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In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, Caitlin Bricker welcomes Kartik Das, founder of Doosra, a modern Indian snack brand bringing a fresh perspective to South Asian flavors. Kartik shares his journey from growing up in Chennai and Singapore to building a food brand in New York that celebrates the rich, diverse snack culture of India. Drawing from his background as a classically trained French chef, he explains how Doosra combines the essence of traditional Indian snacks with unexpected twists—like a subtle touch of sweetness—to create unique, crave-worthy experiences.
Throughout the conversation, Kartik reflects on the inspiration behind Doosra’s name, which means “different” or “other,” and how it perfectly captures his approach to doing things his own way. He discusses the brand’s evolution—from humble beginnings at farmers’ markets with handmade packaging to its now-recognizable bright orange design and playful mascot, Ladu. Kartik also opens up about his deliberate decision to grow sustainably, focusing on building strong relationships with retailers, engaging directly with customers through sampling events, and prioritizing quality over rapid expansion.
Gain insight into the broader South Asian CPG movement, as Kartik highlights dozens of fellow brands driving awareness and collaboration within the category. He emphasizes the importance of community over competition, thoughtful branding, and authenticity in every aspect of business.
Tune in to hear how Doosra is redefining what it means to snack differently—and discover the power of culture, creativity, and connection behind every bite.
Listen in as they share about:
- Founding Doosra and the Brand’s Meaning
- The Flavor Philosophy
- Brand Identity and Packaging Evolution
- South Asian Representation in CPG
- Community and Growth Strategy
- Retail, Partnerships, and Product Testing
- Upcoming Collaborations and Initiatives
- Lessons for Entrepreneurs
Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:
- Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
- Join the Startup CPG Slack community (35K+ members and growing!)
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- Visit host Caitlin's Linkedin
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
- Episode music by Super Fantastics
You can find Little Sesame nationwide at retailers like Whole Foods and Sprouts, or order directly online. Visit eatlittlesesame.com —and use code STARTUPCPG for 20% off your order.
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Kartik Das
I'm not solving problems. I'm just trying to make people smile. And if we can do that. And through that, they learn more about the breadth of South Asian food and flavors and how there's a culture outside this country where we have a huge snack culture, people don't really know about it. Right. So like you said, if you crush a bag and now you're like, wow, there's so much more to explore, and there are so many brands in the South Asian space doing so many cool things.
00:35
Caitlin Bricker
Hey, everybody. This is Caitlin Bricker, editor at Startup cpg. We are back with another founder feature. Today we're talking with Kartik Das, founder of Doosra, an Indian snack mix with a modern twist that combines spice with unexpected sweetness. After working investment banking and hedge funds, Kartik went to culinary school during the pandemic before deciding to share his childhood snack culture with America. From hand packing every single bag in a queen's facility to building a community around Chai's missing sidekick, he's taking a deliberately slow approach to growth that prioritizes quality relationships over rapid expansion. I crushed an entire bag in one sitting and I have zero regrets about it. Enjoy this episode. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Startup CPG podcast. This is Kaitlyn, and today I'm here with Kartik Das, founder of Dooser. Kartik, welcome to the show.
01:33
Kartik Das
Thanks, Caitlyn. So much fun being here. Always a good time to chat.
01:36
Caitlin Bricker
I am so excited to have you here. I feel like I was so late to the Deucer party. I heard so many people talking about your brand after fancy food, and I was like, how did I miss the boat on this one? This was just, like, such a bad look, but I'm glad we're having this conversation. And shout out to literally everybody else in the universe who knew about your brand and experienced it before I did.
02:00
Kartik Das
Well, yeah, it's funny you say late to the game, but you guys were doing so much for 20 brands. We're right across from fancy food, so if you are sort of diverting your focus, you're not giving them the love you normally do, so you give them all the love. I'm happy to have this chat after.
02:13
Caitlin Bricker
Well, thank you for being here. And for anybody who's listening and might be like me in a previous life, if they don't know who Doosra is, can you just tell us what Dusa is very simply?
