28 December, 2022
In recent times, a slew of homegrown brands have found their place in the Indian beauty market. One such brand is Global Beauty Secrets. Founded in 2017 by Mumbai-based columnist Aishwarya Sawarna Nir, the brand is built on the fundamentals of diversity, its roots lying in multiple cultures from across the world. Global Beauty Secrets offers a concise range of creams, cleansers and face masks concocted using ancient traditional recipes from Japan, Egypt, Turkey and India, with natural ingredients—native to the respective countries—at the heart of their product formulations. We speak with Sawarna Nir, who tells us all we need to know about her brainchild from its inception to product creation.
Founder Aishwarya Sawarna Nir
How did Global Beauty Secrets come about?
I think the story of the brand unravelled over time. Initially, I wanted to do something in the natural beauty category beyond Ayurveda, but as I travelled the world and looked at culturally diverse women practising their own traditional beauty rituals—just like my grandmother who sat across from me following the ritual of ‘panchamrita’ (a sweet, five-ingredient concoction offered to Hindu deities)—the idea of Global Beauty Secrets revealed itself to me. It is a beauty brand inspired by women, for women, comprising natural ingredients and [based on] rituals from around the world.
What inspired you to plunge into beauty rituals from around the world?
As a millennial, with access to abundant knowledge via the Internet and the ability to travel, I wanted to talk about rituals beyond my own country. I started doing some research on whether different cultures have their own unique rituals, and in the process, I stumbled upon many treasured secrets. That really inspired me; there are rituals around the world beyond Ayurveda, which, by the way, are also very interesting, but no one is talking about them.
Sawarna Nir with her grandmother.
The brand is built on the fundamentals of diversity, its roots lying in multiple cultures from across the world.
What was the gap that you were looking to fill in the market?
For me, the gap was clear—I felt the beauty segment had become very aspirational, yet, thanks to social media and its increasingly normative filters, it was turning democratic. I wanted to create a brand that was inclusive and representative of women across cultures. I also felt the need to talk about rituals from cultures around the world in a market like India, where the concept of rituals has been prominent enough in traditional Ayurvedic beauty over the years. I think the market back in 2018 was largely abuzz with Ayurvedic products, so I wanted to introduce natural alternatives inspired by ancient wisdom.
How do you ensure the authenticity and potency of products that are inspired by rituals from around the world?
Given how dynamic the beauty industry in India is today, and despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself going deeper into product research and development, reaching out to community experts globally and initiating communication with them online. I did hear back from several women and sought their opinions on our products. The ones who were enthusiastic about collaborating, like Kyoto-based Junko Sophie Kakizaki who lent a helping hand in the development of our Kyoto range, jumped on board and helped me create some wonderful rituals that stem from their cultures. As I travelled around the world, I realised that certain cultures were highly misunderstood, and this gap existed because they [the cultures and their respective rituals] were lost in translation. Culture is best interpreted not just through research but also by simply talking to someone who has lived and breathed it. Through collaborations, I wanted to make sure every ritual we create at Global Beauty Secrets is of true value to our consumers. I realised this value lay in the very authenticity of its inspiration, design, packaging, formulation and potency.
“I AM PROUD TO SAY THAT WE ARE, PERHAPS, ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY WHEN IT COMES TO BEING A WOMEN-OWNED, WOMEN-MANAGED AND WOMEN-PROMOTED BEAUTY BRAND”-Aishwarya Sawarna Nir
"Through collaborations, I wanted to make sure every ritual we create at Global Beauty Secrets is of true value to our consumers. I realised this value lay in the very authenticity of its inspiration, design, packaging, formulation and potency."
Could you walk us through the product development process?
We follow a Standard Operating Procedure for all our products, right from conceptualisation to having them on shelves to create a unique experience for our consumers. The journey of any product starts with the end-user demand analysis, survey results and ingredient efficacy checks. For instance, if we have used botanical extracts, they are put through extensive quality checks for purity, potency and available certifications. This applies to all the ingredients we use, whether plant- or chemical-based. It is often followed by in-house trials, sampled feedback, surveys and respective modifications, stability checks, third-party validation, microbial reports, and, of course, FDA (Food & Drug Administration) approvals before, and as we undertake commercial production. Our emphasis will always be on user satisfaction, product quality, longevity and safety.
