Vandana Luthra

Vandana Luthra
Born 1959
India
Occupation Entrepreneur
Spouse(s) Mukesh Luthra
Children Two daughters
Awards Padma Shri
Woman Entrepreneur Award
FICCI Successful Business Woman Award
Amity Woman Achievers Award
Outstanding Business Woman Award
Rajeev Gandhi Women Achiever Award
Website
Official web site of VLCC

Vandana Luthra, is an Indian entrepreneur and the founder of VLCC Health Care Ltd. a beauty and wellness conglomerate[1] represented in Asia,the GCC and Africa.[2] She was honored by the Government of India in 2013 with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her contribution to the fields of trade and industry.[3] As of 2015, she is listed as the 30th most powerful woman in business in India by Fortune India.

Biography

During my graduation days in Delhi, I came across several people who wanted to lose weight and look beautiful. This made me realize that there is a market for my business proposition, recalls Vandana Luthra.

Vandana Luthra was born in Kolkata, West Bengal. After completing a professional course from the Polytechnic for Women in New Delhi, India, Vandana pursued domain knowledge in beauty care, fitness, food & nutrition and skin care from Germany, the UK and France. She married Mukesh Luthra,in 1980, and stayed a homemaker till 1989, till the first of her two daughters was born.

Vandana started VLCC in 1989, as a Transformation Centre in Safdarjung Development Area, New Delhi, when her elder daughter was only three years old. The business, over the last 25 years, has grown to have operations in 16 countries including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and recently, Kenya, in 121 cities and 300 locations. Vandana is also a keen educationist and a social worker. She spends considerable time with youngsters, who wish to make their careers in the ever-expanding Health, Fitness and Beauty industry. She facilitates professional training to 10,000 such students annually through her vocational training schools. Given her work in the area of skilling, VLCC was inducted into the prestigious Central Apprenticeship Council, set up by the Government of India. She is the vice chairperson of NGO Khushii, started by former Indian cricketer, Kapil Dev and others, which operates schools with a total student strength of 3000.Khushii provides scholarships and free education to the financially and physically challenged girls. She has also joined hands with the Government of India’s Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, a mission for financial inclusion.In 2001, instituted Anti Obesity Day which is observed on 26 November as a public healthcare awareness campaign to highlight the ills of obesity and related diseases. Vandana Luthra lives in New Delhi.


VLCC

Vandana Luthra's entrepreneurial journey – which began with the establishment of India’s first ‘Transformation Center’ under the VLCC banner in New Delhi in 1989 – was sparked by her vision to make health and fitness accessible to all segments of society. This was at a time when the Indian market was still nascent and the concept of combining fitness and beauty as an approach to holistic wellness was a completely new paradigm.

Stoked by her passion, VLCC as of 2014 has expanded to 300 locations in 121 cities across 16 countries, namely India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and most recently, Kenya. The group employs nearly 6,000 people from 39 nationalities and has served over 10 million customers globally.

Today, VLCC has three business verticals: a chain of slimming, beauty & fitness centers, skincare, haircare and bodycare products under the VLCC Life Sciences, SkinMTX, BelleWave and Enavose brands and vocational education academies called the VLCC Institutes of Beauty & Nutrition that provide training in beauty & nutrition which currently has over 62 campuses in India and Nepal and is Asia’s largest such chain of academies. VLCC also has tie-ups with the US medispa leaders, Pritikin and enjoys the status of a Superbrand.


Awards and Recognitions

Vandana has received a host of awards for excellence and entrepreneurship over the years including the Padma Shri (India’s fourth highest civilian honour) in 2013 for her contribution to trade and industry.

Publications

Vandana Luthra has authored two books, Complete Fitness Programme[7] and A Good Life,[8] on wellness and fitness.

References

  1. ↑ "VLCC". VLCC. 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  2. ↑ "BBC Interview of VLCC Founder & Mentor Vandana Luthra". BBC World News - YouTube video. 18 October 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Padma 2013". The Hindu. 26 January 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Emerging Company of the Year 2014". Businesstoday. 31 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Asian Business Leaders Forum Trailblazer Award in 2012". ablfawards.
  6. ↑ "Rajiv Gandhi Women Achiever award in 2008". pnrnews.
  7. ↑ Vandana Luthra (2011). Complete Fitness Programme. Sangam Books. p. 152. ISBN 978-8125906919.
  8. ↑ Vandana Luthra (2013). A Good Life. HarperCollins India. p. 240. ISBN 978-9351160113.

External links