Vandana Luthra
Vandana Luthra (born 12 July 1959) is an Indian entrepreneur and the
founder of VLCC Health Care Ltd, a beauty and wellness
conglomerate represented in Asia, the GCC and Africa. She is also the
chairperson of the Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council (B&WSSC),
an initiative that provides training under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal
Vikas Yojana scheme.
She was appointed the first chairperson of the Beauty and Wellness
Sector Skill Council in 2014. This is backed by the government of India
and offers skills training for the beauty industry
EDUCATION :
Vandana Luthra was born in New Delhi in 1959. Her father was a
mechanical engineer and her mother was an ayurvedic doctor who
was running a charitable initiative - Amar Jyoti. This motivated her to
impact people's lives, and hence, after completing her graduation
from the Polytechnic for Women in New Delhi she went to Europe to
gain expertise in beauty, food and nutrition and skin care.
VLCC(Vandana Luthra Curls and Curves)
Luthra started VLCC in 1989, as a beauty and wellness service center
in Safdarjung Development Area, New Delhi that focused on dietary
modification and exercise regimen-based weight management
programs . VLCC has a strong national and international presence. It
offers weight management and beauty programmes (skin, body and
haircare treatments and advanced dermatology and cosmetology
solutions).[5]
VLCC has the largest scale and breadth of operations within the
beauty and wellness services industry in India. Currently the store
operates in 326 locations in 153 cities and 13 countries in South Asia,
South East Asia, the GCC Region and East Africa. With over 4,000
employees, including nutrition counsellors, medical professionals,
physiotherapists, cosmetologists and beauty professionals, VLCC is a
leader in the Indian beauty and wellness industry by market share.
[citation needed]
The company operates its products business through its subsidiary,
VLCC Personal Care Limited in India and GVig in Singapore third party
manufacture, which it acquired in September 2013. Presently, its
GMP-certified manufacturing plants are situated at Haridwar, India
and Singapore. The company manufactures and markets 170 hair
care, skin care and body care products along with functional and
fortified foods that are consumed in-house (in treatments and
therapies at VLCC Wellness Centers). These products are also sold
through 100,000 outlets in India, over 10,000 outlets across the GCC
region and South East Asia and through e-commerce channels.
VLCC also operates vocational training institutes called the VLCC
Institute of Beauty & Nutrition that have grown to become India’s
largest chain of vocational education academies in the beauty and
nutrition training segment after Mrs. Luthra become chairperson at
BWSSC, with 73 campuses in 55 cities across India and one in Nepal.
The institutes train nearly 10,000 students annually and offer courses
in multiple disciplines.
Philanthropy
Luthra is Vice Chairperson of the NGO, Khushii, which has projects
like telemedicine centers, a remedial school with midday meal
facility catering to 3,000 children, and a vocational training facility.
She is a member of Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga and of
the Steering Committee and the Sub-Committee formed by India’s
Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship on the Pradhan
Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
She is a patron of the Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust, which pioneered
the concept of educating children with and without disability in equal
number from nursery to class VIII. The Trust now has over 800 in
children in its two schools.
Awards and recognitions
Luthra has received a host of awards for excellence and
entrepreneurship over the years including the Padma Shri (India’s
fourth highest civilian honor) in 2013 for her contribution to trade
and industry.[6] Other awards include:
1 The Asian Business Leaders Forum Trailblazer Award in 2012
2 The Enterprise Asia Women Entrepreneur of the Year Award in
2010[7]
3 Luthra was ranked 26th in the distinguished annual Forbes Asia
2016 list of 50 Power Businesswomen in the APAC region (which
includes Asia, Australia and New Zealand). Of the 50 women
achievers featured, only 8 were from India.[8]
4 She has featured in Fortune magazine's annual listing of the ‘50
Most Powerful Women in Business in India’ for five years in a row –
from 2011 to 2015.