Do you source ingredients for a product from its native country? How is that managed?
We source most of the ingredients from their respective country of origin. We import natural ingredients like rhassoul (Turkish clay) or tsubaki (Japanese Camellia) and combine them with high-performing ingredients which help prepare the perfect formulation for the skin. Ingredients such as redensyl, plant-based collagen and olive squalene are sourced from internationally-qualified vendors. During the development phase of our Kyoto beauty rituals, our cultural expert Junko Sophie Kakizaki—a Kyoto-based artist and preserver of the kimono culture who hails from a lineage of Samurai warriors—went as far as setting up a meeting with her friend, an expert botanist, so as to explore potent ingredient blends for a formulation.
We source most of the ingredients from their respective country of origin. We import natural ingredients like rhassoul (Turkish clay) or tsubaki (Japanese Camellia) and combine them with high-performing ingredients.
Do you involve women from the regions of the ritual’s origin in the product development process?
Yes, absolutely. As mentioned earlier, we work extensively with women who bear cultural expertise to offer the goodness of authentic wellness rituals through our products.
Speaking of women, you’re proud to have a women-led team. Why is that important for a beauty brand?
I think it is paramount to have representation of women in an organisation if the products offered (by the organisation) are being sold to them. For a long time, the beauty business has been quintessentially lucrative for men who got to decide how a woman should look, and hence beauty has always been approached through male gaze. I am proud to say that we are, perhaps, on the right side of history when it comes to being a women-owned, women-managed and women-promoted beauty brand.
Who is your target consumer?
Anyone who is curious about the idea of ancient and authentic beauty rituals. Someone who looks at beauty beyond normative standards, who understands that it is about holistic wellness and not just brighter skin or longer hair; a consumer who embraces the new, challenges what is considered normal, and who takes pride in their roots despite their exposure to modernisation.
What efforts do you put into marketing activities to ensure full alignment with the product?
I always make sure that the products, by themselves, carry enough context for the people to understand when they receive them. It is important to not just be representative of who the brand is but who your customer is as well. I think that’s the sweet spot every brand should try to hit.
The brand's is for anyone who is curious about the idea of ancient and authentic beauty rituals.
"I always make sure that the products, by themselves, carry enough context for the people to understand when they receive them."
Could you define your brand’s vision in three words?
Global. Authentic. Curious.
Do you plan on adding more traditional beauty rituals and products?
Of course, though I don’t want to create products just for the sake of creating them. All our products are a result of months and years of effort. For instance, we proudly (and patiently) invested two whole years to develop the Tashinami Ritual Box inspired by beauty rituals from Kyoto and the Harta Box inspired by Mayurbhanj beauty rituals. I had initially planned on reaching out to Mrinalika Manjari Bhanjdeo (the second daughter of Praveen Chandra Bhanjdeo, the 47th ruler of the Bhanja dynasty, formed in the erstwhile princely state of Mayurbhanj which is now part of Odisha) right after the launch of our brand in 2017, but it was an idea I bookmarked then. Two years later, in 2020, Mrinalika herself reached out to us and we ended up launching the Mayurbhanj range in 2022.
Lastly, is there an instance that strengthened your belief in Global Beauty Secret’s fundamental concept?
There have been many, and I am grateful for that. Whether it was the huge acceptance from our customers at Shoppers Stop or the launch at Jean-Claude Biguine salons, the support from several opinion-leaders was motivating. A moment that definitely swept me off my feet was being interviewed by my mentor Shereen Bhan, managing editor, CNBC TV-18, on a panel full of men—one of whom refused to even acknowledge me by my name and kept referring to me as “the lady”—and yet being able to make my voice heard; the joy of being the only woman amongst them. Above and beyond everything, it is when my family takes pride in our products, like my mother and grandmother requesting for their much-loved Ghrit Aarti Skin Salve to be restocked, I know I’ve done something right.