Raison d’Etre Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Feb 5th, 2019

Global spa consultancy Raison d’Etre is celebrating its 20th birthday—two successful decades since its first spa opened in 1999. Raison d’Etre has spent the last 20 years becoming a leader in spa design, business and education, which has included creating iconic spa brands including Aman Spas, Shiva for Taj Hotels, Kempinski Spa and LivNordic, not to mention the spa training academy, Spa Business Education.

Founded in London 1998 by Alexander Arnewid and Rosamund Freeman-Attwood, Raison d’Etre opened its first spa, Soneva Fushi, in 1998 (later rebranded to become a Six Senses Spa). Anna Bjurstam joined the company in 2000, just before Arnewid passed away in 2001. The company went on to win several awards during that time and began consulting around the world.

In 2010, with a proven track record for creating some of the best spa and wellness brands in the world, Raison d’Etre formed its own spa brand: LivNordic Spa & Wellness, inspired by Bjurstam’s love of the Nordic approach to wellness. Today, LivNordic spas can be found on Viking Ocean Cruise ships.

The following year, Raison d’Etre formed Spa Business Education, an online training provider aimed at creating world-class spa managers. Raison d’Etre’s network of experts allows the program to provide its students a high quality level of knowledge and operational education.

“The journey we have been on as Raison d’Etre has been thrilling: we have spent 20 years designing, educating, and advising, making great connections and forming our own brands along the way. We have led the spa industry in new, exciting ways and responded to changing demands for spa guests and spa businesses alike. These continue to change year on year, so we cannot wait to see what the next two decades bring!” enthused Bjurstam.