Of scents and senses

It is only fitting that we are seated in the quaint tea house at Bikaner House located on the periphery of India Gate. This has, in the last two years, been transformed into a delicious cultural haven, one that's shaded by leafy trees, big ideas, bigger ideals and Art Deco style interiors that flaunt a refined Indian aesthetic. Vivek Sahni, 44, recalls the early days in Bikaner House when he started putting together a store, Vayu, which pays tribute to the modern Indian sensibility through a range of products. He is also the man responsible for putting Indian ayurveda on the international map by making it sexy through his brand Kama Ayurveda.

Manan Gandhi, 31, is equally attracted to the sensuality of Indian ingredients, given that his niche perfume brand, Bombay Perfumery, which launched just a year ago, is all the rage. The fragrances are being snapped up by people who are happy to get a whiff of pepper, jasmine or chai in a bottle. The two lovers of luxury and beauty discuss their favourite ingredients, the idea of India and why Indian luxury brands are still awaiting their moment in the sun.

What is your earliest beauty memory?

Vivek Sahni: We have a house in the mountains in Mussourie that was frequented by everyone in the extended family. One of my mother's sister's is very beautiful and my earliest memory of her as a child was watching her putting cream on her face and massaging it. I was fascinated and even though I didn't understand the ritual the smell remains in my memory.

Manan Gandhi: My father used to sell pure rose oil that came from Turkey and a small bottle was worth as much as Rs 13 lakh. My father used to put it in his safe and it was incomprehensible to me at the time. People would buy only 10-20 gram at a time but the smell was beautiful and luxurious and nothing like anything we had experienced. It was crazy to imagine it took three tonnes of roses to make such little oil.

Why did you join the beauty business?

VS: Ayurveda drew me from an early age. I was very interested in taking something Indian, traditional, with proven efficacy to the rest of the world. Ayurveda is not well understood and in fact, even five years ago it was not considered a luxury. People wonder if it is herbal, organic, and natural? We wanted to work on this idea. I was not interested in creating a medicine but the idea of using a traditional system of beauty and creating products was exciting. It was very much a problem-solution-enhancement system and that was what excited me and I wanted to do it in a natural fashion when everyone was getting themselves pinned and tucked and filled. So I started promoting something I believed in.

MG: I was working in the south of France for five years, sourcing ingredients, and I saw that and in Europe there was a huge trend of independent beauty and perfume brands. For India, which has a rich fragrance tradition and history, for a perfumer's palate, India has most of the noble ingredients. In many ways it is an irreplaceable destination as you get fine spices in the south, mints from the north and top quality oudh (agarwood) from Assam. All these were going to French perfumery houses who were selling it as luxury. I wondered why no one here was paying homage to ingredients in a contemporary way in fine fragrances so the brand was born.

Was it a conscious choice to choose names that reflect India?

VS: Yes for sure. When we started 15 years ago not too many people were in the market selling ayurveda. There was no actual ayurvedic beauty brand and I was conscious that something Indian and traditional should be taken overseas. We initially started selling in Paris, then spas at five stars within the country and suddenly the business, with its Indian aesthetic, grew and the name stuck.

MG: I was struggling with a name for my fragrance project and was sure it had to strongly signify an Indian brand. Creating a perfume house in India with a French name does not work. Indians today are proud to support homegrown brands but I did not want it to be cliche. My father started a brand called The Bombay Perfumery company many decades ago and I chanced on an old signboard and it fit perfectly.

Role of packaging in selling the idea of India

VS: It is key today. Design can sell anything and if your product looks pretty you can lure people, so we designed the bottles, logo keeping that in mind. Since we were creating treatment products, I wanted them to have a pharma-like feel and consciously and wanted it to be like a pharmacy from the 20s which was contemporarised. In stores it became more colonial and we also started using old objects such as spice mixers etc to root the brand in India. When you look at things there are markers and we chose markers to give a sensation of luxury but without being intimidating. We finally came up with this which is an iteration of India but can work anywhere.

MG: Packaging in key from the word go. I wanted clean, contemporary, minimal, design and the bottles were inspired from India so we took the silhouette of a matka and contemporarised it. The boxes inside have Indian motifs, the fragrance is simple and when you spray it, the world of fragrance opens up.

Why are Indian luxury brands unable to become global brands?

VS: These things take time. I have spent almost three years certifying my products for the European market. The EU is like a trade barrier as every ingredient and its use needs to be listed and needs to be precise. People have been documenting that part and testing ingredients as well. We have expanded to the Japanese and Koreans markets.

MG: In general I think the issue is that if you are a young brand and if you don't have a captive market you are handicapped. People in India are still cautious about buying what's made here and we need to capture that market first. In addition the past the products were not good quality so that must change.

Bombay Perfumery products cost upwards of Rs 3,900; Kama Ayurveda retails between Rs 500-2,500