- Name: Vaishali Mehta
- Instagram: @vaishali_2.0
- Industry Experience: 9 years
- Favourite Drink: Gin and Tonic, but on the beach it’s a Margarita
- Favourite Non-Alcoholic Drink: Swa’s lemon iced tea with no added sugar
Vaishali Mehta, co-founder of Swa, is changing the landscape of the artisanal syrup industry in the Horeca space by providing a diverse array of natural, easy-to-use, and consistently tasting syrups. Her journey started when she moved to India from the US and noticed the extensive use of artificial tasting, overtly sweet syrups in drinks. In contrast, in the US, one could easily access a bevy of delectable cocktails made using natural ingredients. Although India grows an assortment of delicious fruits and pungent spices, when a customer orders a cocktail, it is usually made of artificial syrups loaded with preservatives.
Fuelled by a passion to provide 100% natural ingredients with no preservatives, Swa was born. Initially the company only sold cold pressed juices but ventured into the artisanal syrup market when Vaishali noticed the dearth of fresh, natural and locally made syrups.
How does Swa distinguish itself from its competitors? “It has eight times more fruit pulp,” Vaishali points out, “What does that mean? Eight times more fruit pulp means naturally translates to we have 65% less added sugar.”
Using Vacuum InfuseTM technology, Swa creates concentrated fruit juices/pulps and then infuses it with sugar and spices.
Moreover, she empowers women by employing local women, who make up 90% of her production staff. Recognising the patience and sincerity that they bring to the table, Vaishali emphasises their importance to Swa, “They are the artisans in artisanal syrups, right? It requires a certain kind of patience.” She adds, “This [also] requires certain skills, or arts, artsmanship. And the women sort of bring that to the table and also in the process, they are upskilled.”
Swa is constantly innovating and inventing new flavours that capture the richness and diversity of India’s palate by drawing inspiration from our country’s distinct heritage and ancient culture. For instance, Vaishali reveals that her company sold jackfruit syrup when no other company offered this uniquely Indian flavour. Even Jamun Kala Khatta, one of her favourites, shines a light on the unique ethnic flavours that our country has to offer.
Vaishali ends the spirited conversation with a valuable message to the beverage industry: “You can craft with Swa. Use Swa’s products as crayons to create your own craft with.” She signs off by emphasizing the need to educate bartenders on crafting saporous drinks with natural ingredients, as opposed to artificially tasting syrups.
Written by Nemisha Sharma