About Us

THE SEED OF AN IDEA

Do you have memories of the smell of fresh earth after the rain? Of a young, red flower bud, breaking through the frost in the hills? Or the scent of fresh herbs growing in your garden?

These are the things that have always fascinated me. I have always been rooted in the earth and nature. And the scent, sight and sound of the earth have always followed me in whatever I did. Whether it was pottery classes, where I learned how to mould the earth to what I chose, to create something that was as close to nature in form and texture or the starting point even when I cooked something. All the ingredients had to be fresh, authentic and I’d go to any lengths to get the same.

The same passion flowed through me when I dreamt of a skincare range. I was determined to be as close to nature, in creating products that were nourishing, soothing, cleansing and healing the skin, making it glow, just as nature intended it to be.

With this dream in mind, I took a small step, by using the ingredients (methi, hibiscus, lemon) growing in the kitchen garden at our farmhouse in Delhi to create something unique. In consultation with a well-known Ayurveda expert, I mixed these with pure sesame oil to make a hair oil. Every ingredient that went into this was organic and nurtured with care. It was my first attempt to create a product that was pure not only in it being 100% natural but true to my belief and values.

This was not just hair oil I was giving to my friends and family, but it was passion, dedication and honesty that I was placing in their hands. Even though it was one small product, I was already thinking ahead of the future products I would create, of pure and effective handmade skincare.

The few close friends that used this product, liked it so much that they wanted more and the orders kept growing. What gave me joy was how rejuvenated and nourished they felt after using our product and how happy it made them, and that I realized, this was the key to what I was looking for- to provide happiness to those who came in touch with my herbal beauty remedies.

The secret of a good skincare product was in using only 100% natural ingredients

STARTING OUT

Delving deep into our country’s ancient ayurvedic natural and herbal beauty rituals with my Ayurvedic expert, we decided to create 6 products in powder form – neem chhal face mask; yellow mustard face scrub; arjun chhal face mask; hair mask made with herbs soaked in big iron pot for few days; Jav & mustard body scrub; lemon, jasmine and apricot face oil.

The first thing I learnt with this experiment was that the secret of a good skincare product was not only using 100% natural ingredients sourced fresh from local farms but always used in the right and optimal quantity. This was to be the mainstay of my skincare brand ethos at every step.

The secret of a good skincare product was in using only 100% natural ingredients

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."

BUILDING ETERNAL PARTNERSHIPS

They say “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” This was true for my journey too. I travelled hundreds of miles, all over India to find farmers whose work ethos matched mine and serendipitously on one such trip to the Himalayas, I was introduced to a Himalayan mountain research institute where the botanical scientists were teaching the farmers to grow, and steam distil exotic herbs into hydrosols or essential oils and how to cultivate and dry fresh herbs for herbal infusion.

These farmers were from villages in the remote regions of the Himalayas where organic, natural and pure has always been the way of life for generations. They grew herbs in the chemical-free Himalayan soil rich in nutrients. They were clear in their concept of organic farming, learnt from their forefathers. These farmers were passionate about the earth and the environment and they practised sustainable agriculture, just the way I wanted my collaboration to be. They had small farm holdings, but this did not curb their creative enterprise or need to experiment.

Since the Himalayan region has a climate quite similar to Europe, the scientists were teaching the farmers to cultivate European herbs growing in the Himalayas like lavender, rosemary, German blue chamomile, Geranium and even the exotic Damask rose. In addition, they also taught them how to harvest the best out of ancient herbs and plants like unique varieties of Tulsi and Himalayan mint, turmeric, walnut and chamomile.

Though these farmers only had small farms, it actually provided a golden opportunity. Our farmers’ focus was to produce lesser yield but organically grown, high-quality herbs, flowers and plants. When harvested, would give a top-notch, fresher and seasonal yield. If they were not successful in the first trial, they would go for a new batch the next year to perfect their crop and follow all the rules of ethical and organic farming. They were working not with profit in mind but took immense pride in their work.

