# Khadi ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 2007 | | Origin | Germany | | Headquarters | Bückeburg | | Status | Active | | Manufacturing | Germany, India (raw-material cultivation by small farmer cooperatives; local processing for plant hair colours) | | Distribution | Multi-channel | | Website | https://khadi.de/ | Khadi is a German natural-cosmetics company that makes hair colour, hair care, skin care and body care built around Ayurveda, the traditional medical system of India. Styled in lowercase as "khadi", the brand is run by Khadi Naturprodukte GmbH & Co. KG from Bückeburg in Germany [7]. In the company's own words, its range covers everything to do with natural hair colouring plus a growing line of Ayurvedic skin and hair care. The plant-based hair colours, made from finely ground henna, indigo, cassia and other Indian plants, are the products that independent consumer testers have reviewed. The company says it has produced certified Ayurvedic hair and skin care since 2007 [3], although a 2020 legal commentary quotes the holder of the KHADI European trademark as saying the brand was created in 2008 [14]. Since 2016 the business has been owned and managed by the entrepreneur couple Cay-Norbert and Victoria-Johanna Polley and their family. Khadi is also known for a long trademark dispute with India's Khadi and Village Industries Commission, which objected to a German firm holding the word "khadi" as an EU trademark. The brand remains active and in September 2026 opened an Ayurvedic hair spa at Lanserhof Sylt. ## Origin & founders Khadi tells its origin as a love story. According to the company, one of its two original founders met the love of his life on a journey through India, and through her discovered Ayurvedic beauty care. Together with a friend, they decided to bring Ayurvedic beauty products to Germany. The company's published history does not name either founder, and the Polleys, who arrived later, are owners rather than founders. The name is borrowed from a word with deep roots in India. Khadi is the hand-spun cloth that Mahatma Gandhi popularised during the Indian freedom movement as a symbol of self-sufficiency and self-rule. That cultural weight would later sit at the centre of a legal fight over who may use the word in Europe. In its early years the business was largely a channel for Indian goods. A 2014 report by SpicyIP, an Indian blog on intellectual-property law, described Khadi Naturprodukte as a German company selling Indian-origin products such as shampoos, soaps and oils in Europe [13]. The report quoted the company's website as saying it was "exclusively marketing khadi cosmetics in Germany and throughout EU", and noted that the firm had said it intended to add more products to its online shop. The exact starting point is reported differently. Khadi's own history states that it has been making certified Ayurvedic hair and skin care since 2007 and shipping it from Germany to customers looking for an alternative to conventional cosmetics and synthetic hair dyes. A 2020 guest post on SpicyIP, which refers to the trademark holder only as "a German company", reports the holder's statement that the brand "was created in 2008 after doing a thorough market research". Neither source explains the one-year difference. ## History & milestones For much of its first decade, Khadi's public profile outside the natural-cosmetics trade came mainly from the trademark dispute. In 2014 the Indian government's Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) sought cancellation of the company's EU trademark, a case that ran through the European trademark office and courts until 2018, when the courts upheld the dismissal of the cancellation action. The business changed hands in 2016. That year Cay-Norbert Polley and Victoria-Johanna Polley took over Khadi together with their family, and both are listed today as managing directors of the operating company [3]. The company describes the change as a continuation of the founding love story rather than a break with it. Today the range extends beyond hair colour into hair oils, shampoos and conditioners, curl care, facial serums and body care. According to the company, it now employs around 50 people. Independent recognition followed in German consumer testing. In 2021 the magazine ÖKO-TEST rated one of the brand's plant hair colours "very good", and a Stiftung Warentest comparison reported in 2022 placed the brand's plant hair colour among the products graded "good". In 2026 the brand moved into the spa business. Working with the hair specialist Marc Booten, it opened the khadi Ayurveda Hair Spa at Lanserhof Sylt, presented under the name "House of Hair Longevity" and available from 1 September 2026. ## Ownership Khadi is privately owned and describes itself as an independent beauty company with no corporate