00:00:00 – 00:00:10 Nitin Bajaj

Hey everyone, welcome to The Industry Show. I’m your host Nitin Bajaj, and joining me today is Subramanian Krishnan. Mani, welcome on the show.

00:00:10 – 00:00:13 Mani Krishnan

Thank you very much, Nitin, for having me.

00:00:13 – 00:00:18 Nitin Bajaj

It’s great to have you here. Let’s start with who is Mani?

00:00:19 – 00:00:36 Mani Krishnan

Let’s say who is Mani? 48 years ago when I came to this country, my intention was to Basically, we pursue higher studies. My brother wanted me to go to Stanford and Harvard, and unfortunately that didn’t pan out.

00:00:36 – 00:00:51 Mani Krishnan

I worked for a couple of electronic companies before which I got really tired of the 9-to-5 routine. So I decided I’m going to do something on my own. And that is how the journey started somewhere in 1991.

00:00:51 – 00:01:07 Mani Krishnan

So In 1991, being on my own is the bug that started, and I started exporting electronic components and peripherals to companies in India. And that’s what we did for almost 9, almost 15 years continuously.

00:01:07 – 00:01:24 Mani Krishnan

And that journey had to end because of the fact that we were not able to collect a lot of money in India at that point of time. So we decided there is no point in continuing to bleed., and we got rid of it. So that is how the journey of being on my own got started.

00:01:26 – 00:01:53 Nitin Bajaj

Very amazing. And no, you’re just not even touching the surface. There are so many instances, so many stories within. But I’m looking forward to unfold bits and pieces of you, the amazing, humorous, down-to-earth, very humble Mani Krishnan. And Mani, let’s talk about Shastha Foods, something that is close to you and has been for a couple of decades. Tell us why you started it and how you started it.

00:01:53 – 00:02:21 Mani Krishnan

When I exited the electronic export business, Nitin, it was a time where I had to decide whether I was going to pad up my resume and go and work for someone else. And at that point of time, I realized that padding up your resume, getting up on a Monday morning and going and working for someone. Is going to be miserable. So the thought came to my mind and I said, I want to be miserable on my own than to be miserable working for someone else.

00:02:23 – 00:02:30 Nitin Bajaj

I love your sense of humor. And now this has been, what, about 23, 24 years in the making?

00:02:30 – 00:02:32 Mani Krishnan

Yeah, it’s almost the 24th year.

00:02:32 – 00:02:33 Nitin Bajaj

Yeah.

00:02:33 – 00:03:28 Mani Krishnan

So we started with the actually filter coffee. At that point of time we said, let me import filter coffee because the entire H1 population had come in and we felt that there will be a tremendous opportunity for filter coffee. And that’s what we imported. And then we decided to start batter by accident because our batter, basically the thought process was both the spouses working 9 to 5 or 9 to 6 or 9 to 7. And by the time they came home, we wanted to give them a solution which was very easy, very consistent, very comfortable, very cost effective.. And as my colleague Vaidyanathan would say, it is a, it is a 24-hour solution in a 32-ounce container. So that’s what made the difference when people came back and they wanted to have idli or dosa, it was readily available.

00:03:28 – 00:03:40 Mani Krishnan

They didn’t have to do anything, buy the container, spread it, heat it, and make it and use it. And it is a very cost-effective solution at that time. It is still a very cost-effective solution even today.

00:03:41 – 00:04:01 Nitin Bajaj

And along this 23 years, you have obviously conquered many titles and served many a dosa, many a idli, and brought joy to many families and lives. Give us a sense for the size and scale and the impact Shastha Foods has now created.

00:04:02 – 00:04:20 Mani Krishnan

See, in the ready-to-make space, and I like to make the statement In these days of AI, I’m basically a VC who’s into DI. And you may ask, what is a VC into DI? I’m not a venture capitalist. I’m a Cothas Coffee guy who’s into dosa and idli.

00:04:22 – 00:04:33 Nitin Bajaj

I love that. And you have some stats, you have some numbers that you had shared with me that are mind-blowing. Give us a sense for the size and scale.

00:04:34 – 00:05:11 Mani Krishnan

Data points today, Nitin, is in the last 23 years, if you take a container, each container, you can make 16 dosas or 16 idlis. We are close to 200 million dosas and idlis have been consumed just by using the Shastha method. Wow. Number 2, we have the largest factory in North America at this point of time. Of course, there are other competitors who are coming in, etc. Which is okay about it because my present journey at this point of time is to make sure the total available market for idli and dosa grows exponentially. Okay.

