The Indus Valley - A Made in India alternative to brands selling chemically-coated kitchenware products

Built on a vision of bringing safe and healthy wares to Indian kitchens, The Indus Valley makes traditional Indian kitchen utensils and cookware with natural materials

The founders believe that the utensils you use matter as much as the ingredients. A kitchen mishap with plastic cookware in the oven led to the birth of The Indus Valley, given the real lack of cookware made from natural materials. The options in the market were either made from plastic or had unhealthy coating on them to make them non-stick. They are looking to bring back some of the traditional materials such as soapstone and cast iron in modern cookware.

urrently, The Indus Valley primarily sells on its own website as well as the major marketplaces since that’s where most customers are curious about alternatives. It claims to be processing more than 6,000 online orders every month and reached INR 12.25 Cr in revenue in FY2021. In terms of the customer base, the lifeteam reach is said to be over 2 Lakh customers.

The Indus Valley products stand out in a sea of black non-stick cookware. They are produced with natural materials like cast iron, iron, copper, soapstone, clay and wood, with a focus on design and functionality. While the biggest USP is the lack of any chemicals, coating or any harmful additives, another edge for TIV is that it uses these materials to make Indiaspecific products such as earthen pots, paniyaram pans, appam pans, which are not typically catered to by the incumbents in the space.

Having carved a niche for itself with its health-focused kitchenware made of cast iron, iron, bronze, brass, clay and wood, The Indus Valley has also ventured into the highly-competitive stainless steel segment in January 2022, and before that introduced a range of accessories for food and beverage. The startup is expanding its addressable market with this new lineup that has a wider appeal among young urban families.

The Indus Valley is focusing on increasing to 1,000 SKUs in the coming months from the 230 SKUs it has currently by venturing deeper into the home and kitchen space and adding new products. The founders said the goal is to reach INR 300 Cr in revenue by 2024-25, given the momentum for the D2C model.