From Passion to Perfume: Sachi Parekh Talks Meyander Fragrances and Purpose-Driven Design

An interview with Sachi Parekh – Founder of Meyander Fragrances, a distinctive and purpose-driven fragrance brand

In this interview, we sit down with Sachi Parekh, the founder of Meyander Fragrances, a brand renowned for its unique, purpose-driven approach to perfumery.

Sachi shares insights into the creation of Meyander, highlighting how the brand combines artistry with sustainability, aiming to evoke emotions and create meaningful connections through scent. Her journey reflects a passion for both fragrance and purpose, redefining luxury in the perfume industry.

Can you share with us your journey into the world of fragrance and what led you to create Meyander? What was the spark that inspired you to launch a purpose-driven fragrance brand?

Sachi Parekh : During my masters, I realized that entrepreneurship was much more than having a high business acumen. It meant understanding consumers and that you can create a product that exists already, you’d just need something unique to sell it.

However, if I told you that starting a fragrance brand was always the plan, it would be a lie.

Perhaps it was a calling, a deep love for scent, an accumulation of experiences, or an unusual talent for identifying scents instantly. The irony is that all this meandering led me to Meyander, and the journey was both unexpected and transformative.

After returning to India with my Master’s degree, I felt an intense void—no clear direction, no sense of purpose, no fulfilling career, no sense of community, and not even a solid sense of self.

I often turned to my tarot cards for guidance, hoping for some spark of clarity. One night, at 3 a.m., I drew “The Magician.” This card, symbolizing power, strength, and caliber, sparked something in me.

The first thought that came to mind was ‘How can I embody this energy immediately?’ and a single word echoed in my mind: “Scent.”

I thought I was a little delusional, but when I started putting all my experience, strengths, interests, and strong desire to build my own brand, fragrances fit perfectly.

I truly believe that Meyander has come to life, not only for a good product, but because it’s a purpose-led brand. Meyander is a reminder to people that there are many things that feel like magic, and we’re surrounded by unseen energy in the mundane daily chaos.

One of the key elements of Meyander is the concept of the “Energy of Abundance.” Can you explain what this means and how it translates into the scents and experiences you create through your products?

Sachi Parekh : Through my career in marketing, I often felt that most narratives, specifically in the beauty space, were designed to create a feeling of lack.

Either your skin wasn’t good enough, or your hair wasn’t perfect, and consumers were constantly being promoted “an upgrade”. Of course, in such a competitive market, instinctively brands must market their products as being better than another product. However, to attain that, the consumer was made to feel like they weren’t enough, or they had something missing.

One of the reasons I was so passionate about entering the fragrance world, was because there was no hard and fast rule that you could have only one. The energies and feelings we feel are infinite, and I wanted to create a brand that communicated that. Simply put:

A person doesn’t only need one scent. Scent can embody how you feel on a certain day and allows one to channel that energy. There’s always space for more, which translates into abundance.

The consumer is abundant; they have so much to feel, and so much to be. I found more peace in creating something that could simply elevate, without making them feel lack. I wanted to bring notice to how abundant they are as just themselves. 

Fragrance creation is an art form. Can you walk us through your process of developing a new scent?

Sachi Parekh : This brand is built through the creative and energy-oriented experiences I’ve had over the years. My process of developing a scent is backwards – I think of a concept that I deeply resonate with. I research it to ensure I can effectively communicate it to my team.

We then work towards developing a scent that feels like that concept. There’s a reason Twin Flame smells a particular way, and 5 5 5 smells completely different. The scents are reflective of those energies, and I’m always looking for inspiration for a new concept.

I know that a lot of this process and the result is open to interpretation, which is where the depth of creativity comes in and hence what sets us apart from other fragrance brands.

The luxury fragrance market is both competitive and highly discerning. What challenges did you face when establishing Meyander as a distinctive brand, and how did you navigate those challenges to carve out a niche for yourself?

Sachi Parekh : One of the toughest decisions when entering this market was figuring out which audience we wanted to cater to.

Energy is something that everyone experiences which is why I initially wanted my products to have a large reach. Eventually, I had to come to terms with the fact that a large population might not have the capacity and will to openly receive a purpose-driven brand.

Currently, India has all sorts of fragrance brands, but not many are purpose-driven. We needed to decide on an audience that would be open to receiving Meyander’s ethos.

Once we accepted that our consumer pool is smaller than we planned, we were able to gain comfort as a niche brand and place ourselves in this bracket.

Again, the fact that we are purpose-driven really anchored our decisions, and it’s our purpose along with beautifully crafted scents that set us apart.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking to build a purpose-driven brand in the luxury space, particularly in an industry like fragrance that is so deeply connected to emotion and sensory experience?

Sachi Parekh : As much as having a good product is important, entrepreneurs must ensure that the purpose is something that deeply resonates with them. Most entrepreneurs find a need in the market based on what consumers are not getting.

A purpose-driven brand can relate to the need, but somewhere it’s deeper than that. A purpose that connects deep to a founder’s ethos allows them to infuse it in their team and products.

It’s almost like they can find endless ways to talk about it, and somehow there’s always room for more. That being said, the purpose has to be something that others resonate with and emotionally connect to.

People will remember their own emotions, not the thousands of products they come across every day. If they can remember the emotion you delivered, chances are they’ll remember your brand.

In my case, Meyander’s ethos is very deep, but I’ve had to find lighthearted ways to make that narrative relatable. I know people have felt many of the energetic concepts. I have integrated in my fragrances, but they haven’t spent enough time thinking about it.

Hence my goal is to simply bring more attention to energy space, without overloading the consumer with the intensity of this ethos.

What exciting products or new fragrance lines are you working on for the future of Meyander?

Sachi Parekh : As of right now, we really want to establish ourselves as a niche, luxury perfume brand. Our first collection is more oriented towards a blend of internal and external energies.

In the near future, I want to create more fragrances that connect consumers to the energies within them and their inner strength. Once this is established, I’m hoping to enter the home segment.

I am a firm believer that your space must elevate you and bring you back to balance. It’s important to feel energetically anchored in your safe space. I want to bring the phrase “It smells like home” a lot more depth and meaning.

Sachi Parekh’s vision for Meyander Fragrances showcases how purpose and creativity can transform an industry.

Through this conversation, it’s clear that her dedication to blending sustainability with luxurious scent crafting is reshaping the future of fragrance.

Meyander stands as a testament to the power of fragrance to tell stories, evoke emotions, and inspire meaningful connections with consumers.

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