Packaging Vahdam Spices for a Global Market

Packaging Indian Soil, Soul and Spice for the World

With a legacy of over 90 years in the tea industry, Vahdam India is known for revolutionizing the Indian tea market globally. After success in the tea market, the brand embarked on a new journey to introduce Vahdam Spices—a premium range of thirty-two single-origin spices and blends.

The brand’s goal was to carve its niche not only as a new entrant into the market but also position itself as an authentic leader in the global spice market. To do so, the brand required a packaging design system that showcased their soil-to-soul philosophy. It also captured the rich Indian ethos for a modern global audience seeking quality and Indianness in the ingredients that elevate their daily food experience.

Approach:
Centered around Indian culture, the packaging of the new spice range combines a modern packaging format with Indian traditions. To distinguish the brand from its competitors on supermarket shelves, the packaging was designed to tell a story — a story that shares culturally rooted spice rituals through contemporary visuals with the modern international consumer. Our approach to the project encapsulated the freshness of handpicked Indian spices, celebrating their heritage while delivering a contemporary, global appeal to those craving Indian goodness.

Solution:
Blending tradition with modernity, we began by understanding rituals in Indian households around spices. Borrowing from Kolam, a globally known Indian art form celebrated for its geometric beauty, we developed a narrative for each of the thirty-two spices. Kolam symbolizes the fresh, organic, and homegrown nature of the product, reflecting the origin of each spice while maintaining a contemporary aesthetic. The illustration on the packaging used a three-tier system for category identification of whole, powder, and blends. Using high-contrast colours and typography styles, we intentionally added the sacred, dramatized experience straight from the Indian kitchen onto the product packaging.

Impact:
Vahdam Spices is a successful example of how packaging and design can transform perceptions, elevate a product’s presence in a crowded market, and blend tradition with modernity.

Successfully launched in 2023 in the US market by Michelin-star chef Vikas Khanna, Vahdam Spices was an instant hit.

Endorsed by ‘The Kitchn’ USA and featured on Good Morning America, the product achieved 33% higher average take-off rates across online channels and gained placement in 2,000 Walmart stores across the U.S.A.

It also debuted with Vikas Khanna on billboards in Times Square, New York.

About Mother Tongue Design:
At MTD, we believe design is more than just aesthetics; it’s a powerful form of cultural expression. By integrating the essence of diverse cultures into our work, we craft designs and tell stories that speak to the heart, enable soulful connections and create lasting impact that transcends across borders and resonates deeply with audiences

Our Founder and Creative Director Shruti Singhi is the visionary who leads and nurtures Mothertongue Design. With 20+ years of experience at renowned agencies and studios in India, this dynamic textile designer has been giving India’s finest brands a glow-up. Her intricate and rich design style and flair for culturally-rooted storytelling have contributed to the success of renowned brands such as Forest Essentials, Vahdam Tea, Femella TATA, Andamen, Meta, Budweiser, Adidas, Lodhi, DLF, Emporio, Lakme and more.

Credits:
Shruti Singhi – Founder & Creative Director
Merlyn Toppo – Design Director
Radhika Mantri – Lead Designer & Illustrator
Rhea Chowdhury – Graphic Designer & Illustrator
Jenny Arora – Illustrator
Vasundhara C. – Illustrator