ZOFF is a modern spices brand selling whole spices and masalas that prioritise freshness, transparency and cleaner everyday cooking
For decades, the Indian spices market has presented a paradox. Valued at a robust $17.3 Bn in 2024, homegrown masalas are steeped in ancient culinary traditions known for their rich flavours and health benefits. However, consumer trust has gradually slipped away, as concerns about adulteration, excessive processing and murky sourcing now cast a shadow.
Today, most people buy their masalas based on brand familiarity or price point, rather than genuinely trusting the contents of the pack. Raipur-based ZOFF (Zone of Fresh Foods), launched commercially in 2018 by brothers Akash Agrawalla and Ashish Agrawal, recognised this complacency among modern consumers and decided to challenge it, as spice purity had become an assumption rather than a verified fact. While labels claimed to offer quality, very few brands allowed consumers to see, smell, or judge what they were buying.
Zoff took a contrarian approach to legacy FMCG brands, leading with whole spices rather than powders, where adulteration and loss of natural oils are hardest to detect. The rationale: if consumers could visually verify the product, trust would follow.
Coping With Killer Heat & Freshness Trap
TL;DR: Coming from a family of steelmakers, they soon spotted an opportunity as they expanded their portfolio beyond whole spices.
Coming from a family of steelmakers, they soon spotted an opportunity as they expanded their portfolio beyond whole spices.
For powdered spices, which traditionally require aggressive grinding, friction can generate high heat, effectively ‘cooking’ the spice and evaporating the essential oils that give it its flavour and aroma.
To counter this, ZOFF adopted cool-grind processing using air-classifying mills (ACMs) to keep grinding temperatures low and protect the spices’ natural oils and aroma. Each batch is quality-checked, and multi-layer aroma-lock packaging helps retain freshness.
ZOFF sources spices from origin regions and has built backward integration into growing regions across Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to strengthen quality control at the source.
But the bigger challenge was behaviour, not supply.
India’s spice aisle is shaped by habit: legacy brands dominate, and price often drives the purchase. ZOFF countered this with patient, ground-up execution: retail advocacy, sampling and education-led selling to shift how consumers evaluate masalas.
Its messaging stayed consistent across channels, making the case that spices deserve the same scrutiny as any everyday food staple, with celebrity endorsements used sparingly to reinforce credibility.
Scaling Via Q-Commerce And Multi-Channel Distribution
TL;DR: ZOFF began with a strong general trade presence and a limited range.
ZOFF began with a strong general trade presence and a limited range. As distribution grew, it made calculated expansions. Whole spices were reinforced as the hero category, while ecommerce and quick commerce were scaled aggressively to match changing urban buying patterns.
The brand now reaches 25 Lakh households, with more than 100 SKUs. It also extended into ready-to-cook gravies and marinades and claimed to be the fastest-growing spice brand on quick commerce platforms in 2025.
Today, 50% of ZOFF’s sales come from quick commerce, 20% from ecommerce and the remaining from modern and general trade. In FY25, its revenue surged from ₹92.6 Cr in FY24 to ₹102.7 Cr, up 11% year-on-year.
Building An ₹1K Cr F&B Brand
TL;DR: In the near term, the focus remains on profitability, tighter working capital cycles, and deeper penetration across quick commerce and modern trade.
In the near term, the focus remains on profitability, tighter working capital cycles, and deeper penetration across quick commerce and modern trade.
In the long term, ZOFF wants to build an ₹1,000 Cr+ food brand that stands for trust, transparency and modern Indian cooking.
Curated by James Chen
