’s Phitku is attempting to reshape how younger Indian consumers view phitkari by moving the traditional ingredient from familiar household and barbershop settings into modern personal care products.

The brand’s approach relies less on sentimental appeals and more on product relevance, contemporary design and a stated commitment to effectiveness.

Its expansion from an alum-based crystal roll-on deodorant into products such as Deo Bar and Mouth Paste demonstrates an ambition to build a broader personal care portfolio.

At the same time, product claims must be distinguished from independently verified evidence, particularly when traditional ingredients are marketed for new applications.

Phitku’s larger proposition is that Indian heritage ingredients can find a place in modern consumer markets when brands explain their practical value rather than asking customers to trust tradition alone.

disclaimer: This article is for business-news and general information purposes and does not provide medical or dermatological advice.