Meet Raipur Brothers Who Launched A Pure Masala Brand With Zip-lock Packs & Shook Up Players Like Everest & Catch - Clocked Rs 92 Cr Revenue

Back in 2018, two brothers from Raipur, Akash Agrawalla and Ashish Agrawal, saw that the Indian spice industry grappled with multiple problem statements like adulteration and preservative-laden final products.

They decided to address these gaps by launching a spice brand that focused on offering modern, hygienic, and organic spices.

“India is a leading exporter of spices, but both the domestic and foreign markets demand repeatable consistency. That comes with automation at scale. Ashish and I decided to use the air-cooled grinding and the no-human-touch method of processing. That changed everything,” Akash Agrawalla, co-founder of Zoff Foods, tells Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview.

Founded in 2018 and based in Raipur, Zoff Foods is a spice brand known for using cool grinding technology that keeps the aroma and nutrients of the spices intact.

In FY24, it clocked an annual revenue of Rs 92.66 crore.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Hailing from Raipur, Akash Agrawalla and Ashish Agrawal are brothers who come from a family that operated a steel business.

Both of them hold an MBA degree from the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), New Delhi.

Right after college, the brothers started handling their family business of a steel plant.

“It was here that we understood the importance of excellent quality, automation, and scale,” entrepreneur Ashish Agrawal says.

In around 2015, they decided to pivot the family steel business and enter the Indian spice procurement and manufacturing industry.

The reason was simple, they saw multiple gaps that needed to be resolved:

• Numerous spice brands, both established and local, were selling adulterated packets of spices
• The processing technique that the brands used would often leave the spices heat-damaged.
• Authenticity was a claim, but low transparency was the reality.

“We understood that consumers needed trust along with speed and ease of cooking,” Akash Agrawalla remarks.

In 2018, they decided to establish Zoff Foods as an Indian spice brand that not just plugged the above gaps but also produced pure spices with a hygiene-first approach.

Read More: Brother-Sister Duo From Delhi Start A Spinny-like Startup For Refurbished Fridges, Washing Machines, ACs – Serve 5,000+ Customers In 1 Year

JOURNEY AND CHALLENGES

Initially, startup founders Akash Agrawalla and Ashish Agrawal bootstrapped Zoff Foods using promoter resources and built a fully automated, hygiene-first plant in Raipur.

“Approximately Rs 25 crore was invested to build this plant,” Ashish Agrawal tells Startup Pedia.

Later, they raised Rs 40 crore from a Series A funding round led by JM Financial. This amount went into scaling the supply chain and introducing more product categories.

One of the primary things that the entrepreneurs did at Zoff Foods was to utilize the cool grinding and no-human-touch processing method in India for the first time.

They procured seeds, flower buds, stigmas, and roots from well-known, credible vendors and started manufacturing the spices.

“Quality assurance has always been the topmost priority for us. We invested in developing stringent quality checks and convenient packaging,” startup founder Akash Agrawalla mentions.

When Zoff started launching zip-lock packs for spices, no other brand in the market was doing the same. Along with clean processing, this fresh packaging style became an instant differentiator for the spice brand.

Through the journey, one of the major challenges for the startup founders was to acquire talent and help them relocate to a Tier II city like Raipur.

“We had to provide fresh talent with tangible career paths as well as relocation support,” Ashish explains.

Additionally, Zoff Foods battled with a very strong perception barrier. In a market dominated by legacy brands like Everest and Catch that had already become household names, the Raipur-based brand had to establish its own identity and attract consumer trust.

“We did that by showcasing our certifications, opening our factory for visits, and popularizing our easy-to-use ziplock packaging,” entrepreneur Akash Agrawalla tells Startup Pedia.

The next step for Akash and Ashish was to penetrate the general market (local kirana shops, stores, and traditional retail). They started by offering better trade margins to retailers and distributors.

Next, they worked on creating a product mix that aligned with regional tastes to fulfill local demand.

They also improved their warehousing systems and started establishing a reliable partner network to plan inventory and minimize delivery delays.

In 2020, Zoff Foods launched on D2C marketplaces and started scaling into channels like quick commerce and general trade.

To improve visibility and drive sales, the team partnered with influencers for campaigns and ran performance marketing ads. Also, Ashish and Akash began focusing on trial packs to remove resistance and help people use and taste the spice.

“This was when we could see that customers appreciated our clean processing ways. The Zoff Foods’ brand trust was on the rise. Our zip-lock packs were a hit,” entrepreneur Ashish Agrawal says.

“By 2021, we were already dabbling in multiple products like whole spices, ground spices, and dry fruits. In 2025, we introduced ready-to-cook gravies. These cooking solutions helped solve the daily hassle of long prep time in the kitchen,” Akash Agrawalla tells Startup Pedia.

Read More: Indore Founders Launch “Superpower Patches” That You Can Slap On To Instantly Sleep, Exercise, Work, & Focus Better

ZOFF FOODS: FROM CHALLENGER TO LEADING PLAYER

In the Indian packaged spice industry, Zoff Foods, despite starting later than other legacy brands, has become one of the fastest-growing players.

With an omnichannel presence across modern trade, general trade, e-commerce, and quick commerce, Zoff Foods:

• Procures raw materials through some of the leading vendors across India, who in turn source directly from the country's farmers.

“This helps us ensure consistent quality, traceability, and fair value at source,” Akash Agrawalla says.

• Utilizes the air-cooled grinding technology that keeps the essential oils, colour, nutrients, and aroma of the spices intact.
• Follows a hygienic, no-human-touch automated manufacturing process with stringent quality checks at every stage.

Offers technology-led packaging with unique zip-lock pouches that lock freshness and reduce wastage.

Currently, the brand offers a variety of products including seasoning mixes, pure powdered spices, whole spices, dry fruits, combo packs, ready-to-cook 5-minute gravies, and 1-minute marinades.

From ginger-garlic pastes and pizza flavouring like oregano and chilli flakes, to turmeric, black salt, vegetable masala, meat masala, pav bhaji masala, sambhar masala, roasted jeera masala, etc, — the spice brand has numerous product categories.

Currently, it has an offline presence in 10,000+ stores as well as online presence across e-commerce channels like Flipkart and Amazon and quick-commerce channels like Zepto, Instamart, and Blinkit.

“If India is to dominate global markets in spices, we need gentle-temperature processing, source integrity, robust testing, sterilization standards, and residue controls. Then, of course, SKUs that meet global meal planning standards and packaging that preserves freshness,” Ashish Agrawal says, when asked about the next shift in the Indian spice industry.

Read More: Meet India’s 1st Sports Social Media App ‘Dugout’ Built By A Hyderabad-based IIT-IIM Alumnus; Gets 2 Lakh+ Downloads In Just A Year

THE NUMBERS

Having served more than 2 million customers since inception, Zoff Foods has seen a steady rise in its annual revenue.

In FY21, the brand clocked Rs 25.79 crore as annual revenue. This figure spiked to Rs 58.18 crore in FY22 and touched Rs 53.88 crore in FY23.

It clocked an annual revenue of Rs 92.66 crore in FY24 and Rs 100 crore+ (unaudited figure) in FY25.

Zoff Foods projects closing FY26 at Rs 170 crore to Rs 180 crore.

“We are working on a mix of category development, expansion into newer geographies, and deepening our retail footprint across India. At the same time, our focus will remain on building a brand narrative that resonates with every Indian household, celebrating everyday cooking, convenience, and authenticity,” Akash Agrawalla says.

Read More: Delhi Startup Founded By 2 Childhood Friends Lets You Exercise On Water – Becomes First-Ever Floating Fitness Brand In India