Fable & Mane

Fable & Mane is a haircare brand built around Ayurvedic hair-oiling rituals, founded by the sibling pair Akash and Nikita Mehta. The company is based in London, though it trades through a US-incorporated entity, Akita Brands, INC, for its direct-to-consumer business [7][4]. Its products draw on Indian beauty traditions, and the brand frames itself as a way of bringing those traditions to a wider, global audience.

Sources disagree on exactly when the company began. Most independent records, including the business database Tracxn and several founder interviews, place the founding in 2019 [7]; the trade publication BeautyMatter dates it to April 2020 [5], which corresponds to its retail debut at Sephora. The brand's own pages give no explicit founding year.

The brand's origin story centres on the Mehtas' grandmother, who would visit from India and prepare handcrafted blends of plant oil. During a stressful period, and through Nikita's own experience of hair loss, the siblings returned to these family recipes and built a haircare line around them. As the brand tells it, the search led to "ten potent roots, an ancient remedy to strengthen and repair with the utmost care."

The two founders divide the business between them. Akash Mehta, a graduate of Imperial College London in electrical engineering, serves as chief executive and leads growth and digital marketing; he previously held roles at the Estée Lauder Companies, LVMH and Dior Beauty, and was named to a Forbes "30 under 30" list in media and marketing [2]. Nikita Mehta, who studied computer science and management at University College London and had worked in prestige and luxury fragrance, is creative director and oversees product. The pair have said they wanted to work on something together that was, in Nikita's words, "clean, cultural, and conscious" [6].

Early growth was driven partly by social media. One account of the founders reports that the business reached six figures in sales within a week of a set of videos going viral on TikTok [9].

Fable & Mane positions itself at the meeting point of Indian heritage and modern haircare. According to the company, it is "rooted in Indian heritage and the wisdom of Ayurveda," and it describes its products as conscious rituals meant to nurture people and "honour the deep connection between humanity, nature, and wildlife." The brand's recurring tagline is "Indian Rituals For Healthier, Stronger Hair," and its mission, as the founders put it, is to "bring Indian hair secrets to the world."

The founders have been explicit about not wanting the brand read as niche or exclusively for an Indian audience. In editorial interviews they describe an inclusive, global appeal built on what they call time-tested formulas and authentic storytelling, while Akash has said it matters to them that the brand "puts a spotlight on South Asian beauty" [6]. Industry coverage has placed it within the broader move to bring Ayurvedic beauty into the mainstream [5], and editorial sources have characterised it as a luxury, prestige-tier haircare brand.

The line is centred on hair and scalp care, with Ayurvedic plant oils as its hero ingredients. Its best-known product is the HoliRoots Hair Oil, a pre-wash treatment that the brand counts as its signature item; it carries by far the most customer reviews of any product on the site. Around it sits a wider range that includes a Detangling Leave-In Conditioner, a Deep Moisture Repair Hair Mask, a volumising shampoo-and-conditioner duo, and a set of hair-and-body fragrance mists in scents such as Madurai Jasmine, Kerala Coconut and Jaipur Rose. The brand has also extended into styling and travel sets.

Fable & Mane was named to BeautyMatter's FUTURE50 list in 2023, a selection of beauty brands to watch [5]. The same publication's 2023 profile projected the company's revenue at $10–20 million [5]. The brand has also been profiled in the wider beauty and lifestyle press, including a 2022 Bustle feature on the founders, family and South Asian beauty representation.

The brand's commercial operations run through Akita Brands, INC, the US-incorporated company identified on its stockist pages [4]. The founders remain the public face of the business, which Tracxn has described as unfunded [7]. No acquisitions or change of ownership are recorded in the available sources.

Much of the brand's stated social commitment is channelled through The Fable Fund, described as an independent charitable organisation founded by co-founder Akash Mehta, which supports wildlife conservation and human–wildlife coexistence, with a particular focus on big cats and tigers. The company has said that from 2026 it will donate 2% of all net sales to the fund [3]. On its impact page it also states that it is pursuing B Corp certification and commits to responsible sourcing of key ingredients and to building an inclusive workplace, though that page lists no specific claims on packaging, carbon or cruelty-free status.

The brand is active. It runs a live direct-to-consumer site carrying a current 2026 copyright, and its 2% donation programme is framed as launching in 2026. Its products are sold across multiple regions: at Sephora in the United States, Canada and several European markets including Denmark, at Selfridges in the United Kingdom, at Nykaa in India, and through Cult Beauty with worldwide shipping.