Most Indians would attest to having grown up on their grandmothers’ home remedies or ‘nuskhe’ as they are colloquially referred to. Though we wholeheartedly believe in the efficacious results these remedies provide, our fast-paced modern lifestyles do not allow us the time to make or pursue them ourselves. Fortunately, a number of holistic lifestyle brands have emerged in recent years. Through a wide range of products based on age-old formulas that are natural and chemical-free, they make the task of adopting traditional wisdom in our lives significantly easier than before.
One that comes to mind is the Vadodara-based Nabhi Sutra, which is the brainchild of Swati Vakharia. Her love for Ayurveda motivated her to create her own natural line of products, which she launched in 2019. The product line-up consists exclusively of Ayurvedic belly button oils. After garnering a number of positive reviews, she also launched her brand Nuskha which creates safe, natural, eco-friendly and result-oriented products.
Vakharia shares, “Nowadays, we have become used to chemical-based products that are harming us on a long-term basis. I am trying to bring some change in our lives that will, in turn, help us to become healthier.” We usually have a large number of healing remedies and herbs in our kitchens, but we don’t know how to use them. Vakharia’s work is to use age-old recipes to manufacture products in a lab, ensuring effective formulation and reliance on healthy ingredients that heal.
When asked about her vision for the brand, Vakharia categorically says, “The primary objective is to endorse genuine products and encourage natural treatments. Nabhi Sutra aims to create fine quality, pure and natural oils as per Ayurvedic practices and authentic guidelines. Through Nabhi Sutra, we aspire to alter the contemporary method of treatment and sustain the conventional and age-old method of natural treatments.”
Declaiming the lack of good quality ingredients on the market, Vakharia highlights the gap between consumer needs and products actually sold in the market. This problem is further worsened by the lack of understanding and knowledge of the correct ingredients, or their unavailability, which leads to people not getting what they deserve or pay for.
By concentrating on intensive research and development, Nabhi Sutra has launched around 10 categories of products. The most popular one of these is the ‘Healthy Hair Belly Button Oil’ and ‘Joint Pain Relief Belly Button Oil’. They stand apart from their competitors because of the age-old recipes and formulations that are unique to their products. “We are trying to improvise the ancient way of healing by converting it to a modern, user-friendly solution. Hence, we focus more on rituals and lifestyles instead of providing chemical-based short term solutions,” shares Vakharia.
As its name suggests, Nabhi Sutra highlights the relationship of healing through the belly button—an ancient Indian practice. Apart from the traditional wisdom passed on to them through their own grandmothers, the team at Nabhi Sutra is associated with a few senior Ayurvedic doctors who support them in making the correct formulations. They also consult renowned healers and spiritual practitioners to cover all aspects of the service they are providing.
When asked about their ideal customer, Vakharia says, “A person who believes in the Ayurvedic way of healing. Skincare earlier was more about using turmeric with milk on the body but people are no longer keen to spend a long time following desi nuskhas. They want something instant, easy, time effective, and result oriented. That is what Nabhi Sutra is trying to get.” Though mainly retailing through their e-commerce platform www.nabhisutra.com, they also sell at Amazon, Flipkart, Seniority, 1mg, and a few other third-party platforms. Marketing takes place through social media and word of mouth. After the success they have witnessed in recent months, Nabhi Sutra is focusing on creating pure solutions for both kids and adults, and are ready to launch their baby and mother hair oil soon. They are hoping to launch a 15 product range in the next 5 years and are willing to enter the international market and offline market soon with both of Vakharia’s brands – Nabhi Sutra and Nuskha. Vakharia signs off by saying “We want to change everyone’s lifestyle by introducing Ayurveda in a pure, modern and user-friendly way.” And she is doing it ably.
The writer pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.noorananchawla.com. She can be reached on nooranand@gmail.com.
