The Future of Flavor is here

The Future of Flavor is here

Why we invested in The Cumin Club

This past June, we closed a seed investment in The Cumin Club, a just-add-water Indian meal brand. Co-Founders Ragoth and Harish were Indian ex-pats working in retail data & tech, and living in non-urban areas in the US, where there was a dearth of Indian food. Ragoth’s family began sending him freeze dehydrated Indian meals — meals cooked in India and dehydrated, which removes 2/3 of the weight and preserves the taste and nutritional content. The quality and taste of these meals were not just like home, they were literally 👏🏾from 👏🏾 home! With the support of their third Co-Founder, Kiru, the team has commercialized this process by making specific Indian regional meals and distributing them in the US and abroad.

The Future of Flavor is here

The Cumin Club is addressing many of the challenges that have stunted the growth of Indian food in America. The brand celebrates the unique flavors of the regions of India — creating a cross-cultural experience where people can experience flavors of the homeland in an incredibly convenient and delicious way and ex-pats can be surrounded by food like them whenever they want. And the timing is impeccable as Indian-Americans are clapping back to close-minded views on Indian food.

The Future of Flavor is here

Indian food is under penetrated when compared to other ethnic cuisines providing an immense market expansion opportunity. For example, there are comparable populations of Indian-Americans and Chinese-Americans though 10x more Chinese restaurants exist in America than Indian (30K to 3K). Further, there is increasing demand for plant-based food in the US, which has been the mainstay in Indian cuisine for hundreds of years.

The Future of Flavor is here

We are firm believers that brands who strengthen consumers’ relationship with food will win. We’ve seen this with Factor, The Fresh Factory, and Rise Gardens. Moreover, platform food brands are positioned to thrive, given food as a category plays in an endless market size — everyone eats. The Cumin Club product delivers on the holy trinity of taste, convenience, and value:

  • Taste: Product is 10x.
  • Convenience: 5 minutes time-to-mouth with no prep!
  • Value: $4.99 a meal.

And the Company is building beyond it’s direct-to-consumer product by powering virtual restaurants via The Cumin Bowl.

Needless to say, the founders, the business, and the brand are creating a consumer-obsessed experience where these meals become a pantry staple and this food becomes the next takeout comfort food.

Head over to thecuminclub.com and get your first set of meals today. My faves are Pav Bhaji and Moong Dal Sheera (the best dessert!).

Here’s to making The Cumin Club the world’s favorite Indian restaurant!

*Read more on the round and the Future of Flavor in PR Newswire’s article.

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