- Specialist food manufacturer Spice Kitchen accesses new international markets with DBT support
- Co-founder Sanjay Aggarwal explains their journey and offers advice for Liverpool City Region businesses
Spice Kitchen is a specialist food manufacturer based in Liverpool City Region. Founded in 2012 by mother and son team Shashi and Sanjay Aggarwal, Spice Kitchen has carved a niche for itself with its unique offerings inspired by home-made spice blends. What started out as a hobby for Shashi and her treasured 100 year-old spice blender has evolved into a multi award winning brand operating out of an office and warehouse space in Liverpool.
Having built a network of 500+ retailers in the UK, and published their first cookbook, Shashi and Sanjay knew the time had come to take Spice Kitchen to the world stage. For them, ensuring access to markets and facilitating export opportunities was crucial for their growth. This is where support from the Department for Business and Trade has been vital.
They went on a mission to New York as part of the Department for Business and Trade’s ‘Big in America’ initiative and, more recently, went to Las Vegas to pitch to independent retailers resulting in them securing multiple deals. Outside of the USA, they have also been on several trade missions with DBT over the last 4 years including Ireland, Dubai, Belgium, Prague and Paris.
Speaking of the support they have received so far Sanjay said:
“The Department for Business and Trade have been such a big help on our exporting journey. We have an amazing International Trade Advisor, who always offers excellent advice, and have received wider support from food and drink sector experts within DBT.
“We have also had the opportunity to connect with other UK brands on similar export journeys. We have learnt so much just from talking to our peers. For us it has reduced the fear of exporting as we have realised how much opportunity and business is out there and how easy it actually is to trade globally.”
Looking to the future Spice Kitchen have ambitions for further expansion into the USA with Sanjay explaining:
“We have a dream to become more of a household name and for people in the US to fall in love with our blends by cooking more amazing food at home.”
Having first hand experience of the growth that is possible through exporting, Sanjay has advice for other Liverpool City Region companies who are looking to access new international markets.
He says:
“Without question, get in touch with the Department for Business and Trade and get matched with a local representative who can help you on your journey. I did this right from the start and have received amazing guidance along the way which saved so much time, money and energy. I’ve realised that there is a whole world of opportunity out there for Spice Kitchen which I wouldn’t have known about had I not reached out for that support in the first instance.
“There is a brilliant, supportive UK community of small businesses who are at different stages of their export journey and have all learned lessons along the way. Whether you need to chat to someone exporting in your specific sector, in your target export market, or both, seek out this support online or at trade shows – it really makes all the difference to hear these personal experiences.”
Are you looking to start or grow your export activities?
Liverpool City Region businesses looking to start or expand their export journey can access fully funded support through our UKSPF funded export programme. Benefit from a free business diagnostic tool which will result in an export action plan, this will identify barriers, market opportunities, research needs and export funding requirements. Companies with funding requirements will be referred to the Business Growth Team for consideration for export grants that might be available up to January 2025.