Maroma

History

In 1976, Paul Pinthon, a young Frenchman who had trained as a pharmacist for several years, developed a single line of incense packets consisting of only 12 fragrances which, was, back then, known as “Encens d’Auroville. This was one of the first Units of Auroville in existence, created in order to help finance Auroville.

Until 1980 the company expanded marginally, but the founder, Paul Pinthon, decided to dedicate his time to something else which resulted in a period of stagnation for the company... Four years later, in 1984, Laura Reddy joined Paul Pinthon and changed the course of the company by combining his training in compounding formulations for fragrances and her knowledge of Aromatherapy. Together they changed the company’s strategy. Their first act as a changed company was to alter the name to MAROMA. Following which they launched a new range of home fragrances and body care products.

On February 24th 1993, in collaboration with Auromode, another unit of Auroville, a store was opened in Pondichery on 134 Mission Street. In addition their products were on display at La Boutique d’Auroville (the Store of Auroville) also located in Pondichery. 13 years later on August 23rd 2006 the Kalki Auroville was set up at the Visitor Center of Auroville. In 2010 on the 12th of August, a Maroma store was opened in Chennai in the, at the time, new mall called Express Avenue.

The company was transformed into a manufacturer and exporter of a wide range of aromatic products that were made from natural botanical raw materials. In addition they were the first company in India to conform to the guidelines of the International Fragrances Association (IFRA), Brussels. In September of 2009 a book called New Packaging Design by Janice Kirkpatrick was released mentioning the use of Eco-friendly and appealing packaging by Maroma. In April of 2010, the company was recognized as “the largest employer in Auroville,” with a majority of woman. By 2011 Maroma passed their audit and were granted Membership to the Fair trade India Forum.

The company expanded from a domestic operation to an international scale, exporting their products to Japan, Italy, France, Spain, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Canada, USA and the UK. The partnership with their distributor in the UK began in the year 1996, in France in 2000, in Australia by 2009 and in 2011 a new partnership was created with a distributor in South Africa. By June 2001 the company opened a subsidiary through an external contract, Alpharetta, near Atlanta, USA. Then in 2004 everything was shifted to Miami, Florida with a complete change in local management. Although it was only in 2011 that the subsidiary applied to be a member of US fair trade. They were awarded membership the following year, in 2012.

Key members

Founder/Co-CEO: Paul Pinthon

Co-CEO: Laura Reddy received training in Aromatherapy in France. She joined Maroma in 1984.

General Manager: Roma Hira She began by marketing Maroma’s products to various cities in India, but in 1994 she joined as a General Manager.

Design Director: Namrita Gautier

Fair trade

Maroma’s motto has been putting people before machines, and so the work environment is designed to reflect this attitude. They were the first Indian company to operate under the International Fragrance Association (IFRA) Guidelines, Brussels. Later in, 2011, they were officially members of the Fair Trade Forum of India (FTFI) and have been following the Fair trade policies for every person involved with the company, doing such things as maintaining a certain level of safety and cleanliness in the work environment. Maroma has always had a strict no animal testing policy and is firmly against such practices. In addition to their corporate ethics, they try to employ a majority of women from the surrounding villages, provided they have a certain standard of education (12th standard) with the hopes of encouraging the families in the villages to let their daughters finish their education.

Environment

The company does various activities in the effort to reduce their carbon footprint as well as maintain a sustainable business that uses a variety of methods to recycle. Their packaging reflects and supports their socioeconomic awareness and was noted in Janice Kirkpatrick’s book “New packaging design”.

TANGEDCO (TNEB)approved, for the first time, four solar net-metering applications. All four applications came from Auroville, and one of them was Maroma with a service connection of 15 kW (Kilo Watts). This means the solar power generated at Maroma is feasible and will be connected to the TANGEDCO power grid.

Kalki Pondicherry

Kalki Pondicherry is the result of a collaboration between Paul Pinthon and Laura Reddy of Maroma and Prema Adelino and Andre Hababou of Auromode (another unit of Auroville. The store first opened on 134 mission street, in Pondicherry on February 24, 1993. It has 2 floors that serve as a display and selling points for a variety of companies, but it primarily serves Maroma and Auromode. The shop offers a variety of Maroma’s products such as perfumes, incense, aromatherapy, natural oils, flower candles and from Auromode, hand painted silks, cushion covers, scarves and cards. In addition there are various products from other Units of Auroville.

Kalki Auroville

Kalki Auroville[1] was opened in the Visitor Center of Auroville on the 21st of August 2006, 13 years after the first store opening. Just like the first store the primary displays are for Maroma and Auromode but a larger range of products, ranging from organic foods to pottery and metal stone decorative. .

Maroma Chennai

The Maroma Chennai[2] store was only opened on the 12th of August 2010, 4 years after the Auroville branch. The story received more media coverage then the other two. Several magazine articles were published discussing the opening of the store and its natural and organic products.

Head Office

Auroville was a baren undeveloped land at the time, and so after establishing a steady work space with just a few workers who operated out of a small shed, Paul and Laura created an internationally operating home fragrance and body care unit with a subsidiary in the US. The head office still stands on the site where the first production of their first product, Encens d’Auroville, started. It operates with approximately 100 employees, the majority being women from the surrounding villages. The headquarters is more than just the birthplace of Maroma, it also represents the oldest remaining unit of Auroville and the growth of this micro-economic environment.

Founder

Paul Pinthon was born on January 24, 1950 and spent his first 12 years in Algeria. From 1962 till 1974 he lived and studied in France. In France he trained as an assistant pharmacist where he learned the skills required for compounding formulas for fragrances. At the age of 20 he left to join the army working as the army camp’s pharmacist. After a year of service he returned to France and continued his education as a pharmacist. In 1974, Paul left France to go to Auroville in India, to start a new life, where he founded Encens d’Auroville, the initial unit that would eventually turn into Maroma. In 1980, once his unit was established and running, he decided to shift his focus on to the plantation of trees in Auroville. For a period of 4 years he participated in the planting of 24,000 trees in Auroville. In 1984, Paul and Laura partnered up to make Maroma. They have been running the company ever since as co-CEOs.