Founded in 2022 by Aswin Prasannakumar and Yathi Kumar, Bengaluru-based Nilgiri Marten Spices (NMS) aims to sell spices entirely traceable to the regions they are cultivated in. Their single-origin spices are sourced equitably by providing fair rates to farmers and small-scale cultivators across India.
The brand is named after the now endangered Nilgiri Marten, a mammal endemic to the Western Ghats. So elusive is the Nilgiri Marten, that the longest sighting has lasted for only around three minutes. “The brand name is an ode to natural pollinators that have kept these plantations [in the Western Ghats] alive over the course of time,” shares Aswin, a mechanical engineer from Thiruvalla in Kerala.
Interestingly, Aswin and Yathi’s entrepreneurial journey began two years ago with sourcing spices from their fathers’ respective farms in Kerala. While Yathi sourced Tellicherry peppercorns from his father, who cultivated it in small quantities in Wayanad, Aswin sourced nutmeg, mace, and Kanthari chillies from his father’s farm in Thiruvalla. Finding the quality of these spices to be superior, they soon began sourcing from other cultivators within Kerala. With quality and traceability at the core, the founders spend a considerable amount of time and effort on primary and secondary research—whether it’s visiting farms and forests where spices are cultivated to test quality, or reading research papers.
Through this rigour, Aswin discovered that the best quality vanilla beans (with high percentages of vanillin and moisture) are from Kerala’s Idukki district, while the most flavourful cloves are cultivated in the Nagercoil Hills in Kanyakumari. Another reliable tool that has led them to high quality spices is the Geographical Indication (GI) tag—a recognition accredited to products that have a specific origin and quality because of their origin.
Nilgiri Marten Spices also sources and retails the best quality of 11 of the 52 spices as recognised by the Spice Board of India, such as the Lakadong turmeric (containing the highest curcumin content) and Ing Makhir ginger (highest gingerol content) from the Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya, and green cardamom from Idukki.
The Locavore Stamp
The Locavore Stamp offers a closer look at how Nilgiri Marten Spices works—not just what they produce, but the practices, choices, and compromises they make, and their relationships with the people growing the food. We look at their work through seven interconnected lenses: Origin, Knowledge, Workforce, Production, Composition, Packaging, and Community. Together, these form a single food landscape, reflecting how none of these aspects exists in isolation.
Traditional certifications rely on defined standards and thresholds, but these can sometimes leave less room for the nuance of how a producer actually operates. The Locavore Stamp is intended to make more of that complexity visible rather than reduce a producer to a pass, fail, or score. It is a way to make a producer’s practices more transparent, recognise where meaningful work is being done, acknowledge where there may still be room to improve, and give you greater context to be able to decide whether and how you might support it.
What follows is a snapshot of Nilgiri Marten Spices at the time of publication, based on our research and several rounds of conversations with Aswin Prasannakumar.
Hover or tap on the illustration above to explore the seven lenses of The Locavore Stamp. Illustration by Antara Raman.
Origin
Each spice is tested for quality from the region it is sourced from and known for. For instance, they source vanilla from Idukki in Kerala and Raja Mircha from Dimapur in Nagaland.
Knowledge
Each spice is chosen after rigorous academic and on-ground research. The GI tag indication also helps identify new regions to source from. All spices are single-origin, ensuring homogenous quality and flavour.
Workforce
There are three permanent employees, and the team will soon grow. Many contract workers are hired specifically for plucking, drying and so on. Ingredients sourced from external farmers are paid 20-30% above the market price for their produce.
Production
Most spices are sourced from small-scale farmers who aim to sell and consume locally, with minimum soil inputs from natural ingredients such as vermicompost, manure, fish fertilizer, bone meal and ash.
Composition
No preservatives or chemicals are added post harvest.
Packaging
Spices are packed in craft paper pouches with transparent plastic film on one side. They are then packed in cardboard boxes with bubble wrap.
Community
NMS consider their source farmers and cultivators across India as their community. The founders make mandatory trips twice a week around Wayanad to meet their community farmers. They travel monthly to meet cultivators who are further away. Through this, they have been able to employ local communities across regions.
Why We Love Nilgiri Marten Spices
- Single-Origin – Each spice sold is cultivated, harvested, and processed in the same region. These regions offer a conducive environment for the spice in terms of climate, soil, and altitude. By sourcing each spice from a single region, NMS promotes local produce.
- Equitable sourcing – The spices are procured from small-scale farmers and cultivators. Farmers are compensated fairly, and are paid more than the average market rate. By ensuring equitable sourcing, NMS not only supports farmers’ businesses and livelihoods but also promotes non-chemical farming practices.
- Quality of produce – The spices are fresh, flavourful, and aromatic. There is transparency in their procurement; consumers can directly converse with farmers on the quality of produce over a phone call should they wish to. By prioritising quality, NMS sets high standards for the production of spices.
Why are single-origin spices important to you?
“Procuring spices from their main source is very important to us as the spice reflects not just flavour but also the culture, cuisine, and other aspects of the region where it is cultivated. Moreover, our commitment to single-origin spices is a testament to the people who live in those regions, as well as their tenacity, commitment, and hard work in keeping the produce alive for the last several centuries, and for many centuries to come.”
— Aswin Prasannakumar, co-founder of Nilgiri Marten Spices
Products We Recommend
Idukki Green
Cardamom
Malabar
Vanilla Beans
How to Buy
If you would like to learn more about Nilgiri Marten Spices or try their products, check out their website. If you’re interested in supporting them in other ways, please contact us at connect@thelocavore.in.
This is a paid partnership with Nilgiri Marten Spices. We strive to keep the practices of a producer transparent and honest across all forms of partnerships.
Yashvi Shah is the Senior Partnerships Copywriter at The Locavore. In her free time, she likes creating playlists for her friends, and going on runs.
Neil Khopkar is the Partnerships Lead at The Locavore. Trained in culinary arts and business, his interests range from gastronomy to music.
Editor: Yamini Vijayan
Copy Editor: Khorshed Deboo
