Why I started Iya Spices

People often ask me, “Why did you start a spice brand?”

The answer, for me, is quite simple.

As a mother, I have always tried to make thoughtful choices about what I put on my family’s table. Over the years, I started moving away from packaged biscuits, chips and snacks and choosing more of the food we grew up eating at home like Namak pare, Mathri.

The spices we use every single day.

Growing up, I had seen my mother make her own spice mixes at home. She chose her spices, roasted them, ground them and stored them carefully. There were no complicated recipes or measurements. She simply knew.

The food always tasted like home.

But life has changed. Our kitchens are busier, our days are fuller, and we don’t always have the time to make everything from scratch.

I wanted to find a way to keep that feeling of homemade food, while making it a little easier for today’s kitchens.

So I started looking more closely at spice blends. I wanted to understand the ingredients, the process and, most importantly, what I would feel comfortable using every day in my own kitchen.

And when I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for, I decided to make it myself.

That’s how Iya Spices was born.

“Iya” means grandmother in Bihar. I chose this name because when I was wondering what name to keep ..my childhood friend made me do brain storming as to what comes to your mind when you think of food, cooking, spices…and all I could think was my mother and my dadi’s kitchen.. smelling food being cooked while you are still sleeping early morning.. the sound of sil batta..

Iya is still a small business, and I hope it always remains that way in spirit.

Every batch we make is personal. Every message from a customer means something to us. And every time someone tells me that an Iya masala reminded them of home, it reminds me why I started this journey in the first place.

I didn’t start Iya because I thought the world needed another spice brand.

I started it because I wanted the kind of masalas I would happily keep on my own kitchen shelf.

And slowly, I found that there were many of you looking for the same thing.