By Subhojit Panda
Indian foods are incomplete without spices and herbs. They not only enhance the flavor and taste but also carry several health benefits with it. The spice brands have also done their bit to take the aroma of Indian spices to every nook and corner of the world. One such home-grown brand that has not only been ruling the Indian spice market for over three decades but also popularized the Indian spices overseas is Swadist Spices. Founded by Hemant Kumar Agarwal and Sandeep Kumar Agarwal, Swadist Spices is known globally for its healthy, nutritious and affordable spice and food products.
Born and raised in Cuttack, Hemant grew up watching his grandfather and father who were actively involved in the spice business. He and his brother Sandeep would often assist them at work when they were too young. After completing his education, Hemant decided to follow in their footsteps and ventured into the spice segment in 1989 with the support of his brother. “Back then, the spice market was at a nascent stage. Not many brands were available in the market. Therefore, it was decided to start a spice venture that offered quality spice products at pocket-friendly prices. Thus, Agarwal Spices & Food Processors came into existence,” he reminisces.
But success didn’t come completely out of the blue. The brothers had to overcome numerous hurdles and challenges to realise their dreams. They exhausted their savings to set up a manufacturing plant and procured a few machineries as well. “A major percentage of Indian population bought loose spices which are cheaper in price but it causes considerable harm to our health. If the same spices were packed nicely and sold at affordable rates, they would work better. Therefore, we started selling our spice products in packaged form under the brand name ‘Swadist Spices’, which was a relatively new concept those days,” he said. The brothers would depend on word-of-mouth for establishing the brand name. Gradually, Swadist started gaining loyal customers and its products began making its way into everybody’s household. They then added more products to their catalogue that became an instant hit among the consumers.
Today, Swadist boasts of an impressive 80+ products which are second to none. The best spices and herbs are handpicked from specific places across India and are diligently processed using the most sophisticated cold grinding technology. The brand differentiates itself from its competitors by guaranteeing chemical-free products of highest quality. “We are extremely thankful to our consumers who have shown immense faith and confidence in us from the beginning. This has always motivated us to come up with innovative products. Further, we never add any artificial colour or preservative to our products because for us, health and safety of customers are our foremost priority,” he opined.
The FSSAI-approved company has won several awards nationally and internationally for its high quality products. Swadist products have been showcased and appreciated at international food exhibitions held at Singapore & Dubai. After consolidating the Indian households, the brand has penetrated the Middle East market as well. Hemant shares that plans are afoot to set up a re-packing unit there soon.
It is quite interesting to note here that at a time when the Indian entrepreneurship is filled with patchy partnership stories, the strong bonding of Hemant and his brother Sandeep has been critical to their entrepreneurial success. While Deepak handles the Research and Development, including the package designing and manufacturing, Hemant takes care of Marketing, Sales and brand building,
Apart from business, Hemant and his brother Sandeep have interests in philanthropic activities as well. The duo has been on their toes ever since the pandemic struck the state. The brothers have tirelessly served the covid-affected families by providing cooked food to them. That apart, dry ration has been provided to several needy people in Cuttack district for over a year now. Most importantly, the brothers joined hands with the district administration to set up a covid care centre in Cuttack. For the uninitiated, the company honours meritorious students and budding talents of Cuttack district every year in a bid to encourage the young minds towards the nation building process.
Hemant also raised concerns over the rampant food and beverage adulteration during the covid pandemic outbreak and focused on consumer awareness and stringent measures to check them. “It is unfair to play with the health of consumers. While the state government is doing its bit to control it, the consumers also have a major role to play here. They are becoming more health conscious and choosing the right products. We, at Swadist Masala, have always advocated the use of right and quality products and would continue to do so,” says he.
Going ahead, Swadist plans to geographically expand its presence and continue to diversify its existing product line by introducing several immunity-based food and spice products. In addition to this, they are mulling to soon set up a seed processing plant to manufacture different types of seeds for daily consumption purposes. “We want to make it a global brand and a household name in India and continue delivering tasty, fresh and high quality products to our customers around-the-year,” Hemant concluded.
