Building Phoran: 3 Years of Spice Obsession

Year One: Learning What We Didn’t Know

The first year of building Phoran was mostly an education in how much we didn’t know.

We knew we wanted to make honest spices. We knew the market was full of adulterated products. We knew there was a gap between what Indian home cooks deserved and what they were getting. What we didn’t know was how complicated the supply chain between a spice farm and a kitchen actually is.

Turmeric, for example. We knew we wanted Erode turmeric — the variety from Tamil Nadu’s Erode district that has naturally high curcumin content and a deep, earthy flavour. What we didn’t know was that “Erode turmeric” on a wholesale market label means almost nothing. To actually get Erode turmeric, you have to go to Erode. So we went.

The Sourcing Trips

Over the first eighteen months, we visited growing regions across India. Erode and Salem in Tamil Nadu for turmeric. Idukki and Wayanad in Kerala for cardamom. Unjha in Gujarat for cumin. Rajasthan for red chillies. Andhra Pradesh for coriander.

The most important thing we learned: the farmers who grow the best spices are not the ones selling at the highest volumes. The best quality comes from smaller farms with more careful practices. These farms require relationships, not just purchase orders.

The Failed Batches

We don’t talk about the failed batches enough. There were several.

Our first garam masala blend was too heavy on clove. The second had cardamom that was lower quality than expected. We reformulated. The third version was close. The fourth is what we sell today.

Our biryani masala took six iterations. The challenge is balance — complex enough to stand up to long cooking, but not so dominant it overwhelms the dish. Getting the ratio right required cooking a lot of biryani. We are not complaining. This is the work.

Year Two: Building the Systems

By the second year, we had our sourcing relationships in place and our blends dialled in. The challenge shifted to consistency. How do you ensure batch 47 tastes the same as batch 12, when you’re sourcing from small farms where quality varies season to season?

The answer is: you can’t guarantee it completely. What you can do is taste every batch, test every batch, and be honest when a batch isn’t up to standard. We have rejected sourcing lots that didn’t meet our threshold. We have paid more than market price to secure quality we trusted. This is what small-batch processing actually means.

Year Three: What We’ve Learned

Freshness is the most undervalued quality in spices. A fresh spice from a mid-tier source will outperform a stale spice from a premium source every time.

Transparency builds trust slowly. Most customers don’t think about where their spices come from until they’ve tasted the difference. Then they can’t stop thinking about it.

The farmers are the brand. Everything we sell starts with a farmer making a decision about how to grow, harvest, and dry a spice. Our job is to find the farmers making the right decisions.

This is a long game. We are not trying to be the biggest spice brand in India. We are trying to be the most trusted one.

What’s Next

We are expanding our whole spice range, deepening our sourcing relationships, and continuing to write about spices in a way that makes Indian home cooks more informed and more demanding. Demanding customers make better markets.

If you’ve been with us since the beginning — thank you. If you’re new here — welcome. Try one product. Taste the difference.

Shop Panch Phoron Six-Spice Bundle → | Shop Premium Garam Masala → | Shop Pure Turmeric →

Frequently Asked Questions

Who founded Phoran Masala?

Phoran Masala was founded by a team obsessed with the quality gap in the Indian spice market. The brand is built on direct sourcing relationships with farmers across India’s premium spice-growing regions.

Where does Phoran source its spices?

Turmeric from Erode and Salem (Tamil Nadu), cardamom from Idukki and Wayanad (Kerala), cumin from Unjha (Gujarat), red chillies from Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.

What does small-batch mean for Phoran?

It means we process in quantities that allow us to taste, test, and quality-check every batch before it ships. Our products are fresher than large-volume alternatives because we’re not sitting on months of inventory.

Are Phoran spices organic?

We prioritise working with farmers who use minimal or no synthetic pesticides and test our products for purity. Our focus is on quality and purity — the same values that organic certification is meant to represent.