At 69, Founder Of BIOMUNI Asks: How Transparent Is the 'Transparency' Consumers Are Being Sold?

Neelam Rathee, the founder of BIOMUNI, a startup selling ayurveda-inspired clean beauty products, has reignited a debate on product transparency. Rathee, also known as "Nani," asserts that if transparency is crucial enough to be displayed on a billboard, it should be equally prominent on product labels. She criticizes brands that utilize buzzwords like "natural" and "organic" merely to influence consumer choices, arguing that consumers require more than these vague claims to make informed decisions. The issue becomes even more pressing when brands publicly advocate for increased transparency.

Beco, a competitor of BIOMUNI, recently launched a campaign titled "#WarOnWhatsHidden," which aims to make consumers more aware of the ingredients present in everyday products. However, transparency should not be a selective process, where brands disclose what their products do not contain but fail to provide adequate information about the ingredients they do use. Rathee emphasizes that transparency should entail clear and easy-to-understand information about the product's underlying ingredients.

Rathee questions whether Beco is willing to uphold the same transparency standards it promotes for its competitors. The founder of BIOMUNI points out that terms like "coconut-based surfactants" or "natural bio-enzymes" do not offer clear insights into the specific substances utilized in the products. Moreover, if information about other formulation components is available on the brand's website, it undermines the purpose of transparent labeling, as consumers must actively search for this information across multiple sources.

Rathee contends that the primary source of information should be the product label itself, providing meaningful details about the ingredients directly on the bottle.

In the personal care industry, brands have for years spent significant resources communicating what products are devoid of or highlighting specific "hero ingredients." While this approach has its merits, Rathee argues that such claims should not replace full disclosure. She stresses the importance of clarity, advocating for labels that enable ordinary consumers to understand the principal ingredients in a product without relying solely on the brand's interpretation of terms like "natural," "clean," or "plant-based."

Rathee highlights BIOMUNI as a frontrunner in this regard, as their product labels not only disclose the absence of harmful toxins, parabens, and sulphates but also list 100% ingredients on the bottle itself. This complete ingredient information is also available on BIOMUNI's website, www.biomuni.com, ensuring consumers have access to comprehensive details.

Rathee concludes that consumers should not be forced to choose between trusting a brand and understanding the products they use, suggesting that the simplest test of transparency is to inform consumers not only of what they do not use but also of what they do.