India has no shortage of indigenous ingredients and traditional beauty practices. But turning that knowledge into modern, high-performance skincare is a different challenge altogether.

For Sohrai, Mahua sits at the centre of that opportunity.

Founded by Khanak Gupta and Rupesh Pawar, Sohrai is a skincare brand that brings Mahua and other tribal ingredients into mo

dern formulations, combining indigenous knowledge with research and cosmetic science to create results-driven skincare.

The story behind Sohrai is closely connected to the founders' own experiences.

Khanak Gupta and Rupesh Pawar met during the Jagriti Yatra, where their shared belief in India's indigenous knowledge and entrepreneurial potential eventually sparked the idea for Sohrai.

For Rupesh, Mahua was more than an ingredient.

Growing up in a tribal region of Maharashtra, he saw his mother hand-pick Mahua flowers. That experience shaped his interest in exploring how indigenous ingredients could be transformed into high-performing skincare.

Today, Rupesh is Sohrai's Co-founder and CTO, bringing his expertise in cosmetic formulation and R&D to the brand. He is also a BIRAC scholar and a scientist who graduated from the Institute of Chemical Technology.

Khanak brings a different set of experiences to the company. A graduate of the London School of Economics and Babson College, she began her career in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry before returning to India to build Sohrai.

Together, the founders are building Sohrai around an intersection of traditional knowledge, modern science and contemporary beauty.

Mahua sits at the centre of Sohrai's product philosophy.

The brand's skincare range includes the Mahua Miracle Oil, Luminous Cloud Cream and Gentle Cleansing Splash, alongside its Glossy Lip Butter range.

The Mahua Miracle Oil combines Mahua, Saffron and Rosehip and is positioned around hydration, radiance and fine-line care.

The Luminous Cloud Cream combines Mahua with Niacinamide, Moringa and Mulberry, while the Gentle Cleansing Splash uses Mahua, Black Cumin and Witch Hazel.

The brand has also expanded the role of Mahua beyond conventional skincare with its Mahua Mosquito Shield, which Sohrai describes as a skincare-focused, DEET-free mosquito repellent made with Mahua, Citronella and Orange.

The common thread is clear: taking ingredients rooted in India's indigenous traditions and translating them into products designed for the modern consumer.

For Sohrai, the opportunity isn't simply about putting an indigenous ingredient on a product label.

Rupesh's role in formulation and R&D reflects the company's focus on combining traditional knowledge with modern science, research and innovation.

That approach places Sohrai at the intersection of heritage and modern formulation, with Mahua serving as one of the key ingredients connecting the two.

The brand's proposition is built around taking ingredients rooted in India's tribal traditions and developing them into contemporary skincare products.

Sohrai has already received recognition within India's beauty ecosystem.

The brand won the Impact Category at the Beauty&You India Awards 2023, presented by Nykaa and Estée Lauder Companies.

Khanak Gupta has also been recognised for her work in the beauty and entrepreneurship space. According to the press kit, she became the first woman to receive the Visionary Women's Award by Estée Lauder, presented in October 2025.

Sohrai's ambition goes beyond building a skincare range around one ingredient.

Under Khanak's leadership, the brand is centred around Mahua and India's wider tribal beauty traditions, with a mission to take these indigenous ingredients and stories to the world.

India's indigenous beauty knowledge has existed for generations. The opportunity now is to translate that knowledge into products and brands that can resonate with modern consumers while keeping the cultural context behind those ingredients part of the story.

For Sohrai, Mahua is the starting point.

The larger ambition is to bring India's indigenous ingredients and beauty traditions into the modern global beauty conversation.

Sohrai is building at the intersection of heritage, formulation and modern beauty.

The interesting part isn't simply that the brand uses Mahua. It is the attempt to build a contemporary skincare proposition around an ingredient rooted in India's tribal traditions, with formulation and R&D at the centre.

For Khanak and Rupesh, the journey started with a shared belief in India's indigenous knowledge.

Now, they're building a brand around it.

And Mahua is at the centre of that story.