Spice Kitchen

Tell us about your company

Spice Kitchen actually started as a hobby for my mum. She said she was bored in her retirement and wanted to do something meaningful. I suggested to her on Christmas Day in 2012 that she try selling Indian Spice Tins. We took a photo and created a listing on eBay and the tin sold the next day! The rest, as they say, is history.

Our flagship product is our Indian Spice Tin with silk sari wrap, the very first product we created! Although this has become a bestseller, over the years we’ve added new products to our range such as Middle Eastern, Moroccan and World Spice collections, a Baby Spice collection, especially for kids, and a Chilli Collection as well as Gin Botanicals. We also sell single spice blends in mini tins and released a cookbook in May 2023.

We are proudly based in Liverpool which has incredibly energy and an ever-growing foodie culture. We blend and pack all our spice tins and manage all B2C and B2B distribution from our factory in the city.

"Hi! We’re Sanjay and Shashi, mother and son co-founders of Spice Kitchen!

Our dream is to become more of a household name and for people in the US to fall in love with our blends by cooking more amazing food at home. We also want to continue and champion home cooking and to empower parents to pass down their tips and knowledge to the next generation.

The US has the potential to be a massive market for us, but also a natural step for us based on where we are on our export journey. Having secured a great network of 500+ retailers in the UK, and written our first cookbook, we feel now is the time to take Spice Kitchen to the world stage!

We source only the finest quality ingredients and blend them in small batches, ensuring quality and the best flavour. Our gift sets are totally unique as mum (Shashi) makes the wraps herself from upcycled sari fabrics.

We’re so excited to pitch our products in the US. For us, great food begins in the kitchen, and we can’t wait to spice up the dining tables of the New York market!"

What are your ambitions in New York?

Our main goal is research. We want to understand the landscape for our products. If we can come back and feel like we know more about our market fit, then it’s been a success.

Our dream outcome would be to secure a distributor or retailer, or potentially a collaboration.

New York is an amazing starting place. With such a cosmopolitan city, with similar tastes to the UK and an appetite for world cooking, we are confident there is a space in the market for our gifting ranges.

How has the Department for Business and Trade helped you?

They have been such a big help on our exporting journey. We have an amazing International Trade Advisor, 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. We have learnt so much just from talking to our peers. For us it has reduced the fear of 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 – Ireland, Dubai (twice!), Belgium, Prague and Paris (twice!).

What one piece of advice would you give other UK companies watching the series?

If you are thinking about exporting for the first time, or even if you are an experienced exporter looking for advice, I would encourage you to get in touch with your local International Trade Advisor at DBT.

From there I would recommend doing thorough research on potential markets, networking with others who have done it before and perhaps visiting other countries independently or on trade missions. Don’t let fear hold you back, especially when there is nothing to lose!