SWA ARTISANAL SYRUPS STORY
Swa started as a cold-pressed juicery in 2016. We set out with the attitude that we will make people of Bangalore lead better, healthier lives because of us. Yay! It went well for a while, then we realised that getting us Indians to consume healthy food was so challenging.
Also, guess, where did Swa’s maximum revenue came from? It was not from the gyms or the health-conscious. It was actually from Bars. Yes. A drink tastes pretty darn good with freshly pressed juice!
So somewhere towards the end of 2017, we started experimenting with shrubs and syrups. Mid 2018 we started taking them to a few Cafes, Restaurants, and Bars that we were already working with. And oh boy! did they love it or what! One thing just led to other and before we knew it we ended up with 60 variants, most requested by Cafe Owners and Mixologists.
India produces the most exotic varieties of fruits, herbs, and spices. Yet, in the name of syrups (most are imported!) we just get a tonne of colour and chemicals mixed with sugar.
Swa has figured a way to naturally process the fruits, herbs, and spices such that there is a minimum nutritional loss. We use various processes like vacuum evaporation, pulping, freezing etc to make India’s natural bounty available year-round.
Also, when you buy a syrup, you can make minimum of 8 drinks from a 250ml bottle. Think about all the bottles you stop from going to the landfill. One bottle or a tetra pack of juice will probably cost more and they are just charging you for water added to the syrup. Swa lets you create your own drink, add your own water or soda. This automatically tackles the ‘waste issue’ considerably.
We still do glass bottles for our syrups, these are collected back from Bangalore Market (Horeca, primarily) and reused post-cleaning and sterilising. For the rest of India, we do not have a choice but to do high-quality PP bottles as the breakage is way too high. We tried. Also, recycling plastic is better than throwing away glass.
This has been our journey so far. If you think we can do anything better – in terms of our flavours, packaging, sales, or generally in life – just reach out! You can write to the co-founder directly at vaishali@drinkswa.com.
SWA ARTISANAL SYRUPS WOMEN
A thing of Pride for us. We are a small team of very strong women.
Each one is trained till they understand mixing perfectly. Most of them have been with us since day one of our Journey.
I wish I could tell you their personal story here, and just how much they have endured and overcome in life. But that’s not what I want you to take away from this. What I want you to know is that they are Winners.
They have taken charge of their lives, and they enjoy themselves, and they enjoy bringing Swa’s creations to you. So thank you ❤️