parent. The brand is operated by Khadi Naturprodukte GmbH & Co. KG, registered at the local court in Stadthagen, whose general partner is Khadi Verwaltungs GmbH. The Polley family has owned and run the business since its 2016 takeover, with Cay-Norbert and Victoria-Johanna Polley serving as managing directors. No sister brands or outside investors are documented. ## Philosophy & positioning Khadi frames its products around what it calls a three-part secret. The first element is Indian medicinal plants, which the company says are grown and picked by hand by small cooperatives in India. The second is formulation according to classic Ayurvedic ingredient combinations, in which herbs are blended so that they complement and strengthen one another. The third is a traditional manufacturing step that gives the brand its signature ingredient. That ingredient is what the company calls the "khadi Elixier", an Ayurvedic decoction. Mixtures of herbs, fruits and bark are simmered slowly in water or oil and stirred continuously, following traditional rules, until only a quarter of the original liquid remains. The essence is then filtered several times and left to mature in closed containers before it goes into finished products. Khadi says these elixirs make up as much as 20 percent of its shampoos, conditioners, and hair, skin and body care, compared with an active-ingredient share of two to five percent in conventional cosmetics [2]. No published study accompanies this comparison. The company's stated mission is to combine beauty care with Ayurvedic effectiveness and "Beauty High Tech". It names four values as the foundation of the brand: Ayurveda, quality, positivity and openness. Its English-language tagline reads "khadi celebrates the wisdom of Ayurveda for the beautiful you." On its own website Khadi calls itself Europe's leading brand for Ayurvedic natural cosmetics and plant hair colour; this is a self-description and has not been independently confirmed. Production is split between two countries. Khadi says it manufactures its hair and skin care in Germany and checks the products closely during production. The raw materials for its plant hair colours, by contrast, come from small farmer cooperatives in India and are processed locally in a multi-stage procedure before reaching Germany. A 2018 article by the German organic retailer naturkost.com added that the company sources these plants from its own fields or from cooperating farmers in India. ## Products & innovation ### Plant hair colour Plant hair colour is the core of the range. Khadi offers 21 shades, from light blondes through coppers, reds and browns to black, alongside single-plant powders such as pure henna, pure indigo and cassia [6]. The company states that the colours consist entirely of finely ground plants and herbs and contain no silicone, ammonia or peroxide. Its collection page describes the colours as COSMOS-certified under the COSMOS NATURAL standard, which carries out regular checks on how natural the ingredients are. Plant dyes work differently from conventional permanent colour. As the naturkost.com article explained, the pigments do not penetrate the hair's inner structure; they wrap around the outer layer like a glaze and blend with the wearer's own shade. The longer the colour is left on, the deeper the result, which is why grey hair can be covered. That article also described the colours as monitored by BDIH, an independent German association that checks whether ingredients are natural and come from organic farming or wild collection [15]. A t-online.de report noted that the final colour depends on the original hair colour, the share of grey and the application time. To guide first-time users, Khadi has built a set of services around colouring. These include a "ColorCycle" system of preparation, colour and finishing steps, an online colour quiz, a shade chart and free one-to-one advice from a team the brand calls its ColorCrew. Its vedaTalk blog publishes how-to articles on topics such as covering grey hair and correcting results that turn out too warm or red. ### Hair, skin and body care Beyond colour, the range includes a family of Ayurvedic hair oils sold under names such as Strong Amla, Rose Repair, Vitality Grow and Neem Harmony. The company says its elixir-based oils care for hair and scalp "from the inside out" and target dandruff, hair loss and premature greying. These are brand efficacy claims; no clinical studies are cited for them. Newer additions include Shikakai Magic Glossing Drops for shine, the Chakra Curl Cream leave-in for curly hair, and the Color Care shampoo and Color Brilliance spray, both designed to help colour last. Facial care is grouped into four lines: Mayura Beauty Hydrating, Susu Pure Purifying, Haathi Smooth Regenerating and Singh Power Anti-Aging. Body care spans body butters, oils, lotions, shower