International recipe kit brand moves from the UAE to the UK

By Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox

Betting on British consumers’ openness to sample more world cuisines, a recipe kit startup from Dubai has launched in the UK. Naksha Collections’ four ranges feature dishes from Singapore, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, as well as a baking line.

Founders Nisha Ramisetty and Sam Williams started the company in 2020 with backing from an incubator programme by UAE supermarket chain, Spinneys – which secured them a listing in Waitrose there, too. Their idea was to create a range of original, truly international recipe kits.

“The demand for world food increased by 57% in 2021 alone in the UK,” founder Nisha Ramisetty told FFD.

“That’s a huge portion of the UK saying, ‘we want to increase the diversity of food that we eat’, and that’s what we stand for.”

The kits are made up of spices, unprocessed pastes and staple ingredients such as crushed tomatoes, as well as recipe cards. Dishes include Grenada’s national dish of coconut dumpling stew known as ‘Oil Down’ and Creole favourite, ‘Cari Crevette’, from Mauritius.

The recipes were developed by local chefs, with the idea of making home-cooked style food.

“The focus is to keep it as close to how the dish would be eaten in that country. We’re not trying to get the restaurant version of it,” said Ramisetty.

The Baked Collection uses Levantine ingredients to put a spin on well-known classics, like milk chocolate blondies with Lebanese tahini and a salted sesame crumb.

As of last month when the company moved to the UK, the kits have been stocked in Whole Foods and Harrods. They will soon be listed in Fenwick, and the company is in talks with distributors to expand into independent retail nationwide.

It hopes the kits will be a success by virtue of minimising food waste and cost for customers, Ramisetty said, as well as providing an opportunity for retailers.

“They work complementarily with things that farm shops, delis and food halls already stock, like meat or veg. It actually increases the basket size rather than taking away from it.”

While Ramisetty said they weren’t able to make the packaging 100% recyclable in the rst round of production, they hope to do so by the end of the year.

RRP £8.99 for the savoury ranges, and £12.99 for the Baked collection. nakshacollections. com

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Interview & photography by Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox