S4E171: Building an Industry from Scratch with Dr. Blossom Kochhar
What does it take to build an industry that barely existed? In this episode of The AboutHer Show, Dr. Blossom Kochhar, Chairperson of the Blossom Kochhar Group of Companies, tells you how she brought aromatherapy to India more than 35 years ago and turned it into a business spanning 100+ cities and 10 countries.
We talk about the doors that were shut on a woman founder in an industry dismissed as "soft," what her double doctorate taught her that practice never could, and why she went back to Cambridge and SMU decades into her career. She also shares what she tells young women at Femina Miss India that has nothing to do with appearance, how Reiki and the boardroom live side by side, the failure nobody asks her about, and what still feels unfinished.
We close with The Reveal, our quick-fire round.
Not just about her. It takes all of us.
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Chapters
(0:00) Intro
Meet Dr. Blossom Kochhar, the woman who built India's aromatherapy industry from scratch.
(2:03) Where It All Began
Why she bet her life on aromatherapy when India barely knew the word.
(5:29) The Double Doctorate
What formal rigor taught her that hands-on practice never could.
(8:27) From Passion Project to Industry
The moment one woman's belief became a business in 100+ cities.
(10:17) The Doors That Were Shut
What it took to be taken seriously as a woman founder in an industry dismissed as "soft".
(15:27) The Kochhar Foundation
Giving back through education, skills, and women's empowerment.
(20:30) Back to School at Cambridge and SMU
Why an empire builder chose to become a student again.
(23:36) Coaching Femina Miss India
What she tells young women that has nothing to do with appearance.
(27:14) Running a Business and Reiki
Hard numbers on one side, healing practices on the other.
(29:03) The Different Sides of Her
How the boardroom self and the healer self live together.
(32:28) The Glow Getter's Guide
What she needed to say in writing that a boardroom couldn't hold.
(35:15) The Failure That Shook Her
The setback nobody asks about, and what it taught her.
(37:27) What Still Feels Unfinished
Looking at everything she has built, what is still left to do.
(38:54) The Reveal
Our quick-fire round: first thing that comes to mind, no wrong answers.
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