gels and hand care, including an "Ayurveda Everyday" series with variants named after amla, lemon lime, pippali pepper, Himalayan rose and holy basil. The company singles out tulsi, the holy basil of India, among the medicinal plants grown by its cooperatives. Three further "selfcare worlds", called khadi sutra, khadi nidra and khadi prana, add products such as lip oils and incense sticks. ## Recognition German consumer testers have reviewed Khadi's hair colours on two occasions. In its test of plant-based and alternative hair colours in issue 9/2021, ÖKO-TEST gave Khadi Pflanzenhaarfarbe Aschbraun (ash brown) an overall rating of "very good". The magazine had the products analysed for resorcinol and found none in the Khadi sample. It grouped Khadi with Sante as certified natural cosmetics, both rated "very good" alongside a Schwarzkopf product [11]. The portal t-online.de, reporting on a Stiftung Warentest study of plant hair colours, listed Khadi Naturkosmetik's plant hair colour among the products graded "good", citing scores of 2.2 and 2.3. The report described the dye as plant-based, vegan and free of synthetic ingredients, with henna and indigo powders from controlled organic cultivation [12]. ## Controversies The best-documented episode in Khadi's history is a legal contest over the brand name itself. In 2014 the Indian government learned that a German company was using "khadi" in its trademark, and the Khadi and Village Industries Commission sought to have the EU registration cancelled [13]. KVIC, an arm of India's Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, sells khadi fabric as well as products such as shampoos, soaps and oils. India's Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion urged the commission to register "khadi" as a trademark in the United States and the EU. SpicyIP's 2014 coverage set out why the case was difficult for India. The legal scholar Shamnad Basheer pointed out that KVIC would need to show it had sold products in the EU under the "khadi" name for considerably longer, and that consumers linked the name with the commission. He added that if the German registration did not cover fabric, infringement would be harder to prove, because India had itself granted around 80 trademarks for different products that did not necessarily belong to the same organisation. The 2020 SpicyIP guest post traced the outcome. KVIC's action against EU trademark 010479954, which covers goods in classes 3, 21 and 31, argued that the registration usurped the reputation of a well-known earlier mark and had been adopted in bad faith. The cancellation division of the EU trademark office dismissed the application, its Board of Appeal confirmed that decision by order of 30 June 2017, and the EU General Court confirmed it again by order of 29 November 2018 [14]. KVIC filed a further cancellation application on grounds of non-use on 31 May 2019; as of September 2020 it was still awaiting a hearing. That article does not name the German trademark holder, which the earlier 2014 report identified as Khadi Naturprodukte. ## Current status Khadi is active. It runs its own online shop, which delivers to Germany, Austria, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Poland and the United States, and supplies retailers and hairdressers through a dedicated trade programme. Its current range includes several hair care products marked as new, and the company maintains a loyalty scheme called the CarmaClub and a blog featuring guest experts on Ayurveda and perfumery. Its most recent public step is the spa partnership. Since 1 September 2026, the khadi Ayurveda Hair Spa has been available at Lanserhof Sylt, where the brand works with Marc Booten, described as a specialist in biological hair care, plant-based hair colouring and scalp health with more than 30 years of experience [9]. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 2007 | Start of production of certified Ayurvedic hair and skin care, marketed from Germany (brand's stated start year) | https://khadi.de/pages/khadi-karma | | 2014 | India's Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) seeks cancellation of the EU 'khadi' trademark held by the German company Khadi Naturprodukte | https://spicyip.com/2014/11/trademark-battle-over-khadi.html | | 2016 | Entrepreneur couple Cay-Norbert Polley and Victoria-Johanna Polley take over khadi with their family | https://khadi.de/pages/khadi-karma | | 2016 | Taken over by the entrepreneur couple Cay-Norbert and Victoria-Johanna Polley and their family (both listed as Geschäftsführer in the Impressum) | https://khadi.de/pages/khadi-karma | | 2018 | EU General Court order (29 Nov 2018) confirms dismissal of KVIC's cancellation action against a German company's KHADI EU trademark (EUTM 010479954); Board of Appeal had confirmed on 30 June 2017 | https://spicyip.com/2020/09/khadi-v-khadi-kvics-clash-at-the-euipo.html | | 2021 | ÖKO-TEST (Magazin 9/2021) rates Khadi Pflanzenhaarfarbe Aschbraun 'sehr gut' | https://www.oekotest.de/kosmetik-wellness/Alternative-Haarfarben-im-Test-So-schneiden-Khadi-Schwarzkopf-Co-ab_12218_1.html | | 2026 | khadi Ayurveda Hair Spa with hair expert Marc Booten opens at Lanserhof Sylt ('House of Hair Longevity'), available from 1 September 2026 | https://khadi.de/pages/ayurveda-hair-spa | ## Certifications {#belagg-certifications} - **COSMOS** — European standard for natural and organic cosmetics — “COSMOS-zertifiziert ... COSMOS NATURAL überwacht mit regelmäßigen Kontrollen die Natürlichkeit der Inhaltsstoffe” — https://khadi.de/collections/haare-pflanzenhaarfarbe ## Awards {#belagg-awards} | Year | Awards | Category | Source | |---|---|---|---| | 2021 | ÖKO-TEST Gesamturteil "sehr gut" | Pflanzen- und alternative Haarfarben (ÖKOTEST Magazin 9/2021) — Khadi Pflanzenhaarfarbe Aschbraun | https://www.oekotest.de/kosmetik-wellness/Alternative-Haarfarben-im-Test-So-schneiden-Khadi-Schwarzkopf-Co-ab_12218_1.html | | — | Stiftung Warentest test-Qualitätsurteil "gut" (2,2 and 2,3 cited for Khadi plant hair colour) | Pflanzenhaarfarben (as reported by t-online.de, article updated 24.03.2022; test year not stated in extract) | https://www.t-online.de/ratgeber/gesundheit/drogerie/id_91683076/pflanzenhaarfarbe-im-test-stiftung-warentest-testet-pflanzliche-haarfarbe.html | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **khadi Pflanzenhaarfarbe (plant hair colour, 21 shades)** — Jede der 21 khadi Nuancen ist Ausdruck unserer tiefen Verbundenheit zur Natur sowie den Prinzipien Ayurvedischer Schönheitspflege. — https://khadi.de/collections/haare-pflanzenhaarfarbe - **Strong Amla (Ayurvedic hair oil)** — Superpower-Haaröl für kräftige Wurzeln & Volumen — https://khadi.de/ - **Shikakai Magic Glossing Drops** — Federleichte Drops für seidigen, strahlenden Glanz — https://khadi.de/ - **Chakra Curl Cream** — Leave-in Lockencreme für Feuchtigkeit & Lockenstruktur — https://khadi.de/ ## Key ingredients {#belagg-ingredients} Henna · Indigo · Cassia (Senna) · Amla · Tulsi (holy basil) Source: https://khadi.de/collections/haare-pflanzenhaarfarbe ## Proprietary technologies & patents {#belagg-tech} - khadi Elixier (Ayurvedic decoction of herbs, fruits and barks, cooked down to a quarter of the original liquid) · khadi ColorCycle (prep–colour–finish plant hair colour system) — https://khadi.de/ ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **ÖKO-TEST** (2021) — Test of plant and alternative hair colours; Khadi Pflanzenhaarfarbe Aschbraun rated 'sehr gut', no resorcinol found; Khadi described as certified natural cosmetics — https://www.oekotest.de/kosmetik-wellness/Alternative-Haarfarben-im-Test-So-schneiden-Khadi-Schwarzkopf-Co-ab_12218_1.html - **t-online.de (reporting Stiftung Warentest)** (2022) — Stiftung Warentest plant-hair-colour test; Khadi Naturkosmetik plant hair colour graded 'gut' (2,2 / 2,3); described as plant-based, vegan, free of synthetic ingredients, powders from organic cultivation — https://www.t-online.de/ratgeber/gesundheit/drogerie/id_91683076/pflanzenhaarfarbe-im-test-stiftung-warentest-testet-pflanzliche-haarfarbe.html - **SpicyIP** (2014) — IP-law blog report on KVIC (India) seeking cancellation of German company Khadi Naturprodukte's EU 'khadi' trademark — https://spicyip.com/2014/11/trademark-battle-over-khadi.html - **SpicyIP** (2020) — Guest post 'Khadi v. Khadi – KVIC's Clash at the EUIPO' on the failed cancellation of the KHADI EU trademark (company not named in extract) — https://spicyip.com/2020/09/khadi-v-khadi-kvics-clash-at-the-euipo.html - **naturkost.com blog (retailer)** (2018) — Retailer blog post on khadi plant hair colour: 100% natural, vegan, certified; raw materials from own fields or cooperating farmers in India; BDIH controls — https://blog.naturkost.com/2018/12/khadi-bio-pflanzenhaarfarbe-naturkosmetik/ ## Sources 2. (T1) https://khadi.de/pages/khadi-wirkgeheimnis 3. (T2) https://khadi.de/pages/khadi-karma 6. (T2) https://khadi.de/collections/haare-pflanzenhaarfarbe 7. (T2) https://khadi.de/pages/impressum 9. (T2) https://khadi.de/pages/ayurveda-hair-spa 11. (T3) https://www.oekotest.de/kosmetik-wellness/Alternative-Haarfarben-im-Test-So-schneiden-Khadi-Schwarzkopf-Co-ab_12218_1.html 12. (T3) https://www.t-online.de/ratgeber/gesundheit/drogerie/id_91683076/pflanzenhaarfarbe-im-test-stiftung-warentest-testet-pflanzliche-haarfarbe.html 13. (T3) https://spicyip.com/2014/11/trademark-battle-over-khadi.html 14. (T3) https://spicyip.com/2020/09/khadi-v-khadi-kvics-clash-at-the-euipo.html 15. (T3) https://blog.naturkost.com/2018/12/khadi-bio-pflanzenhaarfarbe-naturkosmetik/ --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-10-01 Please cite with a link to the article URL.