Aveda was founded by Horst Rechelbacher in 1978. In 1970, Horst, on a trip to lndia, was introduced to the science of Ayurveda, and suddenly his vision for his company (thus the name Aveda) was born. Horst formulated the first product, a clove shampoo, in his kitchen sink. Today Aveda is part of Estee Lauder Companies lnc., based in New york. Rechelbacher sold Aveda to Estee Lauder in 1997 for $300 million, although Aveda continues to be run as a separate entity.