02:25
Kartik Das
Sure. If you boil it down, Doosra is an Indian snack mix with a modern twist. So if you walk into any South Asian house across the continent, they will welcome you with a glass of chai, usually, or filtered coffee, and something that's crunchy and salty and a little spiced. Right. Chai and coffee are on every pantry almost in the United States. But if chai's Batman, our snacks are Robin, and, you know, they go together. We're just trying to bring Robin to the party. But the name Doosra means different or other. And so while our snacks at the core of it are South Asian, they're Indian, they're spiced, they're ingredients from. From India. I'm a classically French trained chef, and I avoid, like, the combinations of sweet and savory.
03:04
Kartik Das
So since Doosra means different, I knew when were gonna showcase our snack culture, I was gonna do it my way a little differently. So we've got little sprinkling of sweet. That's a little nod to the way I enjoy eating our snacks.
03:16
Caitlin Bricker
I had never seen a flavor profile like you're achieving with Dusera. I was like, okay, so I get spicy. Like, I've had Aztec chocolate before and things like that, but this is nothing. Like, I had tasted that spice and then the chocolate together. I think you have a little bit on your website about how they're just like crushable bags. You can eat it. It's. It's addicting. It's valid. I ate it in an entire sitting. I didn't feel bad about it afterwards, but I was like, wow, okay, he's on to something.
03:50
Kartik Das
I think a lot of times in this space, a lot of folks are trying to just solve problems or fitness or knee space. I always start with, I'm not solving problems. I'm just trying to make people smile. And if we can do that. And through that, they learn more about the breadth of South Asian food and flavors and how there's a culture outside this country where we have a huge snack culture. People don't really know about it, Right? So like you said, if you crush a bag and now you're like, wow, there's so much more to explore. And there are so many brands in the South Asian space doing so many cool things that are. Some of them are very authentic and traditional. Some of them are authentic to their lived experiences here.
04:25
Kartik Das
And then the really fun part is the consumer now gets to try, like, 50 more things that are delicious and you can sort of fit into your everyday life.
04:31
Caitlin Bricker
Not to take the spotlight off of Dooser, but do you have any brands in particular that come to mind when you think about those flavors.
04:39
Kartik Das
Yeah.
04:40
Caitlin Bricker
Oh.
04:40
Kartik Das
Oh, my God. Okay, so get ready for this. All right, so I think when South Asian foods first come into cpg, you had three or four folks kind of like running it on their own, right? Your Maya Kamal's been doing it forever. Brooklyn Deli, Sukis, Saffron Road, and more recently, Asha Pops. And all of them were doing it almost in silos. They were talking, they were trying to convince a customer who wasn't familiar with cuisine. But now there are like, I've got 50 off the top of my head that I can tell you, right? So, you know, in salsas and meals, you've got Arias, you've got House of Kajana, you've got Chef Bombay Masala, Gossip Masala Bliss, Cumin Club, Ojaswi Home Buys, Simran Cooks, Garam Goddess. People, people. Paro Ajis Drush Iks, Akshliko, Kalo and groi. And that's just in sauces and dips, right?
05:23
Kartik Das
Then what we're known for are spices. You've got the big boys like Spice Wala and Diaspora. But then you've also got chutney punch. You've got Potty Life Tasting India Sorcery, Satya Blends Pure spice. And then if you want to have a little fun with it, you go to the snack section, right? You've got what we do. You've got Rishi snacks, you've got keas, you've got Pulpito, you've got Niramaya, who's doing that with pretzels. You've got Chika Babo's Kitchen Heritage Kulfi elements, truffles like Confusion Snacks, Babu Dosa chips, Talkback Zip Fruit. I think you guys got a chance to try, and that's without even going to beverage, right? So naturally, you've got chai. You've got your chai boxes and coconut chai Soul Chai looks like that. But then you've got Sinwise Coffee Transcendence. You've got Bolly Good and Junglee, right?
06:07
Kartik Das
You've got Rupi Beer, who's doing in the beer space. There's so many of us, it's kind of insane. And you can sort of pick your entry point, right? And the. The beauty of doing all this together is we're making a market together and that helps everybody else. So I'm just so grateful to be able to do it now. But we also know that we're doing it sort of standing on the shoulders. Giants, right? Late great Floyd Cardo. You've got Padma Lakshmi doing Stuff. You've got Swadesi in Chicago. There's so many small places talking about South Asian food culture and now we get to do it on shelf.
