As Raksha Bandhan celebrates the lifelong bond between brothers and sisters, Luxurist meets Akash and Nikita Mehta, the sibling founders who transformed childhood memories, Indian hair rituals and their grandmother’s stories into global haircare brand Fable & Mane. Behind the extraordinary growth is something even more enduring: two siblings who challenge each other, champion each other and have never forgotten that family came first.

There will, inevitably, be a present. Nikita Mehta is making sure of that. However successful the business becomes, however many countries Fable & Mane reaches and however hectic life gets for the brother-and-sister team behind one of the most recognisable South Asian-founded beauty brands in the world, some things are apparently non-negotiable. Raksha Bandhan will still involve family, a rakhi, far too many sweets and Nikita making it abundantly clear to her brother Akash that a gift is part of the arrangement. It is a wonderfully ordinary family ritual for two siblings whose professional lives have become rather extraordinary, and perhaps that is precisely why it matters so much. “The ritual itself hasn’t really changed, but our lives definitely have,” they tell Luxurist. “We’re both busier, travelling more and building so much together, so having these moments where we come back to our family and traditions feels even more important now. And some things will never change. Niki will still expect a present!”

Raksha Bandhan traditionally speaks of a brother’s protection of his sister, but Akash and Nikita see their relationship rather differently. “We’ve always felt that protection goes both ways,” they explain. “We support each other, look out for each other and, when needed, tell each other the truth.” It is a sentiment that becomes increasingly meaningful when you hear their story because their relationship has moved through so many different versions of itself. They have been children growing up in the same family, siblings sharing the rituals and stories of their Indian heritage, adults finding their own strengths and, eventually, business partners building Fable & Mane together. “As we’ve got older, the meaning behind it has probably become even more special.”

And the beginning of Fable & Mane takes us back to family too, specifically to their late grandmothers, their nanis, and the childhood ritual of having oil massaged into their hair while listening to stories. It is one of those memories that will feel instantly familiar to many South Asian families, where hair oiling was rarely simply about hair. It was touch, time, care, conversation and tradition bundled together into something we often did not appreciate until we were older. For Akash and Nikita, that memory ultimately gave their business both its inspiration and its name: Fable & Mane, story and hair. “It really came from our childhood and wanting to see the culture we grew up with celebrated on a global stage,” they explain. “What began as a very personal tribute grew into something much bigger: an opportunity to celebrate South Asian beauty, rituals and storytelling in a way we hadn’t seen before.”

From Nani’s Hair Oil to the Global Beauty Counter

There is something particularly satisfying about a ritual once confined to family homes becoming part of the international beauty conversation. When Fable & Mane launched at Sephora in 2020, Akash and Nikita found themselves taking something intimately connected to their own childhood and presenting it to a global audience. For them, it was about far more than selling hair products. They had grown up with hair oiling, Ayurveda, Indian ingredients and beauty knowledge handed through generations, yet when they looked at the international beauty landscape, they did not see India being celebrated with the same confidence they saw afforded to other cultures.

They remember looking at brands such as Sol de Janeiro celebrating Brazil and Tatcha celebrating Japan and asking a very simple question: why shouldn’t India have that same global platform, particularly in haircare? “India has thousands of years of incredible beauty wisdom, ingredients and storytelling, and we felt there was an opportunity to celebrate that heritage proudly on the global beauty stage,” they say. “For us, Fable & Mane is about taking the rituals we grew up with, reimagining them for today, and inviting everyone to discover and fall in love with a little piece of our culture.”

That decision feels particularly significant because there was a time when many children of immigrant families learnt, consciously or otherwise, to separate what happened at home from what was considered desirable outside it. The oil in our hair, the food in our lunchboxes, the languages our grandparents spoke and the rituals that seemed completely normal inside our houses were not always things we imagined the wider world would one day covet. Akash and Nikita did the opposite of distancing themselves from that inheritance. They built around it. Their advice to others now is rooted in precisely that experience: “The things that make you different can often become your greatest strength.”

For them, embracing their heritage was not a marketing device added to the brand afterwards. It was the reason the brand existed in the first place. “For a long time, the rituals and stories we grew up with weren’t represented in global beauty in the way we felt they deserved to be. Instead of moving away from that part of ourselves, we built Fable & Mane around it.” It is difficult to imagine a more appropriate message for a brand born from family stories: be proud of your own story because you never know how far it might travel.

