Year after year in the region, wellness continues to be a focal point for many and is one of the largest growing industries not only in the Middle East, but around the world.
But, for many, starting on their wellness journeys can be a daunting one. With so much information out there, where should you actually start?
For Nitya Sahni, this was one of the main things she wanted to combat when building her wellness brand Erba, which aims to “take the work out of leading a healthy and balanced lifestyle”.
Nitya herself grew up in a household which always utilised traditional Ayurvedic remedies when it came to health and wellness, but she noticed that there wasn’t any convenient way of taking such remedies “on-the-go”.
“Coming from an Indian heritage, every time there was an issue in terms of health, my family would always come up with an Ayurvedic remedy to solve it,” she tells GRAZIA. “I came to realise that these traditional remedies were extremely difficult to take everywhere with me due to my modern on-the-go lifestyle.”
After noticing this gap in the market and with 10 years in the corporate world under her belt, Erba was born with three different drink supplements to “elevate any drink to suit benefit-specific needs anytime, anywhere”.
As part of GRAZIA’s Career Edit, Nitya shares with us her career journey and aspirations for Erba.
My current role is…
Founder of my own functional supplement brand, Erba.
When I was younger I wanted to be…
An athlete.
My favourite subject at school was…
PE – anything related to fitness was my favourite.
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My first job was…
A finance intern.
My career path so far has been…
Full of growth. I worked my way up in corporate for over 10 years, while I always knew I wanted to do something of my own someday. I was an intern, I then worked on strategy at start-ups and also large, established corporations. Those years were important and taught me a lot. The experiences have structured everything I am today and paved the way for me to launch Erba.
The role the UAE has played in my career is…
The UAE in my career has provided me with exposure. I’ve learnt a lot about how companies work, are structured and how people from all types of cultures can function together on one team.
The story of Erba is…
Coming from an Indian heritage, every time there was an issue in terms of health, my family would always come up with an Ayurvedic remedy to solve it. I came to realise that these traditional remedies were extremely difficult to take everywhere with me due to my modern on-the-go lifestyle. My father was super into health and wellness and taught me a lot about Ayurveda, where we decided to launch the brand together because we identified this gap in the market. Unfortunately, my father isn’t here today but I still decided to take our ideas forward and pour my energy into Erba.
Also, it was important for the products to be flavourless, as I found a lot of health supplements either has a strong synthetic flavour, a lot of sugar or an extremely pungent herbal flavour. No matter how often people try to introduce these products into their routine, I found people kept going back to their OG beverages, like coffee, tea, a juice, or smoothie. So, I wanted something that could simplify your life, yet amplify it, by not adding an extra drink, an extra flavour or extra step in your day.
To help formulate the products I had the opportunity to work with a credible functional medicine doctor in Dubai, Dr Sean Penny, who actually cured me of my own gut issues and that is why I wholeheartedly believe in each product. The products are also manufactured in the UK in ISO safety facilities, as I did not want to compromise on quality.
I was inspired to enter into the wellness space because…
I have always been focused on fitness, but I really changed my lifestyle once when I fell sick with bad food poisoning. From there, I had to learn to heal my gut and began learning how factors that surround wellness such as functional medicine, mindfulness and a healthy lifestyle come into play to live optimally. There was no looking back after that and I felt that sharing the benefits of wellness would only help others to feel and live better too.
My daily routine consists of…
My morning routine starts with breathwork, journaling and Erba’s Woke + Focus in a green juice. I then hit the gym for a strength workout or Pilates, followed by answering emails, meetings and taking my supplements, like Erba’s Glow + Flow, during lunch. I try to squeeze in a walk before dinner. After dinner, it’s always important to wind down before bed to get a restful sleep, so I take Erba’s Calm + Clarity and it’s the best way to end my day.
My role as Founder entails…
To be responsible and accountable for every single aspect of the business. I am involved in every moving part, where wearing so many different hats within one day can get overwhelming, but in the end it’s always rewarding.
The biggest hurdle I have experienced in my career…
Initially when I launched Erba, someone told me that something could not be done. I think sometimes people assume you’re not capable of accomplishing things or that you may not be that serious. So instead of listening to this person, I decided to find solutions. I called friends, professionals and other people in my network for help and advice. I ended up coming up with a pretty creative solution, but guess what? It worked, and it really wasn’t that hard to solve. You can’t wait for others to believe in you before you start to believe in yourself.
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The biggest milestone I have achieved is…
Launching Erba. I think a lot of people face so many limiting beliefs and unfortunately, we end up believing them. It took a lot of work, strength and courage to launch Erba and get the brand to materialize. A lot of people depend on “imposter syndrome” but I didn’t want to do that, I really took the time and energy to work to have unwavering confidence in myself. We all have the potential, but our mindset can sometimes hold us back.
A quote I live by is…
“Whatever is meant for you, is already yours.”
This quote teaches you not to doubt or spiral down into negative possibilities. Trust in your potential and if you work hard enough, it’ll happen.
What I hope for 2024 is…
Growth – in every way. I wouldn’t want to look back on any year of my life and feel like it was stagnant. Life is meant to be lived and I look forward to spending this year making memories with my family and friends, and of course, growing Erba!