06:37
Caitlin Bricker
I have to say I've probably interviewed maybe two dozen brands are coming up on that at this point, since I've taken the mic for this series and I have never witnessed somebody thus far who's called out so many brands. And I think it says a lot a about the CPG community in general. And I think it says a lot about you as a founder. So I'm really interested and curious about your perspective about how brands are winning in the space together and how that piece goes towards educating when it comes to these flavors.
07:10
Kartik Das
That's always a tough question. Right. I think we're talking about. You spoke to Figa a few weeks ago, a few months ago. Right. And I think what they're doing with Kupuasu is so cool. But you need three or four other folks who are talking about it so everybody can showcase the ingredient. And that I think for South Asian food, it's about. It isn't about an ingredient at this point. It is about creating familiarity and reducing, like that barrier to trial. Right. Because we're a billion people, we think we've got food and flavor down. But every time you're trying something new, there's naturally, like a little hesitation, like, do I want to spend money on something where I don't know how it's going to taste?
07:46
Kartik Das
And so I think the beauty of it is if there's so many of us, I told you 50 brands, but they're probably 50 I'm missing. Right. And every single one of us, what we're doing together is breaking down that barrier of, oh, this might not taste good or this could be scary, or the difference between spice and spicy. Right. Common misconception when it comes to South Asian food. And so I think that's what we can do together. And at the end of the day, there will be competition. There are a few of us doing similar things in similar spaces, but we are all on a very early part of our journey where I think we're all five, six, seven years away from actually competing with each other. I don't think we're taking money out of someone else's. Not sharing basket space yet.
08:22
Kartik Das
There will come a point, but I think for now we're just building this market together. And then hopefully retailers in the US realize that we're not three items in an ethnic shelf, but there's a possibility of a section where you can Go and discover this cuisine. So no, we'll see. But I'm hopeful.
08:38
Caitlin Bricker
I am hopeful too. You mentioned a little bit about your background with French cuisine. Before we get too deep into this conversation, I need to hear more about your background and what from your background led you to do Syrah.
08:52
Kartik Das
Absolutely. So I was born in the south of India in Chennai, which is where chef from Sema, which is like the best restaurant is from. But I moved to Singapore when I was a kid. So I like to say I'm a third culture kid. I grew up with the South Asian culture in Singapore, which is combination of Chinese, Malay, Indian and a whole bunch of other things. And I really found myself when I came to the States, right. So that's nice. Those are three cultures combining. But I always wanted to work for myself and I always wanted to work in food. But when I came here, I went to school for hospitality. I ended up working investment banking, believe it or not.
09:23
Kartik Das
Needed a visa when came through, did that for a couple of years, went to a logistics shop for a couple of years, went back to a hedge fund. And then one day I woke up on my birthday and I was like, what am I doing with my life? I wanted to tell food stories and I wanted to showcase my food culture. And it was about finding that right spot. But most people who talk about food don't really understand how difficult it is to behind the stove. Right. It's a grueling lifestyle. It's difficult. So I needed to understand that. So I went to culinary school. And I actually went to culinary school during the pandemic. So it was the three of us in the classroom. I couldn't taste what my teachers were showcasing and they couldn't taste my food.
09:56
Kartik Das
So a lot of times you sort of developed your own palate and you began to rely on all the other senses. So anyway, I did that and I came back. I started writing about mom and pop shops close to where I live. And I kept asking them about their food stories and they would ask me about mine. For me, it was always the snacks I grew up eating, right. I used to was fortunate enough to visit India every year, even after we moved to Singapore. And my favorite time of the day was 4pm I'd sit down with my granddad and they bring out chai, right? So chai in South Asia is the beverage. And like some sweets, some snacks, everything together. I know this is going to sound blasphemous. I'm not huge on chai. It's okay. Like it's Great.
10:30
Kartik Das
But I was there for the snacks. And so for me, it was tasting all these different textures, flavors. Right. The com. And I used to be that weird kid who I used to break up, like, Indian sweets and put them in my salty mixtures to get that textual contrast. And people looked at me funny. I was okay with it. I'm happy being different. But I got to introduce so much of South Asian food to so many of my friends who weren't South Asian growing up. And so when it came to telling my food story, I was like, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to tell the story of our snack culture to people who don't yet know it exists. But I know that we have so much to offer.
