Jagadeesh Kumar On The Indus Valley’s Playbook For Building A ₹200 Cr Toxin-Free Cookware Brand

The Indus Valley’s founder Jagadeesh Kumar shared the company’s target to achieve ₹200 Cr revenue and how it has moved beyond niche status

The company is betting on education-led growth to make toxin-free cookware a mainstream choice in India

The company’s adoption hinges on blending traditional materials like cast iron and ceramic with modern usability and performance

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What’s cooking in the modern Indian kitchen? Not merely a facelift recipe, but a makeover, at work. 

What used to be a purely functional buy, like pots, pans, and pressure cookers, picked for durability and price, is now being looked at very differently. Health, safety and long-term wellness are starting to shape these decisions. For a growing cohort of urban consumers, what goes into the food is no longer the only concern, what it cooks matters just as much.

The shift is showing up in the numbers too. As rising disposable incomes, rapid pace of urbanisation and stricter regulations from authorities like the Bureau of Indian Standards are pushing consumers away from the unorganised market, paving the way for branded, certified products to drive the country’s  $2.01 Bn cookware market on 7.27% annual growth rate to reach $2.85 Bn by 2031.

But, beyond these macro factors, there’s a deeper change at play: increasing awareness around the health risks linked to chemical coatings such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

This awareness has led to the rise of what can best be termed as a ‘wellness premium’ in cookware. Materials like stainless steel, cast iron and ceramic are no longer niche preferences; they are becoming mainstream choices, even in value-conscious households. 

At the centre........

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