The Lavenderoom Conversation Series brings together individuals whose work is shaping the way we think, build and live. In every conversation, we go beyond titles and achievements to understand the experiences, beliefs and perspectives that have defined their journey.
For this edition, we are joined by Sharvi Mehta — founder of Daily Compounds, a fragrance label she launched in India after years shaped by her family’s legacy in perfumery. She started the brand in the middle of major personal upheaval — relocating from the UK to India while expecting her first child — and turned that transition into the foundation for a business built on clarity, intention and honest formulation. Beyond fragrance, this is a conversation about starting over, building something of your own, and figuring out what really matters when everything around you is changing.
1. You moved from the UK to India while expecting your first child, and started Daily Compounds in that same window. What made that the right — or only — moment to begin?
Sharvi: From the outside, it probably seems like an unusual time to start a company. Moving to India, quitting my job at Google, entering my pregnancy era – these were already massive life shifts that stripped away the safety nets and routine I had grown accustomed to in London. But in many ways, it was exactly the right moment. There is rarely a “perfect” time to build something new, and waiting for the dust to settle usually just means waiting indefinitely.
Being in that state of transition gave me clarity. Coming here, I realised Indian consumers were ready for an elevated, grounded and more practical approach to perfumery – rather than scents guided by trends and status. I had a very clear vision, and building the brand in the middle of all the personal upheaval meant there was no time to second-guess or over-think. Yes, I took a year to launch, but during that time I was completely focused and intentional from day one. It also kept me very active during pregnancy which is a blessing in hindsight!
Becoming a mother and navigating a hectic post-partum period also made me think differently about how I can curate an easy but impactful routine. A spritz of your fragrant perfume is like your morning coffee – it can really set the tone for your day. For me, that’s enough of a reason to build it.
2. You come from a family with decades in fragrance. What did you choose to carry forward from that legacy, and what did you deliberately leave behind?
Sharvi: What I carry forward is a deep, uncompromising respect for the craft itself – an appreciation for the perfumer’s process, sourcing integrity, the art of layering raw materials. Growing up in a family that’s been in the fragrance industry for over 30 years, I’d always been surrounded by these conversations and I spoke the language of perfumery.
What I left behind was the traditional opacity and elitism of the heritage fragrance industry. Historically, perfumery has leaned heavily on romanticised fiction and elaborate storytelling. With Daily Compounds, I want to clearly communicate our philosophy behind formulation – partnering openly with global leaders like IFF, ensuring robust testing and sourcing, and focusing on functionality rather than fantasy. For me, everything starts with the juice. Of course, fragrance is still deeply emotional, and it should be fun, but it doesn’t need unnecessary marketing fluff to justify its existence. At the end of the day, our philosophy is actually very simple. We want to create really good fragrances that make you smell good, feel good, and become a natural part of your everyday life.
3. Building a brand in India is a different game from working in fragrance abroad. What did you have to unlearn about business, pricing and what people here actually respond to?
Sharvi: I had to unlearn the playbook built for Western markets, particularly around how value is perceived. Overseas, functional wellness and niche perfumery often carry an exclusive, luxury-first positioning that leans into scarcity. In India, people want uncompromised quality, but they expect tangible utility and real value. That meant being very intentional about where we invested. We’d rather spend more on the formulation, than on celebrity partnerships and marketing campaigns. People here are incredibly informed, highly value-conscious, and at the same time, very willing to invest in quality if they genuinely believe it’s worth it.
I learned very quickly that the Indian consumer is incredibly discerning. You can’t just rely on sleek visuals or aspirational branding; people here want to know how a product fits into their actual life – their morning routine, their commute, their post-workout reset. Entering the Indian fragrance market made me realize how much consumers are craving real transparency, not just aspiration. But I also noticed a pattern: good branding is often used to distract people from a mediocre formulation.
In many ways, building Daily Compounds in India has reinforced the philosophy I started with. If you create genuinely great products, communicate honestly, and respect your community’s intelligence, people respond.
4. Every founder hits a real low point. What was yours, and what got you through it?
Sharvi: I don’t think my lowest point was one defining moment but it was realising that building a product is far less glamorous than people imagine. There’s a friction that comes with building physical products – managing supply chain delays, refining formulas, perfecting bottle specs. There were moments when the sheer volume of details feeling out of control made the vision feel very far away. I still remember our first Desert 31 bottles arriving with the wrong shade of blue. The formulation for Seaside 09 was tweaked at the last minute due to focus group feedback. Products got damaged in transit. Timelines slipped.
If entrepreneurship has taught me anything, it’s that progress is rarely linear. Product development is really a long series of problem-solving, trial and error, multiple iterations, and accepting that things will go wrong. You may sometimes have to take two steps back in order to take five steps forward – and you really have to learn to trust your instincts when something doesn’t feel right.
5. If someone is trying to build something meaningful while going through a major life transition — like you did — what would you tell them?
Sharvi: Don’t wait for your life to feel neat before you start. The myth of waiting for ‘the right time’ keeps a lot of great ideas on paper. Major life transitions naturally break down your rigid habits and force you to adapt quickly, which is actually the exact mindset required to launch a business.
Accept that balance won’t be a neat 50/50 split every day. Some days require all your energy for your family, and other days demand total focus on your work. Give yourself the grace to operate in phases rather than expecting perfect daily equilibrium, and use the chaos to force ruthless prioritization.
Lastly, and importantly, everything takes a village. Lean into your community, family, partner, and your network. It’s totally okay to say yes to well-meaning help.
6. You discovered Lavenderoom’s world through [however she found it/us] — what does the idea of “Beauty Inside Out” mean to you, especially as someone building a brand and a family at the same time?
Sharvi: To me, “Beauty Inside Out” is about intentionality and balance rather than surface perfection. Building Daily Compounds has always been about how scent affects our internal state – using fragrance not just to project an image outward, but to shift how you feel inward: grounded, focused, or relaxed.
7. What’s next — for Daily Compounds, and for you?
Sharvi: For Daily Compounds, we are continuing to think about how people integrate fragrance into their daily life transitions, building out products that support different moments of focus, calm, and energy throughout the day. We’re actually currently working on new research into scent neuroscience.
Whatever the next launch may be (note: we really take our time on R&D) it should solve a real need, but should also feel fun and effortless. Scent can’t change the world but it really can bring joy to your day if done right. For me personally, it’s about continuing to refine how I show up in both spaces – as a founder building an enduring brand in India, and as a parent growing alongside it. It’s about building with long-term intent, staying curious, and enjoying the process while it’s unfolding.
Our conversation with Sharvi Mehta is a reminder that the businesses we admire are rarely born in comfort — they’re usually built in the middle of everything else happening in a person’s life. She didn’t wait for stability to start Daily Compounds; she built it through the upheaval, not after it. We hope this conversation encourages you to look at your own “in-between” moments differently — not as pauses before real life begins, but as exactly where the real building happens. Stay tuned for more thoughtful conversations from the ‘Lavenderoom Conversation Series.’
Read More:
Scent, Story and the Modern Ittar: Esha Tiwari on Disrupting Indian Perfumery with Kastoor
Why Monsoon Changes The Way Your Perfume Smells
Science, Skin and Second Chapters: Niloni Shah on Building The Pink Foundry
