Meet the Liverpool business cooking up a storm worldwide

For Shashi Aggarwal, Spice Kitchen started as a passion project after retiring.

Putting heads together one Christmas, Shashi’s son ??? Sanjay Aggarwal came up with the idea for her to sell homemade blends straight from her kitchen.

Equipped with a knowledge of flavours and an inherited 100-year-old spice grinder, the Aggarwal family took their first steps to becoming business owners, selling a selection of sari-wrapped spice tins.

Fast forward more than a decade later, the mother and son duo now supply to over 500 retailers including big UK names like John Lewis and Selfridges.

But the success doesn’t stop there, with the business developing an appetite for its products worldwide.

Earlier this year, Spice Kitchen set its sights across the pond, landing a meeting in New York City with high-quality food distributors, Baldor Specialty Foods, Inc.

We followed the founders on this journey as part of our documentary series, Big in America.

You can catch up on all the action here:

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Taking a break from the hotseat, we spoke to Founders Shashi and Sanjay about the big American dream:

1.?Why do you want to sell your products or services to America?

Our research showed us that the American consumers love spice mixes, blends, seasoning powders and rubs and use them much more than in the UK.

There are huge sections in grocery stores, but many without a wide selection of Indian and Middle Eastern spices and blends, which is our speciality.

It’s exciting to be able to introduce customers to flavours they can’t currently find.

The US is massive but has a similar market to the UK with a fondness for supporting small businesses. ?

2.?What are the three key opportunities for your business in America? ?

?1) Selling directly to consumers through third-party online platforms, Amazon and via foodie gifting sites.

2) Business to business, we are currently working with a key retailer in America; however, like in the UK, there’s huge scope for retail in farm shops, delis, department stores and world market.

3) Curated websites, such as hamper companies, and also TV shopping and mail order. TV shopping is much bigger in the US than in the UK, so it’s a non-traditional route that we’re excited about.

3.??What has surprised you the most about the American market?

Because of similarities to the UK, we weren’t aware of the challenges required to ensure due diligence and safety within the US.

But with the help and support of DBT, we’ve been working hard to ensure everything is fully in place.

Watch our live Q&A with Spice Kitchen co-founder Sanjay Aggarwal here:

4. How has the Department for Business and Trade helped you?

We have an amazing International Trade Adviser, who always offers excellent advice, and have received wider support from food and drink sector experts within DBT.

We have also had the opportunity to connect with other UK brands on similar export journeys and have learnt so much.

It has given us confidence in exporting as we have realised how much opportunity and business is out there and how easy it actually is to trade globally.

Outside of the US, we have also been on several trade missions with DBT over the last 4 years in Ireland, Dubai, Belgium, Prague and Paris.

Want to learn more about exporting to North America? Access our free guide here.

Or watch our special selling to North America workshop here.

For support on exporting to markets all over the world, visit www.great.gov.uk

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