Now with the support of the institute, they got the right technical know-how, the right equipment and seeds and the right beginning to combine their ancient wisdom with modern technology. They could now harvest these exotic herbs, in the right, sustainable fashion.

Our farmers’ focus -to produce lesser yield but organically grown, high-quality herbs, flowers and plants, to give a top-notch, fresher seasonal yield.

SMALL BATCH FARMING THE WAY TO GO

This then was the secret of small-batch farming. Here quality was ethically prized over quantity, and because of their small batches and commitment to the environment, a lot more care would go in farming these herbs, plants and fruits, as compared to a large- scale commercial operation.

The farmers working with these scientists already had the best understanding of the soil. This in combination with innovative extraction processes and modern know-how leveraged the natural benefits of the rich and resilient Himalayan herbs, this region was famous for. They also had now been empowered with growing European plants as well.

What’s more, farming in small batches could help improve the health of their farms. Being more environmentally-friendly and sustainable could also keep their business profitable with higher margins.

Like their fresh, high quality produce they needed recognition, appreciation and support from boutique manufacturers and from a wider audience who would benefit from the authentic value of the right mix, of the most pure, the best of herbs.

Small batch farming had just been introduced in this region and as pioneers, this was the beginning of a new adventurous journey for the farmers, as well as for me. Finally, I knew which path to go down in creating a rock solid, one of a kind line of natural skincare products. My farmers were my inspiration for carrying forward my dream of a rare, hand crafted luxury herbal product range.

Our farmers’ focus -to produce lesser yield but organically grown, high-quality herbs, flowers and plants, to give a top-notch, fresher seasonal yield.

There was learning at every step, as was the feeling, we were creating something new, something unique.

LEARNING EVERY DAY

I knew that every ingredient that I needed had to be cultivated with the utmost care and obsessively considered for its efficacy and holistic healing benefits for the skin, body, mind, and spirit.

In this journey, my farmers did not disappoint me. The entire cultivation process was transparent. Whether it was high quality seeds being used, access to expert guidance and equipment, sustainable farming and the purity of the yield, honesty remained the bedrock between the farmers and me.

Every time I met them I was reassured of the ingredient’s purity because of their training, quality , but most of all because of their confidence in themselves, their abilities and honesty. I learnt from them the qualities of integrity and the courage to think out of the box. This translated to me creating the same for my customers- products that were honest, where there was transparency in every step, and confidence that we knew the ingredient from source to shelf.

I was also with them in the initial years, when they experienced difficulties, both big and small. There were times, when the right experiment did not yield the right result, to more practical issues like couriers not being available in these deep interiors of the Himalayas.

There was learning at every step and the struggle was real, as was the feeling, that we were creating something new, something unique that had not been tried before.

As I look back, today, I have seen my farmers become more self-reliant, experts at steam distillation and getting the chemical composition, just right.

Initially I collected herbs, pure rose water, and concentrated essential oils on my visits and then moved on to more skin nourishing botanicals, fully trusting my knowledge in my farmers, that I was getting the final ingredients in their most natural, pure and concentrated form.

Made in small batches at our specialized herbal mill with herbs hand-picked from our farms in the Himalayas, the VANYA dream started to come together.

MEETING UP WITH EXPERTS

Now that I had access to the best of herbs , the next challenge was to create a unique formulation, where the ingredients would be used for the greatest benefit to the skin.

My search led me to herbal experts, and qualified bio-chemists who were committed and were excellent at creating herbal medicine.

They had experience and knowledge on creating beauty product formulations with a balanced mix of herbs and plant based chemicals for longer shelf life, of using a safe and optimum amount of natural preservatives that made the products unique, and effective. The original formulations gave us a treasure trove of rare and fine products.

Along with the experts, research was intensified on the therapeutic enhancement of herbs with the intent to address multiple skin and body concerns, whilst delivering high performance results.