11:03
Kartik Das
And at the end of the day, if we can bring people together over a bite that they are going to try and describe to their friends, but not really know how to do, so, then, great. We've done a great job. We've created a conversation, and we brought people together.
11:14
Caitlin Bricker
So at what point did you say, okay, I'm going to create this snack brand? And how did you choose the ingredients that you're using in your products? Because I don't know if we've covered that yet. I find the ingredient list to be obviously very nice and very tasty, but it's unlike anything that I have experienced before.
11:33
Kartik Das
Yeah. I think, for me, I like to say, if you walk into an Indian story of Patel brothers or Kalustians in the country, you will see two aisles of Indian snacks. There's so many ingredients we could have played with. But for me, Boondi, which is our spiced chickpea puffs, it's something I really enjoyed as a kid. So I knew if I was going to start somewhere, that's where I was going to start. And then we could always make adjustments. So I said, I had a combination of flavors. Right. I just used to mix things together as the way I like to eat them. So I thought, okay, I think there's an opportunity here. But I have a. I come from an operational background, so there's a difference between me liking something and someone paying for something.
12:05
Kartik Das
So I said, okay, let's get some Amazon craft bags. Let's put a Canva label on there, and let's go to a farmer's market and see if people will buy it. And so we did that. And we did that for three months. There's a great market on the Upper east side here in New York. And I said, let's do that for Three months, let's see. And the interactions are always extremely positive. When people try them and they're like, what is this? I no clue. But it tastes good. I'm like, great. That's all I need to know. So that's when we said, okay, let's figure out a way to give us a proper shot. Right. And so that's when we came up with the name Doosra. The name Doosra means three things. It means different. It means other, which is what we are.
12:38
Kartik Das
Also means second, because usually one bite's never enough. You're going to come back for a second one. And in cricket, Doosra is the curve ball. It's the one you don't see coming. So for anyone who is of South Asian descent, that sweetness from the chocolate is. You're not expecting that. And for anyone who's not familiar with our food, that whole flavor profile, the whole journey you go on, it's like, what just happened, Right? And when we thought about the ingredients, our spice blend, if you talk to anyone from the north of India, they'll be familiar with a concept called chaat masala. Chat masala is usually a range of six to seven spices, and it will take you on what we call a chalk chaatpatta, which is like a flavor explosion. There's a lot happening in your mouth.
13:11
Kartik Das
It almost feels like a ping pong match. So our ingredients are, you know, dried green mango powder, amchur, which is tart. It's got that citrus notes, black salt, which gives you a bit of that pungent balance you need in there. Then we source almost all our spices from spice Walla. So they've got incredible roasted cumin and roasted coriander that are. They're incredibly aromatic. Our chili powder is in there. Not only does it give it a vibrant color, but it has a smoky heat. And it's not a. It's not overwhelming in any way, but it takes you on that journey. It's almost a conduit for the rest of the spices. Right. And so a lot of times it's explaining that the spice blend together is something that's quite common in terms of how you do it.
13:48
Kartik Das
This is my take on it, but for me, I never leave with ingredients. I ask for allergens and I ask people to try it. And then if there's something we need to go down and explore further, we're happy to do that.
13:58
Caitlin Bricker
I really like that approach because it lets people go in with like a blank slate almost and just with no expectations. Like, if you pick up a book or watch a movie without knowing what you're getting into, then you might not be disappointed because it's just a journey that you're going on. I have done it myself and it has adds some spice to your life. But then when you're actually doing it with the snack, I really like that approach. And if you don't have to worry about allergens, then why not just take a chance?
14:26
Kartik Das
Exactly. So we do a lot of demos, we do a lot of selling events in person because. And the way we sample our snacks are we have a shot, basically. And I asked you to take that shot. And as you're chewing, I walk you through what's happening in your mouth as it changes. And that's the reason we have our little fun guy and a little rickshaw. Because you're going to go on a journey. Right? But. But I almost refuse to let people buy product if they don't try it because this is not what you're expecting. It is 100% not what you're expecting. I just want you to go on that journey. And if it's not for you, thank you so much for giving us a chance. And so that's how we tend to engage with folks.
