Knowing when to walk away from a retailer or distribution deal that compromises a company’s values or profitability can protect startups from potentially financially disastrous arrangements — a lesson Tasting India learned the hard way.
Founded in 2020, Tasting India offers a range of spice blends inspired by regional Indian flavors, a Cardamom Filter Kaapi (coffee) and a Cutting Masala Chai, which are available primarily through its direct-to-consumer website and local farmer markets in Chicago.
Tasting India created East Indian Bottle Masala by “stalking East Indian aunties for answers” and blends earthy and smokey flavors with bell pepper, citrus and chipotle, the company shared on its product page.
Tasting India was started to fill a void in the market, where the rich history of India’s culinary history was not reflected in the products on the market, Sheth explained.
“If you look at the ‘ethnic aisle’ in grocery stores or even go to Indian restaurants across the US, I think there are very few dishes and flavors from a country of over 1.5 billion people that find their way on consumers' plates. So, with Tasting India, we aim to bring the breadth of the culinary tradition and heritage of the country by showcasing more regional cuisine varieties that represent the diaspora of Indian flavors,” Sheth said.
Tasting India was one of the startups that exhibited at the Startup CPG holiday event in Chicago, alongside Mez Foods, RMBR Kombucha, Tierra Negra and others.
Retail expansion ‘cannot be at the cost of compromising our values and our ethics’
In 2024, Tasting India was on the verge of launching into its largest retail channel - which would have sold thousands of its jars of chili crunch, Sheth explained. However, issues with the retailer arose the day of shipping, which made Sheth re-evaluate the importance of not compromising the brand’s mission for retail distribution.
“The day of the shipping of the product things just started to go south, where the clients started having unreasonable demands, started renegotiating the price,” Sheth said.
“We chose to walk away from that deal despite knowing that we would incur a huge financial loss. But what it really taught us is that from day one, we have been a very values-driven brand, and no matter what deal we want to strike, it cannot be at the cost of compromising our values and our ethics in business,” she added.
Despite this retail hiccup, Tasting India is expanding beyond its DTC roots in 2025 by attending trade shows and making retail connections, Sheth explained. While retail expansion is the eventual goal, Sheth is using trade shows to learn more about her business and how she can improve it.
“The biggest goal that I have for some of these trade shows is to really learn more about my business, get more feedback from people that are more experienced than us ─ that have done more work than us ─ get feedback on the product, try to perfect our pitch a little bit more because the pitch that you have to a direct to consumer client is very different from your retail buyers,” she elaborated.
