ZOFF Foods, a spice brand recently reinforced its long-standing association with actress and fitness icon Shilpa Shetty, marking nine consecutive years of her as Brand Ambassador, strengthening the brand’s position across households.
The association aims to deepen ZOFF Foods’ consistent brand-building approach, where trust, quality, and consumer reliability add to its growth story. Over the years, the partnership with Shilpa Shetty has evolved into a key pillar of the brand’s identity from its journey of being a digital-first challenger to a nationally expanding FMCG player with a strong foothold across e-commerce, quick commerce, and offline retail. Shilpa Shetty’s strong resonance with health-conscious, modern Indian kitchens continues to align with ZOFF Foods’ positioning around purity and consumption factors that are influencing purchase decisions in the spice and Ready to Cook segment.
Medianews4u.com caught up with Akash Agrawalla, Co-founder, ZOFF Foods
Q. ZOFF Foods’ consistent brand-building approach sees a lot of focus on trust, quality, and consumer reliability to add to its growth story. How has that helped it get repeat orders from consumers and grow market share?
At ZOFF Foods, our growth has come from a simple promise: clean processing, honest sourcing, and packaging that keeps spices fresh and convenient for the consumer. In a category where trust matters more than anything else, that consistency has helped us win repeat purchases and build stronger consumer confidence over time.
Q. For 2026 what goals have been set and what is the gameplan to get there?
For 2026, our focus is on scaling the business with sharper offline execution, deeper GT penetration, and continued expansion in modern trade and quick commerce. Publicly, we have spoken about targeting around ₹200 crore revenue in FY26, while building distribution more aggressively across UP, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and nearby North markets.
Q. Factors such as superior customer service, flexibility of choices, and the sheer convenience of shopping have taken precedence over mere product innovation. How is ZOFF Foods adapting its strategy in 2026, keeping this in mind?
Consumers today want convenience without compromising on quality, so our strategy is to make it easier to buy ZOFF Foods across the channels they already use. That means a stronger presence in quick commerce, modern trade, and general trade, along with categories like ready-to-cook gravies and marinades that fit modern kitchen habits.
Q. What has Shilpa Shetty brought to the table for ZOFF Foods? What is the main reason for the nine year partnership?
Shilpa has brought credibility, recall, and a very strong fit with ZOFF’s trust-led positioning. In public statements, we have said her presence supports our premium, healthier-choice positioning, and the partnership has now extended into its ninth year because it is rooted in long-term brand alignment, not just endorsement.
Q. What marketing campaigns and innovations can we expect in the coming months?
We will keep building on the “Khadey Masale Matlab ZOFF” platform, and the association with Shilpa continues to be a strong brand story. On the product side, our focus remains on expanding the ready-to-cook range and adding more convenience-led offerings that fit how consumers are cooking today.
Q. What will the media mix be in 2026? Any change compared with 2025?
Digital will remain the core of our media mix, especially short-form video and performance-led social, because that is where we are seeing the strongest business impact. At the same time, we are becoming more balanced across the funnel, with offline expansion supporting scale and visibility alongside digital discovery and conversion.
Q. Last year ZOFF Foods named Chef Natasha Gandhi as digital ambassador to fuel digital-first growth. Will there be a greater focus on customising content in local languages to make it culturally relevant?
We are already seeing that creator-led, platform-native content works best when it feels authentic and relevant to the audience. So the approach in 2026 is less about broad messaging and more about sharper storytelling that matches consumer intent, buying behaviour, and the channel it appears on.
Q. Nano creators are prioritised for their authentic engagement, while celebrities enhance visibility. Will both be equally important in 2026?
Both will matter, but for different reasons. Nano creators bring credibility, engagement, and authenticity, while celebrities help us scale visibility and recall; the right mix depends on the campaign’s objective. That balance has already been part of how we think about digital-first marketing at ZOFF Foods.
Q. What role will experiential marketing play for ZOFF Foods through a presence in malls, food festivals etc? If there is anything.
For categories like spices and ready-to-cook products, experiential marketing can be powerful because consumers connect quickly when they taste, smell, and experience the product firsthand. We see value in selective sampling, food festivals, and high-intent activations that help convert curiosity into trial.
Q. Is AI also making it easier to strike a balance between brand building and performance marketing?
Yes, AI is making the balance more efficient by improving targeting, measurement, and optimisation across formats. In the broader FMCG market, advertisers are already using AI-led automation and leaning more into digital because it gives clearer ROI visibility and better control over performance-led campaigns.
Q. How is the partnership with Reliance Retail last year to foray into the Ready-to-Cook segment helping the company grow?
Our offline journey has been strengthened through modern trade, including Reliance Fresh, while we expand the ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat portfolio. That combination gives us more reach, better shelf visibility, and a stronger bridge between online discovery and offline conversion.
Q. What impact are Gen Z and Gen Alpha having on the Indian spice market? Growth for ZOFF Foods and the category?
Younger consumers are pushing the category toward premiumisation, convenience, and experimentation. That is good for the branded spice market overall, and it creates a strong opening for ZOFF Foods because our portfolio is built around freshness, convenience, and newer formats rather than only traditional spice buying.
