Vandana Luthra: The Wellness Guru Of India

There was a time when women in India were not allowed to work in the corporate sector and they were only limited to domestic chores. However, even in those times, many courageous ladies came forward to inspire the young generation to break such stereotypes. Vandana Luthra, the founder of VLCC Health Care Ltd., is one of those women.

Since her childhood days, Vandana’s vision was very clear that she would transform the beauty and wellness industry and provide a head-to-toe solution to the people. Despite facing a lot of criticism due to living in a patriarchal society, Vandana proved her prowess to the world with immense hard work and resilience.

Want to know about the story of this successful woman entrepreneur? We will tell you everything in this blog.

Early years of her life

Vandana Luthra was born on July 12, 1959 in New Delhi. She hails from an educated family background. Her father was a mechanical engineer and mother was a doctor who had started a charitable initiative – Amar Jyoti. Vandana’s mother was a great inspiration for her and she also wanted to carve a niche for herself just like her mother. After completing her graduation from the Polytechnic for Women in New Delhi, she went to Europe to learn more about beauty, food and nutrition, and skincare.

Beginning of Vandana Luthra Curls and Curves (VLCC)

After gaining an expertise in the cosmetology department, Vandana decided to launch her own beauty and wellness service centre in 1989 in Safdarjung. The centre was started for the dietary modification and exercise regimen-base weight management programs. Launching VLCC was not a spur-of-the-moment decision for Vandana Luthra, but a well-nurtured dream which took years of dedication, hard work and perseverance to bring it where it is today.

One of the biggest challenges that she faced at the beginning of her entrepreneurial career was proving her company’s worth in a highly unorganized sector of beauty and wellness at that time. However, she didn’t give up on her dreams and overcame all the odds with strong determination.

The big success after struggles

Vandana Luthra’s company which was started off on a small level has now become a big brand. It has captured the market not only in India but globally. Today, the company is offering a plethora of services like slimming, beauty & grooming, laser, hair transplant etc. Currently, they have a chain of 326 salons across 153 cities and 13 countries.

Moreover, VLCC manufactures and markets more than 170 body care, hair care, and skin care products along with functional and fortified foods that are consumed in the treatments and therapies at VLCC centres. These products sold through more than 1 Lakh outlets in India and 10,000 stores in Gulf countries and South-East Asia.

So far, Vandana has earned a lot of appreciation for her noteworthy work in the field of beauty and wellness. In 2010, she was felicitated with the Enterprise Asia Women Entrepreneur of the Year Award. She also received India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, Padma Shri Award, from the former President Pranab Mukherjee in 2013.

In addition to this, Vandana Luthra was ranked 26th in the distinguished annual Forbes Asia 2016 list of 50 powerful businesswomen in the APAC region.