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From our Bengaluru home, walking the old road back, beginning with beauty

Forgotten among the tea and trades of the Ancient Silk Road are secrets whispered from mother to daughter of opulent elixirs blending indigenous herbs with timeless wisdom.

Across 6,400 kilometres, 40 countries, and 1500 years, ethnobotanical skincare reigned supreme. The trade of herbs and spices sealed the fates of empires; crossroad towns beckoned weary travelers with rejuvenating potions that fused learnings across civilisations. Silk Route is our humble effort to craft a modern apothecary that brings back ingredients and blends from these fabled oases to nourish, replenish, and celebrate you: the women who do it all, and then some.

01

How this began

A letter from our founder

Karthik K S
Karthik K SFounder, The Apothecary

Silk Route started as a curiosity. After my time at iSPIRT, I spent time learning from a founder building in the hemp and wellness space. During this period, a friend from Afghanistan, Susan, gifted me a bottle of hemp seed oil for my acne. The results were so clear that I went down a rabbit hole studying the science, ingredients, and history behind it.

Around the same time, I was sourcing Afghan carpets and became fascinated by the historical connections of the artisans, their patterns, and the designs of the Silk Road. This naturally led me to discover their forgotten botanicals and beauty rituals. The region has time tested ingredients perfectly suited to our climate, yet no one is really telling that story today.

Silk Route is my attempt to bring this heritage into a modern context. The plan is to build deep customer trust through skincare first, and then expand into broader personal care, wellness, textiles and home decor.

If you would like to write to me, my inbox is open: karthik@silkrouteofficial.com

A hand holding the Dew of Dunhuang in a sunlit Bengaluru garden
02

The city

Why Bengaluru

Silk Route belongs where the silk is. Karnataka grows close to half of India's mulberry silk, and sericulture was rebuilt here under Tipu Sultan in the 1780s. We make no claim that the city was a stop on the classical road; the road's most famous cargo settled here all the same, and so did we.

Bengaluru is our home, and the serum is made in India for us by AG Organica under ISO 22716.

03

Trust

Why you can trust us

Stories are lovely, but a serum has to earn its place on your face. Here is how it is made, and what you can hold us to.

  • 18 months, 21 iterations

    The time it took to get our first serum right.

  • Licensed and made in India

    Cosmetic manufacturing licence UP16320000028.

  • Tested on skin

    Dermatologically tested, and followed in our own study of 28 people over nine weeks.

  • IFRA certified

    A natural fragrance, certified by the International Fragrance Association.

  • Every ingredient named

    All of them listed, in order, on the product page.

  • See every ingredient

Our promises

  1. 1
    Seven days to change your mind

    Send it back within seven days, even if the bottle is open.

  2. 2
    Nothing hidden

    Every ingredient is on the label and on our site, and certificates are available on request.

  3. 3
    Honest words

    We tell legends as legends, and claim only what we can show.

  4. 4
    Reviews as they were written

    Every review comes through Judge.me and is printed word for word, flattering or not.

  5. 5
    A real person to talk to

    Message us on WhatsApp at +91 98458 44001, or write to karthik@silkrouteofficial.com.

  6. 6
    Pay on delivery

    Cash on delivery is available, if you would rather pay when the parcel arrives.

04

The house and its doors

The doors we will open

We begin with beauty, because skin is where a ritual starts. The same road carried carpets, lamps, cloth and painted pages. The house will open those doors in turn: home decor, living, textiles, and then art pieces, each traced to its source the way the serum is. In skincare, Manjistha Body Milk comes next, and the Boon of Banaras cleanser after it.

  1. Today

    Beauty

    The Dew of Dunhuang, our Snow Mushroom serum.

  2. Next

    Skincare

    Manjistha Body Milk, then the Boon of Banaras cleanser.

  3. Shaped with you

    The queens' rituals

    A pearl powder mask, a rosehip face milk, a galbanum body wash and care for hair.

  4. In time

    The house

    Home decor, living, textiles and art pieces.

Build the house with us

Silk Route grows the way trust has always travelled in India, from one friend to the next. Tell us about your skin, and help shape what we make next.

Share your skin storyThe Serum

Here's to rituals that slow down time in a world that never pauses.