Brands for a New Mom in Bangalore

Health is and has always been a priority for me. However motherhood has thrown up a whole host of challenges. The two aspects on priority that have come with this new life-stage and will be a focus area in the coming year, are a) building and retaining immunity and b) toning and muscle strength to cope with the increased physical demands.

For the first I take vitamin supplements - prescribed by the doctor and for the second I try to engage in physical exercise. I usually go by the doctor’s advice, especially for vitamins - since I still consider these to be 'medicine' and not many brands of vitamins advertise in mainstream media, directly to consumers.

Moreover, in India many pharmacies still haven’t adopted modern trade format and the experience of shopping for these products is not a very exciting one. Health food shops are few and far between. The only health shops, which give the consumer space to browse, are exclusive outlets by Himalaya.

Interestingly, I find that Himalaya is also the becoming the favorite amongst Indian mothers for baby products and is slowly occupying the position that J&J has occupied for decades.  There are other international brands like Pigeon, Chicco, Mee Mee, Sebamed that have made a foray into India through online shopping sites. Most of these brands are competitively priced and positive word-of-mouth had led to early acceptance amongst mothers like me. Despite that, Himalaya still enjoys mass appeal and unquestioned trust!

J&J has historically been the go-to brand for new mothers but in the recent past, the brand apparently could not control counterfeit products sold under the J&J name due to which many mothers complained that their babies encountered skin rashes and allergies. I personally did not even try any J&J product due to the negative word-of-mouth. The brand seems to have fallen out of favor even with paediatricians, one of them advised me to play safe and avoid J&J since there was no way of judging a genuine product from a counterfeit one.

Another reason for this could be that the entry of Himalaya into the baby product market with its natural ingredient base and Ayurveda lineage makes the other (non-natural products) look like they would have chemicals and I would think twice before using products with a chemical base when natural alternatives are available.

Apart from mainstream brands, I patronize many indigenous organic brands, like Rustic Art, that are environment friendly since I believe responsible parenting is not just about giving your child the best in terms of products but also in terms of values.