The CEO of Diaspora Co. is on a mission to make spice trading more equitable for all. From bold and bright Kashmiri Saffron to spicy Wild Ajwain, this rising company is promoting inclusivity one spice at a time.

Equality for All

In an interview with CBS Mornings, Mumbai native Sana Javeri Kadri explained she started the company after noticing a dire need for better quality spices in America. “Most spices on your grocery store shelf are 5 to 7 years old.”

Perplexed, she returned to India to learn why the quality was so inadequate. “Since the colonizers — the British, the Portuguese, the Dutch — nothing about this unjust system had changed. Nobody had rebuilt it.”

So, deciding to be the change she wanted to see, Kadri began working. “We started working with farmers, and we bring stuff fresh, straight from harvest.” Because of this, Diaspora Co. is able to deliver spices up to three weeks after harvest.

Kadri, who also identifies as queer, explained why she chooses to highlight the marginalized in her everyday business dealings. “Queerness is about equity for all, and saying everybody deserves a place at the table. Everybody deserves to be who they fully are. And those are our values at the company.”

What Is Diaspora Co.?

Diaspora Co. is an innovative company that tells the story of struggle, perseverance, and triumph through its premium spices.

Throughout history, the spice trade was about total control, with farmers — more often than not — receiving the short end of the stick when it came to earnings. After harvest, spices changed hands up to 10 times before even reaching the consumer. As a result, farmers were often underpaid.

Noting this unfair treatment, Kadri decided to do something about it. She partnered with a local farm to source her first spice — Pragati Turmeric. And the rest was history.

Today, Diaspora Co. partners with 150 farms in India and Sri Lanka to source 30 single-origin spices for its growing customer base. Their mission still remains the same: to “tell our own stories of freedom, struggle, and diaspora through food.”