The Founder's Journey
Akshi started Butterfly Ayurveda in 2014 and Butterfly Ayurveda Bakery in 2018. In 2013, she gathered resources to set up a research and development unit for developing Ayurvedic products to suit modern daily lifestyle needs, and from there on built a portfolio of over 50 in-house developed formulations. The formative years of Butterfly Ayurveda focused on designing products that could be easily integrated with the people's daily lifestyle and eating choices with the aim to help prevent and treat lifestyle associated ailments.
Her passion for absorbing Ayurvedic wisdom in food products gave birth to BA's bakery unit, a niche vertical of bakery products. It was during this time that she also underwent Ayurvedic treatment to recover from severe digestive health issues. She realised that her daily cup of coffee and treats from the regular Cafés had caused her to develop these issues. The spark of the idea that had begun the journey of Butterfly Ayurveda further ignited the vision to open an Ayurveda-inspired Café in the future with the view to serve a menu and an environment which promotes health, relaxation infused with Ayurvedic wisdom.
Despite visiting several such Cafés which seek to offer a similar setting, she found that there was not a single Café focusing in-depth on the core health values that resonate with Ayurveda, despite the high need and demand of such offerings in the Indian market. At the cusp of her journey, Akshi realised that people in India and around the world lacked in-depth knowledge and awareness about Ayurveda. She also discovered that this ancient science of healing had not received the recognition it truly deserved. She was determined to bring about a change to such a setting.
In 2022, she wrote a concept note on the Café and shared it with her business associates. On receiving a positive response on it, she decided to take steps to execute it. Through the years, she continued to research recipes ( with her team) that would be served on the menu of the Café, and the design elements that would form the brand language to acquaint people with Ayurvedic principles.
By 2024, when she had all elements ready, including the design, menu, interiors, and a business plan along with the proof of concept ( tried and tested at different Franchise and Trade shows), she reached out to her investors ( family) to fund the Café. She was thrilled to learn that they truly enjoyed and valued the idea and concept of the Café, and agreed to fund it.
The name of the Café comes from the traditional wisdom of Ayurveda itself, where health is referred to as ‘Swasthya’, meaning to be rooted in oneself. It is also inspired by her journey of life and how for her, her life itself has been the biggest teacher pushing her to stand by herself at all times. During these years she has learned to value herself, and have more faith in herself than at any other time ever before.