14:58
Caitlin Bricker
I really like that a lot. And something else that I really like about your brand is that you are not approaching this necessarily from a functional aspect. You are certainly looking to have fun. But I feel that there are so many brands right now, of course, with the protein boom and everything needs to have no added sugar, added protein or whatever it may be. Your product, yes, has some benefits, but it's not what you're leading with and it's not the point of your product. You're making something that just tastes good.
15:27
Kartik Das
Exactly. I think like I said earlier, they're niches, I think, for everybody. And everyone's trying to figure out whether that's fiber or protein or something along the line they're trying to include into their life our snack. So this is our og, right? It's our white chocolate and peanut. This bag is 20 grams of protein. We don't talk about that because that's not why we do what we do. Right. It happens to be gluten free. That hap. That was like a happy accident where we, oh, yeah, this product is actually gluten free, but if it didn't deliver on flavor for us, the rest of it didn't matter. And then the other thing was important was Sarah Nguyen from Yen Coffee Supply gave me Some incredible advice once she said, when you start a company, you start a product.
16:03
Kartik Das
It's about your story and what you are trying to do. But the only way you're going to succeed is if it becomes your customer's brand, right? What it means to them. And so what we wanted to do was we've got a flavor journey and we've got a cat. We've got something that you can use on almost any blank canvas. You're a cottage cheese person. This is great as a topping. You're an ice cream person. This is phenomenal. On top of it, you're gluten free and you're looking for a crunch and a salad. This is a crouton. I would have never thought of those things. Never thought of them. But that's how our customers started using them. And we said, okay, this is who we are now. Make it your own. And that's why we tend not to push anything.
16:38
Kartik Das
It's just, we just tell you what could happen.
16:41
Caitlin Bricker
What could happen is so ominous. I love it. I actually, you probably saw my facial expression. I have cottage cheese sitting in my fridge right now. I'm almost 36 years old. Not to, like, age myself, but I have never consciously picked up cottage cheese at the store and, like, ate it. It's been hidden in foods before. I've tried cottage cheese ice cream, but it's literally sitting in my fridge. I bought some before for full transparency and it went bad because I was so intimidated by it. I'm like, I know the texture is going to throw me off. The flavor might throw me off. I just don't know what to do with you. And now I'm like, okay, I have a few more weeks left on that before it expires.
17:22
Caitlin Bricker
After we hang up, I am going to go and I'm going to order some Doucera and that's. We're going to call it a day.
17:29
Kartik Das
It'll work beautifully.
17:30
Caitlin Bricker
And.
17:31
Kartik Das
And if you're really craving protein, you're doubling down, right?
17:33
Caitlin Bricker
Like, the 20 grams in the bag is impressive. That's impressive. That's what, like almost a third of what you need to get in a day. I don't know. I'm not a dietitian, so don't quote me on that. So you showed us the bag for anybody who's looking or can see us on video. For anybody that can see us on video, you're showing us the bag. Tell me about your branding process, because I think I've seen iterations of the bag previously where it may have just been blank, kind of like orange bag. Not to say blank. Like, it still looked good.
18:03
Kartik Das
Not to.
18:04
Caitlin Bricker
Not to undersell what it looked like, but it was more of just like an orange canvas. Maybe that's a better way to say it. So talk to me about your branding journey and how you went from. Was it your first iteration to what you have now?
18:18
Kartik Das
Yeah. So that the previous branding, it was done by a friend of mine, Audrey. Look, she's like, she's a. Got great design eye and she loved the product. She had some time and she was very kind to support us on there. You know, when you start in this business, if you're not coming from a CPG background, you don't know what you don't know. And we made a lot of assumptions about what good packaging was. And I think at that time, the Zeitgeist was simple, minimal, stark. And we said, okay, we want our colors to be as vibrant as what's inside the bag. Right. Marigolds are a beautiful flower that's very common in South Asian culture. And so we said, that's. Those are the colors we're going to start with. Right? The orange and the yellows, they fit our vibes.
