ZOFF Foods, one of India’s fastest-growing premium spice brands. Founded in 2018, ZOFF has transformed the Indian spice industry with cutting-edge innovation, cool grinding technology, and zip-lock packaging, ensuring unmatched freshness and purity. With a strong presence across e-commerce, retail, and modern trade, the brand has scaled rapidly, growing from ₹80 crore in 2023 to ₹250 crore in 2024.
At the helm of this revolution are the visionary Spice Brothers, Akash Agrawal and Ashish Agrawal. Akash, a Shark Tank India entrepreneur, leads ZOFF’s expansion, blending traditional values with modern business strategies. Under Mr. Agrawal’s leadership, ZOFF Foods has introduced ground-breaking practices and initiatives.
In this exclusive interaction with MediaNews4U, Akash Agrawal shares insights on ZOFF’s journey, market disruption, and future ambitions.
Excerpts
Q: What inspired the creation of ZOFF Foods?
Akash Agrawal: The idea was to enter a highly competitive market with a fresh perspective. While there are many established players in the spice industry, most follow traditional business models. However, consumer behavior has evolved, especially among Millennials, who prioritize convenience, quality, and unique packaging. We saw an opportunity to disrupt the space by offering a product that meets these expectations. This led to the creation of our Ziplock packaging, ensuring better storage and ease of use. Today, the response validates our vision—modern consumers appreciate products tailored to their convenience, taste, and needs.
Q: What sets ZOFF Foods apart from other spice brands?
Akash Agrawal: We have two major USPs:
- Ziplock Packaging – Unlike traditional box packaging that requires additional storage measures like tying with rubber bands or transferring to containers, our four-layer Ziplock packaging ensures freshness, hygiene, and convenience. Consumers can reseal it easily and store it anywhere.
- Cold Grinding Technology – We use a unique cold grinding process that retains the essential oils, aroma, and nutrients of spices by grinding them at low temperatures. This ensures a superior taste and health benefits, differentiating us from competitors.
Q: Can you tell us about your product lineup and its unique qualities?
Akash Agrawal: Spices are a highly traditional product where customers prioritize taste and quality. The quality of raw spices used makes all the difference. Our focus is to provide the best possible quality while ensuring consumer convenience.
Spices have evolved in terms of packaging—from being sold loose to box packaging, and now Ziplock packaging. We were among the first to introduce this innovation, and now even established brands are adopting similar packaging formats. This proves that consumer convenience is a key factor in purchasing decisions.
We focus on both whole spices and powder spices. Whole spices are a key entry point for us since this segment is still largely unorganized. Once consumers trust the quality of our whole spices, they naturally transition to our powder variants.
Q: How do you plan to penetrate a market dominated by legacy brands?
Akash Agrawal: Rather than directly competing with established brands like MDH and Everest in blended spices, we are strategically focusing on whole spices, an underpenetrated and unorganized segment. Whole spices allow customers to judge quality more easily, building trust in our brand.
Once they trust our whole spices, they are more likely to try our powder spices. Our approach is to create an entry point into a consumer’s kitchen with a high-quality product and expand gradually, rather than competing head-on in an already crowded space.
Q: What are your key focus markets?
Akash Agrawal: We are primarily an e-commerce-driven brand with a Pan-India presence. However, in terms of sales distribution:
- North and South India lead,
- Followed by East India,
- West India comes next.
Our e-commerce share is 80%, and we are actively expanding into modern trade.
Q: Can you share your experience on Shark Tank India and how ZOFF Foods has grown over the years?
Akash Agrawal: Shark Tank India was a great platform to showcase our innovation, validate our business model, and gain recognition. Since then, we have continued to grow steadily. We started with ₹17 crores in our first year, and by the end of FY 2025, we are projected to reach ₹120-₹150 crores, with an annual growth rate ranging from 30% to 80%. We also secured our first funding round of $5 million (₹40+ crores) from Hong Kong-based J. Financial five months ago, and we plan to raise our next round in early 2026. Our focus remains on delivering premium quality, convenience, and innovation in the spice industry through strong e-commerce, modern trade expansion, and product innovation. We are excited about scaling ZOFF Foods to new heights.
Q: How is ZOFF Foods expanding its presence in retail, both online and offline?
Akash Agrawal: We are entering major retail chains like D-Mart and Reliance Retail this year, with product codes already approved, ensuring our presence on their shelves soon. Additionally, we are available on all major e-commerce and Q-commerce platforms, including Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, and Blinkit.
Looking ahead, our retail expansion strategy focuses on strengthening offline presence. Currently, 80% of our business comes from online channels and 20% from offline, but we aim to achieve a 50-50 balance in the next 2-3 years. This requires building a robust distribution network, and we are gradually laying the foundation to improve product availability across key retail chains.
Q: What is ZOFF Foods’ approach to packaging, marketing, and brand engagement?
Akash Agrawal: Our packaging strategy was driven by the need to stand out in a market where most brands use similar box packaging. We designed colorful and visually distinct packaging that not only attracts attention on retail shelves but also enhances customer engagement. Each spice has a unique color, encouraging customers to buy multiple products rather than just one.
On the marketing front, we focus heavily on e-commerce, ensuring our products appear at the top of search results on platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, and BigBasket. Our media mix includes performance marketing, brand awareness campaigns on Facebook, Google, and Instagram, and influencer collaborations. We allocate about 12% of our revenue to advertising, with a major portion going to digital and performance marketing.
Engaging content is at the core of our social media strategy. We create quirky and memorable advertisements, such as our recent campaign “Khade Masale Matlab ZOFF,” to build strong brand recall. We also collaborate with health and wellness influencers to reach a broader audience.
Our partnership with Shilpa Shetty aligns with our commitment to health and purity. As a wellness icon, she enhances our brand’s credibility among health-conscious consumers, reinforcing the role of high-quality spices in a healthy lifestyle.
Q: What challenges does the Indian spice industry face, and how is ZOFF Foods expanding its product range and manufacturing capacity?
Akash Agrawal: The biggest challenge in the Indian spice industry is market fragmentation—anyone with a grinding machine can start selling spices, leading to an unorganized market. Additionally, while FSSAI regulations are becoming stricter to ensure better quality control, implementation still takes time. However, rising consumer awareness and a growing preference for quality products work in our favor.
To expand our offerings, we are launching a “5-Minute Gravy & Marinades” range, allowing consumers to prepare fresh, home-style meals quickly while maintaining traditional flavors. On the manufacturing front, our plant has a capacity of 700-800 metric tonnes per month, but we are currently operating at only 40% capacity. This means we have ample room to scale, with our facility capable of supporting a ₹200-₹300 crore business over the next two years.
