Getting us Indians to consume healthy food was challenging,’ says Artisanal Syrup Founder, Vaishali.

  Vaishali Mehta, the co-founder of Swa Artisanal Syrups- A Gujrati girl, born and raised in Calcutta, food, and flavours, have been the primary conversations for her family, both on and off the dinner table. A work stint took her to New York, where she was amazed by the fresh ingredients used in their beverages. She was surprised at India's dependency on getting artificial, imported, and preservative-laden concentrates in the name of taste and exotic flavours; thinking how India herself is so rich in its natural produce. She was determined to get India's natural produce and ingredients the attention they deserve. She clubbed this with her passion for working for women's skill upliftment, and voila, Swa was born. Here's more from our conversation with her: BV: How did SWA come into being? Vaishali: Swa started as a cold-pressed juicery in 2016 because we wanted Bangaloreans to lead healthier lives. Yay! It went well for a while; then, we realized that getting us Indians to consume healthy food was challenging. Swa's maximum revenue actually came from Bars! End of 2017, we started experimenting with shrubs and syrups. Before we knew it, we ended up with 60 variants, most requested by Cafe Owners and Mixologists. Two years of R&D and countless recipe trials later, Swa Artisanal Syrups reached a place where people can enjoy it in many forms - cocktails, mocktails, craft coffees, with pancakes, ice cream, and so much more! Jaggery Syrup Swa naturally processes the fruits, herbs, and spices with minimum nutritional loss. We use various processes like vacuum evaporation, pulping, freezing to make India's natural bounty available year-round. Plus, you can make a minimum of 8-10 drinks from a 250ml bottle when you buy syrup. Swa also lets you create your drink, add your water or soda. This automatically tackles the 'waste issue' considerably. SWA Ladies V: Tell us about the empowered workforce at SWA? Vaishali: We are a small team of powerful women, and each one holds a pride of place for us! Every person is trained until she understands mixing perfectly. Most of them have been with us since day one of our journeys. They work with grit and love and bring you handcrafted joy at their best!   BV: How many restaurants in Bangalore have got the taste of SWA? Vaishali: Primary clients before COVID19 were Hotels, Restaurants, Cafes, Caterers, Bars. About 80 odd places use our Natural Artisanal Syrups now in Bangalore. Toit, Third Wave, Blue Tokai, Druid Garden, Permit Room, Reservoir, Arbor, Uru, etc. We also supply to B2B places outside Bangalore - Goa, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and also to places as far away as Nagaland :) The pandemic hit us hard, but we're getting back up and currently available on Amazon, BigBasket, CRED, and www.drinkswa.com.  Pineapple chili BV: How Natural are your syrups? Vaishali: 100% Natural. made with only fruits, herbs, and spices. Nothing else. Swa Artisinal Syrups BV: How much potential does the Indian market has for its local produce? Vaishali: This space is thriving; not just are the young entrepreneurs taking things up a notch in terms of quality, the consumer is happy to experiment as well- that bit is significant. It was hard to go all-natural then, but now, it's become doable because of audience acceptance. BV: Which is your bestseller syrup? Vaishali: Jamun Kalakhatta, Orange Mint, Hibiscus Tea, Lemon Ginger Naariyal Paani, etc.; we do exciting gin, rum, whiskey combinations that go well with liquor for the cocktail lovers. Also, our teas will quench the thirst and taste buds of many this summer! hibiscus tea BV: How do you face the challenges that come along your entrepreneurial journey? Vaishali: I guess the key has been to take one day at a time. I was giving myself smaller targets and achieving them. Blaze your path. It's effortless to get sucked into the entrepreneurial rat race, too otherwise. I got okay with failing, but I come up stronger each time. BV: A quote that moves you every time you read it! Vaishali: "Unless we take one step forward, we cannot take the next, much less a thousand" - Daisaku Ikeda I practice Buddhism, and I owe many of what I have overcome and achieved in life to it! For more such updates, follow us on Facebook and  Instagram. Download our magazine Spunky Indian for exclusive stories.