18:54
Kartik Das
And so we said, okay, let's do that. We wanted a. A big photo on there, but we knew that was going to be a V1 and we knew we had to iterate, but we didn't want to iterate with three months or six months or nine months of data. I said two years. Right. Because there are going to be different places in which it shows up and different folks are going to give me different things. Also, I'm not going to assume that in six months everyone's going to know who I am and then give me a. Give me feedback on the product. Right. So we launched with two SKUs. One became seasonal and then our Hero Mix. Hero Skew was our mixture, which was what we've now rebranded to a peanut and white chocolate.
19:24
Kartik Das
So were at Fancy Food last year in the same section, actually. And all I wanted to do was I wanted to get feedback on what they thought this was and what the initial reactions to packaging were. So distributors, press, retailers, small independent buyers, all of them said the same thing. What's inside the bag is fantastic. You don't get that sense from looking at the bag, and we're like, okay, so what would help, Right? So part of the feedback was pack size go down to 4 ounces. Easier for folks to try. At the same time, they did not know what bundy was. And so we took all that information and were at Notch Live last year and we got a lot of the same feedback. And I got. I had the benefit of meeting Alicia Potter from Favan Creative. She did Bolly good.
20:02
Kartik Das
She did aom, she did fancy pants. Like, the woman is a legend. And so we met a year before. We were looking at redesigns and we started talking and we. And she loved the product. And she said, when you're ready, would love to work with you. And I told her, alicia, I love you. I can't afford you. So we kept talking year down the road. Finally we got to a point where, okay, this is the investment we need to make. So went. We went down that road and I told her, it's very simple for us. I want people to, in a flash of a second, understand what we are. Which is now where you see the biggest font on front of our pack is Indian Snack Mix. We are very proudly Indian and we know we're a snack mix.
20:34
Kartik Das
And then the idea was we wanted to stay true to our colors. People just associate orange with us. And so we knew were not going to deviate from that. But the other element was, this is different. This is not something you're going to immediately understand. Right? So when were creating our logo, we didn't have a caricature before creating our logo. I said, I want something that people are going to think it's fun to pick up the bag. And then after that, whatever they do with it is really up to them, but they need to pick up the bag first. And so our logo, he's called Ladouz indian Suite. It's what I used to break up and put in my salty mixtures growing up as a kid. And it's animal from the south of India. He happens to be endangered. It's called the Nilgiri Martin.
21:07
Kartik Das
And we said, very common mode of transport india is a rickshaw. So let's put him on there because you're going to come for fun ride. And that's literally what our logo, we wanted to emanate. So went back and forth a couple of times after I communicated this to Alicia and the Fabian team and to a couple of iterations, there was one direction were going down and were so close. And one day I was sitting on side of the street in New York and I called her. I'm like, it doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel right. And she's like, don't worry, we got you the Next iteration was this. And I was like, yes, we have it. And it felt right. And so this year, when we exhibited fancy food, people who walked straight by us last year never stopped.
21:43
Kartik Das
And that was the impact I wanted. Because after that, our snack could be for you, could not be for you. That's fine. But you need to give us a chance. And I think that's what this package redesign did. And then with our new sku, right, with the walnut sku, when we're looking at colors, we said, let's look for a different part of South Asian culture. Let's look at our fashion, right? Let's look at the colors that evoke kind of emotion we wanted to evoke. And so this dark maroon is a. It's a very common part of, like, Indian sarees or traditional lengas. And so we said, let's go that direction on the color palette. And so that's how we kind of got to where we are.
22:14
Kartik Das
We still know there are probably tweaks and things we need to make down the road, but we're excited for this iteration of it.
22:19
Caitlin Bricker
Wow, I am so glad that worked out. And I really am just hanging on to that piece of people walking by at fancy food that maybe wouldn't have stopped before that stopped and tried the products. And also what you said about the two year process for waiting to change the branding. I'm not going to name any names, but there was a hair care brand when I was a buyer that. I'm not exaggerating when I say this. I was there for three years. I think they changed their branding and packaging no less than a dozen times. It was probably more. And I still see it on shelves today. And I'm like, oh, it's like a whole new brand.
