The Body Shop India is planning to open 20 new stores this year, according to a report by India Retailing.

The brand’s GM for retail in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh Vishal Chaturvedi told the news site that The Body Shop is establishing its footprint in new cities to make itself even more accessible to new customers.

“Apart from physical presence, we have a very strong online presence,” he said. “E-commerce is our fastest channel [to] reaching 600-plus cities and towns, adding almost 30,000 customers to The Body Shop family every year. Our e-commerce business contributes 10 per cent of our business and we are expecting to grow by 12 per cent”.

The Body Shop India has built  a niche for itself in a market with a growing consumer awareness of sustainability, naturality, and ethical sourcing, which has influenced personal attitudes towards beauty.

“We have been in India since 2006, and have 175 stores across the country. We have a presence in more than 60 Indian cities and 600 towns and cities through our own e-commerce channel. The brand is known for its ethical positioning with strength of natural ingredients, community trade programs, animal-cruelty free and 100 per cent vegetarian products. The Body Shop has a fast growing consumer base. We are expanding into new markets and are a leading global beauty retailer in the country,” said Chaturvedi.

All products sold by The Body Shop India are made in the UK. India is one of the brand’s fastest-growing and top markets.