Inspired by their own humble beginnings, a Yorkshire family of entrepreneurs have set their sights on giving back to those in need by setting up Go Indian Spice products.
Here is how Dave Singh and Lucky Kaur are hoping to help others through their tasty offering…
SPICING UP THE CUPBOARD BASICS: Leeds entrepreneurs ensure that those in need have some flavour in their lives
· A husband and wife team who create Indian Spice blends, donate sachets of their homemade product to ‘spice up’ food parcels given out by the Salvation Army.
· Inspired by his single mother who lived on the breadline and made the most of her empty fridge by spicing up baked beans and scrambled eggs, Dave Singh set up Go Indian Spice with his wife Lucky Kaur.
· The Leeds-dwelling pair hope their affordable blend will help other families like theirs to batch cook and eat healthily on a budget while donating a portion of their profits to charity.
· More families are struggling to make ends meet with a rise in fuel and energy prices “but that doesn’t have to mean bland food,” explains Lucky Kaur.
· Their first ingredient in business is spice blends which they hope will be their recipe to success and then they will start their own charity.
Uninspired by the spices on supermarket shelves as well as the bland offering of affordable food, a husband and wife team decided to spice up cupboard basics in the hope of inspiring others.
Dave and Lucky from Leeds, are on a mission to spice up the lives of families living on the breadline, after experiencing their own hardships growing up.
Dave said: “I was brought up in a poor part of Glasgow with a single mother and often we didn’t know if there would be food on the table.
“But when there was food, even if all she could afford was some eggs and baked beans, she would make us baked bean curry or masala scrambled eggs.”
Dave who now lives with his own 9-year-old daughter and wife has his sights firmly set on creating his own empire out of their small kitchen.
He said: “Being a foodie doesn’t have to be just for the wealthy, all of us deserve to taste flavoursome food.
“My mum used to be so creative, she inspired me to make the most of everything.”
So after years of making their own spice blends at home, Dave and his wife decided to follow their dreams and set up their own business.
“Our whole ethos is to give back. Yes we want to build a business but it’s with the goal of starting a charity,” said Dave.
Initially, the hope is that the product will encourage and enable more healthy eating and for families to batch cook nutritious food.
“With price hikes, a lot of families are being forced to cut their shopping budget but this doesn’t have to mean unhealthy bland food.”
Dave who works in finance and his wife Lucky works part-time in a doctor’s surgery aspire to succeed in their business to give their daughter a better life and others.
“We’ve done alright for ourselves but my wife’s health isn’t great so she can’t continue cleaning. Plus, her heart is in creating our unique spice blends for our company based in York,” said Dave who felt privileged to be in a position to provide for his family.
“We could always do better, but our journey is about taking others in need on the journey to reap the rewards of us doing better in life and business.”
Their business journey started last September when they officially set up Go Indian Spice – a subscription box service.
Since then, they have been offered to deliver demos at food festivals and have a goal of boosting their online sales to help families globally.
What’s their secret this far?
Lucky said: “We believe in great tasting, healthy dishes that make you feel fantastic and still pack a flavour punch. Being of Indian heritage, Indian cuisine has a particularly special place in our hearts and we’ve always loved experimenting with creating our own spice blends.
“We wanted a way of bringing our homemade creations to kitchens across the country, to help everyone share the same joy and fun we have when we’re cooking. But we also wanted to make sure we were bringing something healthy and unique to the market too.”
Go Indian Spice mixes are all vegan, gluten-free and contain no artificial ingredients. They’ve also teamed up with a team of dietitians to provide general monthly health tips – all evidence-based – exclusively for regular spice box subscribers.
Lucky added: “Our spice blends aren’t just for Indian food either. They’re perfect for sparking inspiration, experimenting with your ingredients and creating some truly unique and wonderful fusion dishes. We can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with.”
For more information, go to: https://goindianspice.com/
Their story in full:
In 2017, my wife Lucky and I were out shopping for spices. We were in our local supermarket and ended up buying a general curry powder mix. Once home, we created our meal using the mix we had just purchased and sat down to eat it with great anticipation. Sadly, our enthusiasm was quickly quashed and we were so disappointed with the (lack of) flavour that we got to thinking that we could do much better ourselves.
Today, Lucky and I consider ourselves to be very lucky indeed as we are now the proud owners and producers of Go Indian Spice blends. We simply cannot contain our enthusiasm for you to share in the enjoyment of trying out our wonderful spice blends of ‘Kickstart’, ‘Refresh’, ‘Boost’ and ‘Zing’. We are hopeful that you too will enjoy and join us in our passion for food and love of Indian cuisine when using our unique spice blends.
We have taken the utmost care to ensure that all our mixes are versatile because they are not just for curries, but can be used for fusion dishes such as our ‘Spiced Fishcake’ recipe in the recipe section on our website. Suitable for vegans, gluten-free and contains no artificial ingredients, our spice blends are also low in salt which many of us eat too much of in our day-to-day diets. Why do we need to reduce salt? Well, a diet high in salt can cause raised blood pressure, which can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
The most important elements of a basic curry are usually onions and spices. Curries are not to be rushed and can be prepared in a large pot, saucepan or skillet. You can even prepare them in a slow cooker if you find that more convenient. Ring the changes with ingredients – use veggies, fish or meat depending upon your personal eating style.
We sincerely hope that you will share our love, passion, joy of food and love of food when you try using our spice blends and would love to hear from you when you create something new and tasty with them.
Dave and Lucky, Co-Founders of Go Indian Spice
