Success is sweet and savoury

It was a rainy Diwali in 2015 when members of a family of foodies found themselves missing their grandmothers’ special ‘bakshanams’ (snacks). Hunting for palm oil and preservatives-free murukkus in stores, they realised they could look at other grandmas like their Janaki ‘paati’ who could satisfy their taste for the traditional. Launched by husband-wife duo Anand Bharadwaj and Nalini Parthiban, and managed with Srivatsan Sundararaman and Veera Raghavan, Sweet Karam Coffee takes regional delicacies global.

“Every Diwali, our grandmother used to meticulously make the jaangris, murukku and mysurpa. As she was cooking, she used to narrate tales to her grandchildren and make them do odd jobs,” says Nalini Parthiban, co-founder, SKC. “That memory of squeezing the jangris with our grandma is what led us to quit our jobs and start SKC, which is today a million-dollar brand,” she says.

Starting with a humble `2,000

investment in a small room of their house, the team distributed newspaper pamphlets themselves to acquire the first set of customers. Starting with home chefs within the family, Parthiban recalls how the extended family rallied behind them and pitched in with door deliveries in the early days. Soon, the quality of the snacks made SKC a favourite among the Indian diaspora in the US, Canada and Middle East. More than one-fourth of its customers also hail from outside southern India.

Today, SKC makes annual revenue of more than $1 million (more than `8.5 crore) and recently raised $1.5 million in funding from VC firm Fireside Ventures to fund its expansion plans. “Post the pandemic as health awareness is up and there is preference for clean eating, our demand has been going up. This Diwali season, business was up 2x,” says Parthiban.

The venture’s growth has also lifted the lives of its home chefs. Many of the women have quit their daily jobs and set up full-fledged cloud kitchens with their own staff as demand for SKC products soars,” says Parthiban.

If you open Instagram, you cannot miss SKC’s aesthetic ads as the company looks to scale operations. The brand sells through its own website and app and delivers across India and to 32 countries. SKC is now also on Swiggy Instamart, and retail stores in Chennai and Bengaluru are in the offing. Further, SKC has set up a consumer focus group consisting of its most loyal customers who are sent products for review and feedback is incorporated. There are also regular ‘kaapi conversations’ held in its office to let them experience how their orders are processed.

Despite being VC-funded today, Parthiban says they will grow while retaining the old world charm of their offerings. “All our products are made of premium quality ingredients exactly how our own mothers or grandmothers would do this in their own kitchens,” she says. “Palm oil is cheap, it has extended shelf life, but if we wouldn’t use it in cooking for our own families, why should we use it in the business,” she asks.