New Delhi, Oct. 15 -- To cut through a crowded personal care market driven by 10-step routines and clinical jargon, Phitku is selling a traditional nuskhe without the "grandma guilt".

For actor and founder Neha Marda, returning the humble phitkari (alum) to the vanity shelf is not a nostalgia play, but a calculated effort to reposition the ingredient by selling its science and proven everyday efficacy.

For decades, legacy brands have relied on a familiar playbook to sell traditional remedies-leaning heavily on heritage, nostalgia, and the emotional pull of "grandmother's wisdom."

But for a younger, highly pragmatic generation of consumers, this approach falls flat. Which is why Neha told LiveMint that at Phitku, "we don't want to tell ...