Founded in the year 2017, Vijaya conceived the idea of Vaseegrah Veda to encourage today’s culture to use ancient recipes for great hair and skin. What started out as a small business is now serving more than 12,000 customers and their products are extremely high on demand for their unbeatable and organic products. In fact, all the products are pure and plant-based and sourced from their own farms.
How did you conceive the idea of Vaseegrah Veda?
When you search for herbal products, either they are too costly or are not completely chemical-free. For women like me, DIYs are the best option. With the knowledge of herbs that I got from my grandmother, I used to prepare bath powders & hair packs for my personal use. But finding these herbs and getting the perfect blend is the hardest part for everyone. Thus, we came up with Vaseegrah Veda in 2017 to be everyone’s ‘grandma’. And here we are!
Your products are extremely effective and unique. How have you been able to ensure this consistently?
We don’t have any secrets I would say. These are all our lost recipes. Get our ingredients list from the website, grind your own powders. Anyone can make it, only thing is – you need to get them all FRESH. That keeps them effective as The Pure Herbal Factory.
You are all a 12-women team. You women are all an inspiration. What is your team’s background like?
Rather than calling Vaseegrah Veda as a home brand, call us “Housewives Brand”. Yes, our work hours are a good example for that. We don’t have a 9-5 shift here. It’s morning-11:00-1:30 and evening-5:00 to 7:30. It suits us all to take care of our families as well as Vaseegrah’s Family that is today, spread across the country.
How did you decide to put together an all-women’s team? What inspired you to bring them together?
Not a pre-planned decision but it happened with time and is still happening. Initially it was started with the help of my family. Later I took the help from my domestic help. Then our neighbors volunteered themselves as we have novel working hours that don’t hamper their daily chores as well as serve as an income source. And this is how we were bought together as a team.
Tell us more about all your individual roles!
We have three departments in our organization as of now.
Factory:
Mala leads the team and she takes care of the factory’s day-to-day administration.
Seetha takes care of the raw materials and she dries them.
Sumathi pulverizes the blend when they are perfectly dried.
Geetha is into packaging of products according to the quantities.
Lakshmi packs the parcels for delivery according to individual orders.
Sundari- takes care of our factory cleanliness.
Me- (Vijaya Mahadevan) Stock Management & Production processes.
Office:
Sherene- handles Instagram and other social media.
Yazhini – handles our website and technical part.
Farm:
Thaiyal nayagi- Farm Administration.
Vasantha- Farm Work.
Tamilarasi- Farm Work.
Who was your inspiration to begin your business?
My Grandma. She helped my Grandpa to establish his hotel in Malaysia. From being a small household eatery, business was expanded to two outlets (having more than 50 employees) with their self belief and hard work. When I was young, I used to spend time with her in the hotel store room which was under her control. She is an all-rounder: managing the provisions, taking care of all the employees’ well being and supporting my grandpa. It was her blessings and legacy which showered on me.
What does Woman’s Day mean to you?
Every single day is women’s day. We can’t imagine a day without them. Appreciate the women of your family for every small thing they do for you – be it the food she makes, the care she gives; support her for the talents she possesses. Celebrate her daily. The most important thing that’s missing in present days is a woman supporting another woman. And here I would proudly say Vaseegrah Veda has set a benchmark of being an example of collective well-being and togetherness.
What would be your main message to women out there?
As my favorite poet Mahakavi Bharathiyar’s lines goes, we women have all the potential within us. Any form of suppression and subjugation has to be opposed. Though it has women-centric words yet it applies to every individual according to me. So I make it a point to respect the potential of everyone I come across and treat everyone equally. This is something I’ve made sure my children as well as our Vaseegrah Veda family have internalized.