ABOUT US

Our story

We are a family-run spice company founded in 2012 by mother and son duo Shashi and Sanjay Aggarwal. Everything we do is rooted in Shashi’s deep knowledge of spices and Indian Masalas and is powered by Sanjay’s love of cooking with flavours from around the world.

Sanjay says: "The idea that became Spice Kitchen was born on Christmas Day 2012, as mum (Shashi Aggarwal) and I chatted about how nice it would be to create a spice-filled masala dabba for people to gift to their food-loving family and friends. What started with our Indian Spice Tin, packed with essential Indian spices and mum’s (now multi-award winning!) garam masala, has grown into a small but beautiful range of careful blends inspired by vibrant dishes from all over the world. There’s something to suit every budding cook and budget: from the chilli heads and the curry-obsessed, to the gin collector or someone falling in love with Middle Eastern cooking."

Mamma Spice's story

We have become pretty famous for our signature Indian Spice Tin, and right at the beginning of our journey Mum decided to sew recycled silk saris to ‘dress’ the tins beautifully.

To this day, our customers tell us that this detail makes our products super special. Mum now employs a team of seamstresses who help her to make the saris, and she’s always conscious of hiring people who are socially disadvantaged and who might struggle to find work elsewhere. This is just one of the ways she is truly an extraordinary human. 

Shashi says: "Food has always been at the heart of my life, serving as a means of expressing love to my family. I can't recall a single day of my adult life when I didn't cook something. My home has always been open to extended family members seeking to build a life in the UK, and the tradition was to gather around our kitchen table upon their arrival, sharing a hearty meal while discussing their hopes and dreams for the future. This dining table has been the starting point for numerous new beginnings, made even more special with a lovingly prepared family meal. It is the very same dining table where my son, Sanjay, and I conceived the idea for our family business, Spice Kitchen, in 2012. Naturally, any business venture we pursued was bound to involve spices. Now, in my seventh decade, I am delighted to share my passion for food with people from all corners of the world."

Starting out

When we were just starting out, I started small and pitched up at Altrincham Market with a makeshift sign and some wooden tables, selling tins and serving mulled wine, often in freezing conditions. Spice Kitchen has come so far since those days! 

We began to push further afield, attending the BBC Good Food Show and were approached to appear on the Hairy Bikers. Me and mum were asked to cook for the CEO of eBay and his team, and from there, things just mushroomed! We won several industry awards, including the prestigious Gift of the Year and the Great Taste Awards for our family Garam Masala recipe. 

Growing

Then, as things started to really take off, we found our first little manufacturing space in Cheshire. We expanded our product range from our flagship Indian Spice Tin into Middle Eastern, World, International Chilli, Moroccan and Gin Botanicals collections. I even created a special range of spice blends for babies called Baby Spice Kitchen after seeing how well my daughter Zara responded to new flavours.

We were truly fortunate to continue to be open throughout the pandemic, and as people started to cook more from home, lots of new customers found us as they were keen to experiment with spices. Because Spice Kitchen has always been about sharing mine and mum’s love of cooking at home, it was the perfect chance for us to develop loads of recipes to help inspire people to cook amazing meals while in lockdown. 

The present day

In 2023, we released our first cookery book, Spice Kitchen – published by Quadrille Books. We’re available across hundreds of retailers, including John Lewis, Selfridges, Notcutts, Oxfam, Social Supermarket and internationally too…not to mention 100’s of independent farm shops, delis & garden centres across the UK.

In 2021, we moved to a larger office and warehouse space in Liverpool, and this has really completed the dream as we can support so many more of our lovely customers. I’m doing what I can to make a difference in the world in the small ways I can, essentially trying to follow in mum’s footsteps… All of the staff who work with us receive a fair/living wage, and I’m also super passionate about helping young people, and we’ve been giving work opportunities to those struggling to find work via the government’s Kickstart Programme. 

During all of this, the team started to grow bigger and stronger, and without them, I know none of this could have been possible.

I’m always so humbled by how much people love what we do… and every day when I open the doors, I am grateful that I get to do something so amazing. It’s literally a dream come true. 

Giving Back

Grounded in strong ethical and community values, we believe in giving back to the causes that matter to us.

Here are some of the incredible organisations that receive support through the purchase of products we sell at Spice Kitchen.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation

We are so honoured to be able to support the work of this incredible charity. Akshaya Patra are working to support children in education with free a free meal at lunchtime, so they can choose their schooling over working to feed themselves.

For every spice tin we sell, we donate enough to buy one school meal for a child in education in India. Just by buying one of our spice tins, you are contributing to a massive wave of support that is making a real and genuine difference to the lives of so many young people. 

Curry for Change

A fundraising organisation that harnesses people’s love of curry to help change the lives of rural families in Asia and Africa who suffer from hunger. When someone wishes to host a fundraising event as part of a Curry for Change night, we are happy to donate the spices!

Contact us to find out more or click here to learn about the Cook a Curry initiative.