Aveda (pronounced ah-vay-da) was founded by Horst Rechelbacher in 1978.

In 1970, Horst, on a trip to India, was introduced to the science of Ayurveda (the Hindu traditional holistic system of medicine and surgery from India), and suddenly his vision for his company was born.
 Horst formulated the first product, a clove shampoo, in his kitchen sink.

Today Aveda is part of Estée Lauder Companies Inc., based in New York.
Rechelbacher sold Aveda to Estée Lauder Companies, Inc., in 1997 for $300 million, although Aveda continues to be run as a semi-autonomous entity.
Upon selling the product to Estee Lauder Companies Inc., Horst also sold off the chain of salons to his successor, David Wagner.
The salons formally known as Horst and Friends was renamed Juut Salonspa.

In 2004, Aveda was awarded the prestigious Corporate Achievement Award at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

Aveda was one of the first beauty companies to endorse a set of principles designed to encourage greater environmental responsibility in business, known as The Ceres Principles (originally named The Valdez Principles).

While the company's website previously stated that "Aveda" is Sanskrit for "all knowledge".
The website currently states on their about page, 
"A LIFE OF EXTRAORDINARY LEADERSHIP
1978 — Horst founds Aveda with the mission of creating holistic beauty through wellness; Aveda is “knowledge of the whole”"
removing the Sanskrit connection. "
Aveda" written phonetically as "अवेद", translates to "non-vedic" (or म्लेच्छ) a term used by the ancient Indians originally to indicate the uncouth and incomprehensible speech of foreigners and then extended to their unfamiliar behavior, and also used as a derogatory term in the sense of "impure" and/or "inferior" people
This word was commonly used for 'outer barbarians of whatever race or colour'
Aveda (pronounced ah-vay-da) was founded by Horst Rechelbacher in 1978.
In 1970, Horst, on a trip to India, was introduced to the science of Ayurveda (the Hindu traditional holistic system of medicine and surgery from India), and suddenly his vision for his company was born.  Horst formulated the first product, a clove shampoo, in his kitchen sink.
Today Aveda is part of Estée Lauder Companies Inc., based in New York. Rechelbacher sold Aveda to Estée Lauder Companies, Inc., in 1997 for $300 million, although Aveda continues to be run as a semi-autonomous entity. Upon selling the product to Estee Lauder Companies Inc., Horst also sold off the chain of salons to his successor, David Wagner. The salons formally known as Horst and Friends was renamed Juut Salonspa.
In 2004, Aveda was awarded the prestigious Corporate Achievement Award at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
Aveda was one of the first beauty companies to endorse a set of principles designed to encourage greater environmental responsibility in business, known as The Ceres Principles (originally named The Valdez Principles).
While the company's website previously stated that "Aveda" is Sanskrit for "all knowledge". The website currently states on their about page, 
"A LIFE OF EXTRAORDINARY LEADERSHIP
1978 — Horst founds Aveda with the mission of creating holistic beauty through wellness; Aveda is “knowledge of the whole”"
removing the Sanskrit connection. "Aveda" written phonetically as "अवेद", translates to "non-vedic" (or म्लेच्छ) a term used by the ancient Indians originally to indicate the uncouth and incomprehensible speech of foreigners and then extended to their unfamiliar behavior, and also used as a derogatory term in the sense of "impure" and/or "inferior" people
This word was commonly used for 'outer barbarians of whatever race or colour'
Aveda