Throughout the entire process, my belief did not waver-to make my products as close to nature itself. Made in small batches at our specialized herbal mill with herbs hand-picked from our farms in the Himalayan foothills, the VANYA dream started to come together.

Made in small batches at our specialized herbal mill with herbs hand-picked from our farms in the Himalayas, the VANYA dream started to come together.

The word soon spread that our skincare range made the skin softer, smoother, healthier. Gently and naturally.

TAKING THE BIG LEAP

Emboldened by my journey, I started participating in local events and exhibitions with the VANYA skincare range. People would buy in one exhibition and come looking for our stall in another event hoping to find us.Soon the word spread that our face creams, scrubs, cleansers, mask, body lotions, creams, essential oils made the skin glow, made it softer, smoother and visibly healthier. Gently and naturally. This was the result of us wanting to deliver only happiness and satisfaction to our users.

Made in small batches at our specialized herbal mill with herbs hand-picked from our farms in the Himalayas, the VANYA dream started to come together.

SPA PLEASURES

The purity of our ingredients and distinctive formulations, drew the leading luxury hotel chains to us for creating their signature spa treatments as per their in-house spa menu. Soon we went on to develop many other skincare ranges for luxury hotel spas.

We created products specially for Facial Rejuvenation, Body Treatment, Hair Revitalizing, and Steam Distilled Pure Himalayan Essential Oils for wellness.

It gave us a great satisfaction and encouragement to work with luxury hotel spas pan-India as they were quality conscious and understood the depth of our creation very quickly. They would give challenging tasks, to come up with unique and new concepts to create and formulate. This was professionally fulfilling and kept our creative juices flowing by developing new products, each different from each other .

Today, our premier clients include Oberoi, Trident, ITC, Tamara Group of Hotels, Four Seasons, Hyatt and more. In fact, the hotels and spas we started out with are still some of our most trusted clients.

Our exquisite and fine quality ingredients being sourced from exclusive small batch farmers attracted the guests at the spas and the hotels we worked with encouraged us to start a retail cosmetic line for a wider reach.

Made in small batches at our specialized herbal mill with herbs hand-picked from our farms in the Himalayas, the VANYA dream started to come together.

Our discerning customers understood the goodness of our product and the farm-to-shelf ethos behind it.

CREATING THE BEST FOR OUR CUSTOMERS

The rare essence and bounty of our Himalayan Natural herbs from our organic Himalayan farms needed to reach the homes of lovers of natural beauty. The high quality, pure, organic skincare and the passion that went behind it was meant for people who valued nature, and 100% natural products because we know these values were just as important to our consumers as they were to us.

We had a simple retail goal. To create and introduce only a few, high quality, one-of a kind products every year. We already had access to pure, concentrated Himalayan essential oil, 100% natural rosewater, tulsi water, ginger water, exclusive dry herbs like bay leaves and orange peel from our Himalayan farms and our farmers were also growing herbs found in both Europe and India.

After extensive research with our special ingredients and unique formulation by our bio-chemists and herbal experts , we created a retail luxury face and body range. Our discerning customers understood the goodness of the product and the farm to shelf ethos behind it. They appreciated the results-visibly replenished, visibly smoother, visibly radiant skin.

As our clientele and appreciation for our products has grown, we haven’t stopped innovating. We will continue to introduce only thoroughly researched, lab tested and selected products every year which will be specifically formulated to solve problems such as pigmentation, acne, skin dryness, wrinkles, fine lines, sun-tan, dark circles, crows feet, muscle pain and more.

For us, at Vanya business is about doing good – good for our small batch farmers and good for our customers so that they get honest, pure and natural skincare pampering

Through all this my dream keeps evolving and growing to newer heights- to make our products with love and care, by sourcing the finest raw ingredients from the four corners of our country, to harness the skills of our artisan farmers and add to our expertise to create effective products that are wonderful to use.

Wishing you an impactful and transforming skincare journey,

With Best Wishes,

Shilpa Memani

Founder & CEO