Growing Up Together, All Over Again

Building a company with your sibling sounds either like the greatest business arrangement imaginable or the premise of an excellent family argument. In Akash and Nikita’s case, it appears to contain elements of both, which is probably why their partnership feels so genuine.

“Working together has made us understand each other in a completely different way,” they say. “We grew up together, but building Fable & Mane has almost meant growing up together again as adults.” They have had to learn not simply who the other is as a sibling, but how the other thinks, makes decisions, reacts under pressure and works through uncertainty. Inevitably, they also possess the uniquely dangerous sibling ability to know precisely which button to press. “Of course, being siblings means we know exactly how to push each other’s buttons! We’ve disagreed, challenged each other and had difficult moments, but we’ve also learned to communicate better and appreciate the different strengths we each bring.”

Those strengths are distinctly different. Nikita describes Akash as “hard-working, a go-getter and charismatic”, while Akash sees his sister as “creative, intuitive and passionate”. That contrast is also how they describe their roles within Fable & Mane. Nikita has a powerful instinct for creativity, product, brand and how something should feel, while Akash naturally looks towards the bigger picture, asking where an idea might go and how they can make it happen.

Rather than trying to think identically, they have learnt to trust the difference. “We challenge each other, but there’s also a huge amount of trust. We know that even when we disagree, we’re ultimately trying to get to the same place and do what’s best for Fable & Mane.”

There is a useful lesson here for anyone considering going into business with family. Akash and Nikita are refreshingly unsentimental about the fact that loving somebody does not automatically make working with them easy. Their advice is to establish roles clearly, play to each other’s strengths and communicate openly, particularly when things become difficult. “Because you know each other so well, disagreements can sometimes feel more personal too,” they acknowledge. “Learn how to disagree, move on and not take every conversation home with you. Celebrate the wins together and make sure you still spend time together where you’re not talking about work.”

Then comes perhaps the most important rule of all: “The business is something you’re building, but your relationship is something you’ll have for life. Protect that above everything else.”

For a Raksha Bandhan story, it is difficult to find a more fitting definition of protection.

The Moments Nobody Else Sees

Public success is easy to photograph. The launches, campaigns, new products and glamorous moments become the visible story of a growing brand. Siblinghood tends to reveal itself in everything that happens around those moments.

Behind the scenes, Akash and Nikita describe an understanding that comes from having shared so much of their lives before Fable & Mane ever existed. They can recognise when the other needs support without necessarily having to ask for it. Sometimes that means advice or a serious conversation. Sometimes it means making each other laugh and reminding one another that whatever catastrophe appears to have consumed the working day is not, in fact, the entirety of life.

“Ultimately, we know we have each other’s backs unconditionally,” they say. “The business is an incredible journey we get to share, but being brother and sister will always come first.”

That mutual admiration becomes even more apparent when they are asked what makes them proud of each other. Akash talks about watching Nikita transform her creativity and their shared heritage into Fable & Mane. “She has an incredible eye and instinct, and seeing what she’s created from that makes me really proud.” Nikita’s answer is equally revealing. What she admires in Akash is “his drive and his determination. He never gives up.”

Perhaps that is why their differences work. One sees possibilities through creativity and instinct, the other brings relentless drive to making those possibilities happen. Neither quality diminishes the other. Together, they have become complementary forces.

The Pinch-Me Moment

Every entrepreneurial story eventually acquires those moments that make the years of work suddenly feel real. For Akash and Nikita, one of the biggest came when Kareena Kapoor Khan became Fable & Mane’s global ambassador.

The significance was not simply that one of India’s most famous actors was fronting their brand. Kareena had discovered Fable & Mane herself and was already a genuine fan. For two siblings who had grown up watching and admiring her, that made the moment considerably more personal.

But even here, their minds travelled backwards.

Fable & Mane began with their nani, with oil being worked into their childhood hair and stories being told as she did it. Now a woman they had grown up watching had become part of the brand created from those memories. “I often think how surreal it would be for her to see where those moments have taken us,” they reflect. “I wish she could have seen Kareena become part of the Fable & Mane story. I think she would have been incredibly proud.”

It is a lovely image because it captures the strange circularity of success. We spend so much time measuring achievement by how far we have travelled, yet sometimes its greatest meaning comes from being able to trace the journey all the way back home.

