Turmeric or haldi is an essential ingredient in most Indian cooking. And now, the Indian diaspora is taking it to foreign markets.
And they’re lapping it up.
In 2017, Sana Javeri Kadri spotted an opportunity and used her $2,000 tax refund to start the aptly named DiasporaCo—a spice company serving a largely American clientele. The brand’s prodigal product is the single origin ‘Pragati’ turmeric, organically-grown in Andhra Pradesh, sold online and at hip locations in the US, like Berkeley’s Third Culture Bakery.
With a roster of four farmers today who also supply other spices like chili and cardamom, DiasporaCo is developing ties with 15 more, carefully testing their crops for pesticides.