Travel + Leisure - India & South Asia
OTHER PLAYERS
It wasn’t only hotels that used virtual experiences as a marketing tool. Home-sharing giant Airbnb (airbnb.co.in) led the pack in innovation. Recently, it expanded its Online Experiences—given that most people were not able to access real-life Airbnb Experiences—in partnership with a host of leading Indian personalities across fitness, food, fashion, and home decor. As a result, we saw a fashion illustration experience from the Delhi home of designers Shivan and Narresh, an interactive mixology workshop with Monkey Shoulder ambassador Pankaj Balachandran, a table styling workshop with decor specialist
Devika Narain, a zero-waste cooking class by Chef Sandeep Sreedharan of Goa’s Mahé restaurant fame, among other experiences. Parin Mehta, regional director of Airbnb Experiences APAC, reveals the thought process, “Online Experiences provide an easy opportunity for someone to become a host and earn an income. Secondly, guests have easy access to people in other countries, breaking geographical borders, in order to experience something unique. In terms of our online experiences with Indian personalities, we managed to co-create engaging genre-specific experiences.”
Indian airline Vistara (airvistara.com) also used the lull in air traffic to create travel-related content. In a series of webinars and live chats across Instagram, Zoom, and YouTube, the airline’s bosses engaged with travel influencers to discuss pressing aviation-related matters such as the new normal of flying, safety, and sanitisation facilities on flights, awareness about pre-, in-, and post-flight measures as well as topics like frequent flyer miles. From an aviation standpoint, this was a great way to drive conversation and create content buckets that might be of interest to any flyer.
How the new normal pans out remains to be seen in the next couple of months. But one thing is for sure.
The marketing and branding teams of hospitality companies will have to reinterpret traditional strategies and think of larger, more inclusive schemes to engage both customers and noncustomers, and ensure brand visibility even in a global pandemic.
What inspired you to establish Dr. Vaidya’s?
Our family has a legacy of practising Ayurveda for over
150 years. My forefathers have all been Ayurvedic practitioners, and we have 100-plus family formulations passed down from generation to generation. It started when my greatgrandfather moved from Gujarat in 1923 and set up a small clinic in Bombay (now Mumbai). Then, my grandfather took over in 1971 and became one of the most famous Ayurvedic doctors in the country. He used to attend to 300350 patients per day, and yet, just like his father, never took any consultation fee; patients were asked to pay only for the medicine. Later, my father started a jewellery brand, but there was always this regret in the family that we didn’t take the legacy forward. I was diagnosed with juvenile bronchitis at the age of two, and after 12 years of my grandfather’s treatment, I was completely cured. So, I grew up as a believer of Ayurveda and spent a lot of time poring over ancient texts with my grandfather and transcribing formulations on the computer for him. When I went to the US for my education, I saw organic products becoming fashionable and yoga being repackaged. I wondered why we couldn’t make Ayurveda cool too.
After I moved back to India, I spent three years working for a private equity firm; during this time my grandfather passed away. Then, I quit my job, launched the brand in October 2016, and named it after him.
Is there a travel memory with your grandfather that you cherish?
Every Diwali, we would go to Southeast Asia with the entire family. This was the one time of the year when I got to spend a lot of time with my grandfather. Every evening, we would enjoy tea and snacks at different hotels. Those conversations with him about life, Ayurveda, and golf are some of my most cherished ones.
A city you love for its food?
Istanbul, and Providence, Rhode Island, US. I lived in the latter when I was in college.
Many Ayurveda brands have cropped up over the years in India. What makes yours stand out?
Whether it’s the product or the marketing, we try to do things differently. We are trying to repackage Ayurveda in a way that appeals to the youth. For e.g., products like Chyawanprash candy or a hangover cure in a capsule! Unlike others, 90 per cent of our sales come from our online channel. In three and half years,
Dr. Vaidya’s (drvaidyas.com) has catered to over 10 lakh customers across 16,500 pin codes.
In the wake of the pandemic, how do you see the Ayurveda sector growing?
I think 2014-19 saw the renaissance of Ayurveda.
The year 2020 is the reflection call. This is the time when millions of people who didn’t know anything about these herbs or practices are growing curious.
It is an opportunity for us. I believe that people will initially come to us for improving their immunity, but eventually, they’ll start respecting and accepting Ayurveda as a lifestyle.