“We believe that it is more humane to test on humans than on non-humans,” says Divya Kaushik, Cofounder of FragrancebyDivya. ByDivya is an affordable luxury brand that believes a fragrance should be evocative, ethereal, and most of all – an adventure. Its products are environment friendly, cruelty-free, sustainable, and no noses are harmed in the process. “After all, the sense of smell is crucial to our being,” she adds.

ByDivya creates its scents keeping in mind that everyone should be able to enjoy every ingredient alike. The company is the brainchild of Divya and her sister, Damini Kaushik. Believing that nature did not assign a gender to any scent, ByDivya creates gender-shared fragrances based on ‘craftswomanship’.

To know more about her and her brand, ByDivya, read this exclusive interview between her and Women Entrepreneur.

Take Us Through The Foundation Journey Of Bydivya.

We were introduced to perfumes at a very early age. Our father travelled around the world and collected all types of perfumes, colognes that eventually aroused our adolescent noses. In 2014, I began to research and development and experimented with the various gifts of nature by amalgamating essential oils into something more. By 2017, I knew that this is something that I wanted to pursue so I approached my sister, who was then pursuing Judicial Services, to start a business of organic perfumes. And in 2018, FragrancebyDivya was established.

Our biggest motivation, however, was that we wanted to make something we could use personally.

What Opportunities Do You Foresee For Niche Brands Such As Yours In The Global Cosmetic Market?

By clean beauty, we understand that customers want transparency when it comes to skincare applications. They want the sources, the ingredients and the process to be transparent. There is enormous potential in the Indian perfumery sector and we believe that brands like ours which follow a sustainable approach have an array of opportunities to be explored.

How Does Your Brand Go About Creating Bespoke Fragrances? Also, Tell Us More About The Fragrances Offered By Bydivya On Its Platform.

Perfumery is an art and we’ve been exploring it for some time now. Perfumes are too often too similar and broadly categorized into male and female, woody or floral, without really challenging people to try something different. We wanted our fragrances to provide the masses with an experience, to dare, to be adventurous. We call it nose-play internally (chuckles).

Gradually then, we decided to go bespoke. Our first bespoke order was a very unique one too. We had to create an agarwood oil (oudh) based fragrance without it being woody. We infused it with vanilla, honeysuckle, shea, and apple nectar. It smelled heavenly. We made several personalized fragrances thereafter.

“We bottle it so you can have it, use it, and love it whenever you wish. We use a great many ingredients never before thought of as “perfume”. These scents are life”

Currently, we have four unique fragrances on our website along with a discovery kit that contains all four in smaller sizes. They are, first, Sanguine Oud, a fiery concoction dominated by agarwood oil known as oudh. Second, Northern bloom, a fragrance that opens up with crisp apple notes, peach nectar, and warm vanilla. Third, Sky, a strong scent with lavender notes at the top, with middle notes of fresh sweet lime and base notes of ambergris. Lastly, Petrichor, a super earthy fragrance, a wet mud concoction with musk notes.

What Is The Brand Philosophy Behind Bydivya?

Our sense of smell is our first and most immediate link to the world around us. It reminds us of what (and who) we love. The smell is perhaps the most complex sense we possess and possibly this is why it is the least understood and often taken for granted (covid lesson 101). Our mission is to capture that experience. We bottle it so you can have it, use it, and love it whenever you wish. We use a great many ingredients never before thought of as “perfume”. These scents are life. Our customers return for this experience. Our transparency about the ingredients we incorporate, our sense of adventure, our packaging, all form part of the experience.

What Are The Different Avenues That Bydivya Utilizes To Reach Its Consumers?

We live in a social media-centric era today. The most regular tools at our disposal are online platforms. We have an e-commerce online store that we primarily use to promote and sell our products. We also do promotions through Facebook and Instagram.

Tell Us About The Company’s Journey So Far And The Future Plans.

Every day is a learning curve for us. We are still exploring the vast ingredients nature has in store for us. We experiment on a daily basis and add new ingredients from different regions to our perfume treasury. In a scientific botanical context, we use a great many plantbased aroma materials - far more than the vast majority of other perfumers or olfactory artists.

We started with two fragrances in 2018 and now we have four. We plan to add a few new collections to our online store very soon. We are also planning to test the waters with other product lines soon. We are working on new concoctions this very second. Our approach is the same – provide an experience, invoke the senses and challenge to dare.

Divya Kaushik & Damini Kaushik, Co-Founders, Fragrancebydivya

ByDivya is an affordable luxury brand that believes a fragrance should be evocative, ethereal, and most of all – an adventure.