22:55
Caitlin Bricker
And I think it's important what you're saying, even with that first iteration, having it on the shelf for two years, because you want people to recognize you. You want people to keep walking by the shelves and knowing that they see your brand and get that recognition, even if they haven't tried it yet. And for that person who may have tried it one time and then they want to go back and find it on the shelf again. Like, you don't want to make it hard for them. You want it to be very easy to make it to that checkout.
23:21
Kartik Das
Yeah, exactly. I think, like, it got to a point where. So our SKU name on our old, on our first iteration was called the mix. People just didn't call it the mix anymore. We just called it Doosra. Because a, were a single SKU at that point and it was bright and orange. So we started building that affinity. I was like, I'm not, I don't want to lose that affinity. So that's kind of where we stuck around for a bit more.
23:38
Caitlin Bricker
It's a really great approach and I hope any brands who are listening to this take it into consideration.
23:45
Kartik Das
Well, we're still figuring things out, so I wouldn't hang on that. But yeah, I think it's just for your market, for your channel, for whatever you're choosing to do. I think there's the wonderful thing about what SARCBG has done is they've put you in touch with a pool of resources that is going to give you a lot of feedback and all that feedback comes from a good place. But some of that feedback comes with an expectation that you have X, Y, Z already done and sometimes you don't. Right. So I think it's important to listen and then process and filter on your own and then make your own decision because no two companies are going to run the same way.
24:19
Caitlin Bricker
Absolutely. And that leads very seamlessly into my next question about. We've talked about the outside of the bag. So inside the bag, how are you manufacturing and how are you approaching this?
24:31
Kartik Das
So I didn't think this was going to be the way we announced this, but I say we are still a one person company. We do not have a co manufacturer. I have packed every single bag we've ever sold, which is kind of ridiculous. It's naive. But I wanted to make sure for the first two years because weren't doing a lot, we don't have a lot of marketing spend, we've done a lot of other things. Right. We sort of live and die by the quality of our product. And part of it is I am putting a piece of me out there. Right. I'm sharing with you my version of what I grew up with. And so for the first couple of years we manufacture at a commercial, shared commercial facility in here in Queens in New York. We source our products from.
25:08
Kartik Das
We've got a local manufacturer who helps up with, helps us with the plane and season chickpea puffs. We found someone who's fantastic and like a cleaner ingredient panel than what you would normally get if you were importing it from India. And then that gives us the ability to test, to try new things, but also to not worry about having to mass manufacture a large amount and then see your shelf life dwindle we're able to be quite nimble about it. And I understand that doing it the way I'm doing is not suited for being a thousand stores. Right. And a thousand doors and like crazy crazing velocity. I've mentioned this before. I don't think at any one point in time we've been more than 50 doors. I'm very happy with that. The reason I'm happy with that is I'm trying to build extremely loyal customers.
25:47
Kartik Das
And in places where I like to say the innkeeper, but in this case the storekeeper is as excited about the product as I am. And therefore we're building community. Yes. In small pockets, absolutely. But this way they know that we are a small batch manufacturer. We care so much about the few things that we do. And now we're at that. I wouldn't say it's an inflection point. It's basically a little step that now we have to hire some labor to help manufacture or manufacture and bag our products locally. Which we're going to be starting that in the next months and a half. But it was, that was an intentional choice. I come from a food background. I kind of like being in the kitchen. So this gave me the chance to do that while we grew.
26:21
Caitlin Bricker
I really like that. I like that approach for staying small. Not trying to hit a boom, not trying to grow yourself to the point where you can't keep up anymore and end up hating the work that you actually love right now. So I'd love to kind of end on this and kind of pick your brain about how you're building outside of retail, especially looking not to Target and being in tons of different stores. How are you growing your community and getting your product into people's hands?
26:50
Kartik Das
Sure. So we kind of think of our method of growth is more of how do we reduce the risk of trial to folks because the rebuild of our product is strong enough that if it's for you're going to, you're going to keep talking about it or keep buying it. Right. So the channels that we have, actually we have an independent store channel which has been doing well for us. It's regular enough reorders where we can keep that those communities growing. We sample extensively if we can in person. If not, we're happy to ship a box of samples and just have your storekeeper put it out, which is the lowest lift to anyone. But we're still creating that sampling experience. We have a in person. So when we talk about consumer.
