An essential commodity in the Indian spiritual and prayer circles, the Rudraksha seeds are quickly gaining popularity in Switzerland as emotional wellness gets popular.
Swiss online retailers and yoga shops now market Rudraksha malas (prayer beads) not just as religious items, but as tools for a secular kind of spirituality, an official said.
With consumers – including over 27,000 Indians – willing to pay a premium on these beads, businesses are quickly lapping up the chance to cash in on the fad.
With the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) coming into effect on October 1, the niche market is set to receive a bolster.
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India and the four European nations bloc, EFTA (European Free Trade Association), signed the agreement on March 10, 2024.
“It is a niche market now, set to be solidified by the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), which comes into force from October 1,” the official said, adding that while Switzerland’s Indian diaspora of over 27,000 people provides a foundational market for these seeds, the primary driver is a burgeoning wellness and mindfulness movement among the broader Swiss population.
In 2024-25, India exported the commodity worth ₹0.97 crore.
A Zurich-based online yoga store, for instance, sells a simple Rudraksha mala for nearly 50 Swiss francs (about ₹4,650), describing its power to ‘cool the body’.
As consumers appreciate the authenticity of the product, they are willing to pay a premium.
“This reframing of a sacred object for a new-age wellness market has opened a lucrative export channel,” the official said, adding that Indian beneficiaries are a network of specialised Indian exporters, many of whom are family-run businesses operating for decades in cities like Haridwar, Delhi, and Jaipur.
Companies, such as Himalaya Rudraksh Anusandhan Kendra, have built a global trade by sourcing authentic Rudraksha seeds and overseeing their transformation into finished jewellery.
For them, Switzerland has turned into a high-value destination for the humble Rudraksha.
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