![[Company Name]'s Founder Stories](/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Fonuder@-Partners-01a-150x150.png)
Founder@ Interview
With Sanjay Aggarwal and Shashi Aggarwal
“Take a step, whatever it is. I’m all about agile working and doing ‘something’ rather than procrastinating. You can fix mistakes but you can’t get back time spent on inaction. .” – Sanjay Aggarwal & Shashi Aggarwal.
Today we feature Sanjay Aggarwal & Shashi Aggarwal, the founder at Spice Kitchen. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.
Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
We are a family-owned artisanal spice and tea company run by mother and son team Sanjay & Shashi Aggarwal (aka Mamma Spice & Baby Spice!). Sanjay and Shashi share a common goal: to honour their Indian heritage and make their ancestors proud. That they can inspire so many to create, authentic dishes in the process is a bonus!
A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?
What started as a discussion over the kitchen table on Christmas Day 2012, Spice Kitchen has developed into a thriving small business that has never lost touch with its roots. We quickly realised that there was a huge appetite for our spice tins and sets. We’ve been humbled at how the public has taken our family and its values into their hearts.
Family, food and mealtimes play an integral part in our culture, bringing people together, and forging greater family bonds.
Shashi Aggarwal’s’ expertise and knowledge with spices and spice blends are the foundation on which everything else is built. Originally hailing from Kenya, Shashi grew up in India and has now lived in the UK for over 30 years. She can draw on over 50 years of cookery experience and is an oracle when it comes to using spices.
Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?
Our overall aim is to empower people to cook more flavoursome food and bring people together to enjoy mealtimes. We have a team of around 15 full and part-time staff and occupy a large manufacturing space in Liverpool.
Our flagship products are our traditional Indian Spice Tins, which are presented in handmade silk sari wraps.
Every wrap is unique, meaning that customers receive a genuine artisan product perfect for gifting and self-gifting.
ADVERTISEMENT
What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?
We’re all about long term relationships with our customers and really nurturing everyone who makes contact with us, whether that’s for a single bag of spices or a trade order! It’s not just about the first sale, but giving customers the chance to shop long term by sharing information about how they can progress with their knowledge of cooking with spices and encouraging everyone to experiment with flavour.
We like to think we go above and beyond with everything we do, in terms of gorgeous packaging, freshness and quality of ingredients, the personal touch wherever possible and giving customers the opportunity to give us constructive feedback so we can correct anything we need to do better on.
Also, we’ve built great partnerships with celebrity chefs and cult restaurant Dishoom to create bespoke spice blends for them, which have been incredibly successful and have helped us to develop a contract packing arm of our business. Partnerships are definitely a part of our strategy and key for growth.
Similarly, we’ve created partnerships with cookery schools to give free spices to people attending courses, this has enabled us to attract a new crowd of customers who are keen to learn how to cook more.
Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?
Trying to do everything all at once! When Spice Kitchen was growing I (Sanjay) needed the prod of a business coach to make my first hire. I worked with Indeed and hired an Administrator/Operations Manager and have never looked back!
That it’s good to do one thing and do it really well when it comes to marketing rather than trying to do everything. There are so many experts out there saying you need to be on all of these platforms, posting loads of updates every day, whereas it can actually pay just to have one approach that works really well for your business and put the energy into that.
If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
Slow down and don’t try and do everything all at once. Listen to other people but don’t listen to too many people. It’s important to know when to trust your own instinct and when to seek the guidance of others.
We’re nearly halfway through our interview so it’s a great time to ask how does your business run. What three tools make your business run better?
We assess our success on customer feedback, such as what comes back via Trustpilot, so this is massive for us in terms of a tool we use regularly.
Shopify is also amazing as a platform for our website and lets us stay in control of our online store, we can make quick updates and it looks great too.
We have ensured that our products are listed on multiple marketplaces such as Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Not on the High Street and Friends of Joules. This has allowed us to build our reach and attract customers directly. And of course, by doing this we benefit from higher rankings in search engines.
But in all honesty, the traditional methods work equally well for us. We make use of email marketing, social media and building our online Facebook community.
And last but not least, we have built some really good relationships with journalists from a variety of media outlets who are always coming to us for comments on stories relating to food and business.
What do you know now that you wished you had known before?
That it’s good to do one thing and do it really well when it comes to marketing rather than trying to do everything. There are so many experts out there saying you need to be on all of these platforms, posting loads of updates every day, whereas it can actually pay just to have one approach that works really well for your business and put the energy into that.
What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?
There are so many things I feel proud of in terms of the business but I think watching the way the team has pulled together through COVID has been amazing. I’ve sat back and looked at them working away many times throughout the pandemic, and they are all so committed and willing to go the extra mile for our little business, even during tough times.
What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?
We are planning on writing a family cookbook to share our recipes, from the generations that went before us so that they are captured and not lost. This feels really important to us.
To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?
Take a step, whatever it is. I’m all about agile working and doing ‘something’ rather than procrastinating. You can fix mistakes but you can’t get back time spent on inaction.
“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and Spice Kitchen “
To learn more about Spice Kitchen Visit www.spicekitchenuk.com
Inspired by this story? Please share this story and other founder stories.
For more inspiring founders stories check out Founder Stories.
Have an inspiring founder story?
Every entrepreneur’s journey is unique and powerful.
Your story of perseverance and success could be the spark that ignites the next generation of world-changing ideas. By sharing your experiences, you’re not just telling a story – you’re lighting a path for others to follow, dream, and achieve.
Disclaimer:
The views, thoughts, information, and opinions expressed in the text, videos, images belong solely to those of the individuals involved, and do not necessarily represent those of Founderat.com and its corporate owners, employees, organization, committee, or other group or individuals.
More from Founder Stories
” Be very careful with advice—most of it will steer you toward conventional thinking. Build your ability to reason from first principles, embrace resilience, and focus on creating long-term value.“ – Nick Root
"Be very careful with advice—most of it will steer you toward conventional thinking. Build your ability to reason from first …
“I’ll share two bits of advice that have been instrumental to me, both coming from different places but equally impactful…” – Liam Sanders
Founder@ Interview With Liam Sanders "I'll share two bits of advice that have been instrumental to me, both coming from different places …
“Start with empathy.” Whether you’re building a product, leading a team, or pitching to investors, the core of your business should be understanding people’s needs…” – Rainier Mallol
Founder@ Interview With Rainier Mallol "The one piece of advice I would give is: "Start with empathy." Whether you're building a product, …