27:27
Kartik Das
We haven't already built our dart to consumer online as much because we do have a multiple product. And so six months of the year that's quite challenging to do that without absorbing a lot of the free shipping or callbacking costs which in the day and age we are, it's just an unfortunate part of cost doing business. So we focus on in person activations and events, right. So we do selling conventions, we go to wine and whiskey beer festivals, where the bar snack next to your Sam Adams, for example. Right. So we do a lot of that. Right. And that creates an experience. And the other arm we're building up right now is a small food service arm and that sort of splits into two ways. We've got our snacks in a few bars, a couple of ice cream ballers, right.
28:02
Kartik Das
Where you can have it as a bar snack or you can have it as a topping. And we've just started, we've just stood up a food service arm. So in the three meta buildings in New York you can get Doucera out of a gravity dispenser, right. So as much as you want next to granola, it's our peanut white chocolate mixture. And what that does is in those situations someone can try that with literally no risk. Right. If it's not for you, there are 20 other things you can try. But it's a way to approach that. And it's a decent South Asian population in most tech organizations. And so it also gives them a degree of comfort to be able to share that with folks. So those are the three things we're doing. And again, we're taking it one step at a time.
28:36
Kartik Das
If we cannot support the stores from a sampling perspective, from a social media perspective, it would be a disservice of me to go into that. So we don't chase the stores. Of the 50 stores we're in, we've probably sold into five of them and the rest of them have come to us either through a word of mouth or some sort of thing. Right. And that's the way we're going to continue to grow. And at some point we will have to take one chain to start getting some trial and start getting some data in there. But it's going to be an intentional decision on our part. We're very happy to say not because we think we're better than anything else. It's because we want to build strong relationships. And if I cannot bring something to the table, that is going to make it easier.
29:12
Kartik Das
Retail is a really hard business, right. If I can't make it Easy for the retailer. That's. That's on me. So when we get there, we'll be able to push.
29:19
Caitlin Bricker
Wow. So much to digest there. I think you just gave so much great advice to other founders who are listening right now. And I would be surprised if there are retailers that are listening who wouldn't want to partner with you simply because of your approach to retail partnerships. I think it's very respectable. I think it's very realistic. You. You have it figured out. Maybe you don't need to let us know that, but it sounds like you do.
29:46
Kartik Das
Yeah. I got some great advice from someone last year at Expo and he was like, only you can build your business. Everybody can tell you what to do, but you have to be able to go to sleep at night saying that you're doing right by every single person. Right. So that's your customer, your ret, your ingredient, manufacturers, everybody. And so that's sort of the core what we do. We just take care of them and we know that at some point we'll be okay.
30:05
Caitlin Bricker
Amazing. That is such a sweet spot to end on too. I would love, before we go, if you could tell our audience where they can find you online. Let's drop your handles, your website, all that good stuff.
30:17
Kartik Das
Absolutely. So all our social media handles are Eatducera. So that's E A T D O O S R A. That's also our website, eatducera.com. There's a store locator on there. You can find a store near you. If there are stores that are near you that you'd like to have us in, just drop us a note on our website. We're happy to figure out how to make something happen.
30:36
Caitlin Bricker
Kartik, this has been such a great conversation. I've really enjoyed having you on. Can't thank you enough for being here and for making do syrup, because literally my stomach is like growling as we're sitting here chatting.
30:49
Kartik Das
Thank you, Kaylie. And I appreciate all that you and the entire cybersecurity team does for all the brands in the States United industry. So we're looking forward to continuing to stay in touch and work together.
30:59
Caitlin Bricker
For sure. I'm looking forward to meeting you in person. See you around.
31:02
Kartik Das
Thank you.
31:05
Caitlin Bricker
CPG BFFs. We've now arrived together at the end of another episode of the Startup CPG podcast. As you may know, we're not just the top globally ranked CPG podcast. We're a community of tens of thousands of CPG founders and experts and you should join us if you haven't already, head to startupcpg.com to sign up. You'll get an invite to our Slack community, hear about events near you, and get access to opportunities that connect you with buyers, investors and other brands. It's free, so what are you waiting for? I'll see you in Slack and in real life. Thanks for listening.