Success Means More When It Does More

Their parents, too, shaped how the siblings think about ambition. Akash and Nikita grew up seeing first-hand what it takes to build something: the hard work, resilience and sacrifices behind entrepreneurship, coupled with an equally strong message about remaining grounded and remembering where they came from.

One lesson in particular stayed with them: success means more when you can use it to do something good.

That philosophy now extends beyond haircare through The Fable Fund, which Fable & Mane supports with two per cent of net sales to help protect wildlife, restore habitats and support communities living alongside them. For Akash and Nikita, the future of the business is therefore not simply about selling more products in more countries. Growth also increases what they are able to give back.

“It really feels like we’re still only at the beginning,” they say. “What excites us most is how much further we can take Fable & Mane, from new products and markets to introducing even more people around the world to the rituals, ingredients and stories we grew up with.”

The ambition is considerable, but its emotional centre remains remarkably consistent. A brand that began with memories of their nani is now carrying those memories into homes around the world while creating the means to make an impact beyond the beauty industry itself. “To think something that started with memories of our nani can now celebrate our culture around the world while also helping protect the natural world feels very special. And we still feel like there is so much more to come.”

The Thread That Holds It All Together

Perhaps that is why Raksha Bandhan feels like such a fitting moment to tell Akash and Nikita’s story. The rakhi itself is only a small thread, but what it represents is enormous: family, responsibility, affection, memory and the promise that someone will be there for you as life changes around you.

Their childhood Raksha Bandhan memories are not extravagant. They remember being at home together, tying the rakhi, eating far too many sweets and Nikita ensuring that Akash understood the financial obligations involved. “When you’re young, you enjoy the celebration without really thinking about what it means,” they say. “Looking back now, those simple family moments are some of the most special.”

Years later, those children have become founders building an international brand together. Their diaries are fuller, the stakes are higher and the world around them has become much bigger, but the essential relationship has remained intact.

There is something deeply uplifting about that. Fable & Mane is a story about entrepreneurship, certainly. It is a story about taking South Asian heritage onto a global stage, about seeing value in traditions that were once underrepresented and having the confidence to present them proudly to the world. But underneath all of that is a much simpler story about two people who happen to know each other better than almost anybody else does.

They challenge each other. They irritate each other. They make each other laugh. They disagree. They recognise strengths in each other that perhaps they do not always see in themselves. And when everything else is stripped away, they know they have each other’s backs.

This Raksha Bandhan, there will be the familiar rituals, the sweets and, if Nikita has anything to do with it, a present. But perhaps the greatest gift is something neither sibling needs to wrap.

They have built something remarkable together without losing sight of the relationship that existed long before there was a business to build.

And for all the success that Fable & Mane may still have ahead of it, that might be their most impressive achievement of all.

QUICK FIRE: AKASH & NIKITA

Akash

One word to describe Nikita:
Creative.

The habit of Nikita’s that makes you laugh the most?
When she’s trying to be serious but can’t stop herself from laughing.

Who was the naughtier sibling growing up?
Her. Definitely her.

Who usually wins an argument?
Nikita thinks she does. I’ll let her have that.

Tea or coffee?
Coffee.

Favourite Indian dish?
Pani puri. Always.

Favourite place you’ve travelled together?
India. It always feels the most special when we’re there together, especially Pune.

One thing you’re most proud of Nikita for?
Watching her turn her creativity and our shared heritage into Fable & Mane. She has an incredible eye and instinct, and seeing what she’s created from that makes me really proud.

A family tradition you’ll never let go of?
Being together around food. No matter what’s happening in our lives, somehow everything always comes back to the table.

Complete the sentence, “Being Nikita’s brother means…”
Having a best friend, business partner and occasional pain in the ass for life.

Nikita

One word to describe Akash:
Charismatic.

The habit of Akash’s that makes you laugh the most?
Akash always knows how to make me laugh. He knows how to lift my spirits.

Who was the naughtier sibling growing up?
Me probably!

Who usually wins an argument?
I argue more but I usually give in!

Tea or coffee?
Tea.

Favourite Indian dish?
Maybe just basmati rice.

Favourite place you’ve travelled together?
Thailand! The Emerald Lakes!

One thing you’re most proud of Akash for?
His drive and his determination. He never gives up.

A family tradition you’ll never let go of?
Following our hearts.

Complete the sentence, “Being Akash’s sister means…”
Letting him drive.