00:05:11 – 00:06:00 Mani Krishnan

When I started, there were probably 2 players in the space and today probably there are 75 players in the market, which is— and the number of restaurants that has grown in the Bay Area. And I came in ’77. If I wanted to go to have idli dosa, I had to drive 60 miles, you know, to a place called Emeryville, which is very close to Berkeley, 60 miles. And there used to be a place called Pasam Madras Cuisine, and I drove 60 miles. And today, Nitin, I have an idli dosa place every 6 miles. Practically, the number of South Indian restaurants have just mushroomed in the Bay Area. And I’m sure that is true in Southern California, San Diego, and any other location in America. So that is what the growth is.

00:06:00 – 00:06:38 Mani Krishnan

What is— let me talk about idli and dosa. The idli and dosa, first of all, it’s a naturally fermented product. It is probiotic and a fermented product without any artificial ingredients. It is basically rice. Dal, water, and salt. That is what it contains, and it ferments. And the kind of nutritional benefits and the health benefits it does is enormous. If you go to any hospital in India, especially after the person gets better, the first diet that they provide is idli because it does not do any damage.

00:06:39 – 00:07:20 Mani Krishnan

Having looked at it, one of the things we managed to do We have about 14 SKUs, 14 SKUs of batter. And I can tell you again, in terms of the kind of SKUs of batter, we are the— we have the most variety even compared to companies in India. So what do we have? We have idli, we have dosa, we have hadai, we have uttapam, we have pessarattu, we have oats dosa, we have brown rice dosa, we have brown rice idli, we have millet dosa. Millet idli, ragi dosa, pearl dosa, sorghum dosa, organic dosa, organic idli, organic quinoa, and organic brown rice dosa.

00:07:21 – 00:07:57 Nitin Bajaj

Wow. This is fascinating. And to see all of this come to life at your wonderful facility, the processes you have in place, the standards you have put together, the team you have put together, it’s just amazing. So kudos and congratulations to you and the team on one, as you said, you’ve done a phenomenal job of going out beyond the community and expanding this offering to the mainstream American consumer.

00:07:57 – 00:08:19 Nitin Bajaj

And you’ve done that not just with batter, You’ve introduced so many different products, millets, even coffee, and many others that have truly helped scale the market for genuine, naturally occurring, healthy food to the mainstream American.

00:08:20 – 00:08:39 Mani Krishnan

So one correction at this stage. Right now, our batter is in the Bay Area locations and in Seattle locations. And of course, we are trying in Los Angeles and San Diego. We have been at it, but with the help of you and your viewers, if you can go and request Costco any of these locations, and I already shared with you the SKU number.

00:08:39 – 00:08:40 Nitin Bajaj

Yes.

00:08:40 – 00:08:50 Mani Krishnan

Go and ask them in a most effective manner. As a consumer, if you go and ask, it is going to make a difference. And we sell today one batter every 3 minutes.

00:08:51 – 00:08:52 Nitin Bajaj

Okay.

00:08:52 – 00:09:13 Mani Krishnan

And our goal By the time this journey is over, as far as I’m concerned, we want to be selling one batter every second. That is the opportunity that I think we have. And we want more players to come into play so that people can compare. And that’s where the journey is, etc.

00:09:13 – 00:09:35 Mani Krishnan

Beyond batter, we do non-Basmati rice or beyond Basmati rice. There are about 30 to 40 varieties of rice. And we do rice from different states in India. That is a very significant segment. And again, I can rattle off, but I prefer people to go to Shastha Foods online, take a look at the batters, take a look at the varieties of rice.

00:09:36 – 00:10:03 Mani Krishnan

Then we do all third-party brands. Like there is a brand called adukale snacks from which is doing very well. Then we have Grand Sweets & Snacks from Tamil Nadu. We have added Sweet Karam Coffee from Tamil Nadu recently. We have also added Cothas Coffee, which we have been doing for a long period of time. And we have a brand called idem nalunai, which is sesame oil, which is one of the 1000 crore brands out of Tamil Nadu.

00:10:03 – 00:10:36 Mani Krishnan

All of them, to give you an idea, Nitin, have factories which are mind-blowing, top class. And that is what is very satisfying to see when we import these products from a proper process. We are very confident about the quality of the products, the process that they use. And that is where we play a reasonably good role and we are able to import, go through customs, go through US Department of Agriculture, go through Food and Drug Administration and bring in the product to the best of our ability.

00:10:37 – 00:11:00 Nitin Bajaj

That is amazing. And at that size and scale, it’s just mind-blowing what you have put together. Now, as you’re dealing with a lot of these agencies, cross-border, everything that has been going on, tariffs, war, logistical issues, many challenges. Well, what’s the one big challenge you would like to call out?

00:11:01 – 00:11:28 Mani Krishnan

No, today the biggest challenge that we have is the supply chain issues that currently exist. Because of the war, war in the Gulf. And the challenges have been there for quite some time. It started with COVID Couldn’t import. We had to import to the East Coast because there was a problem in the West Coast. We imported to the East Coast, brought it by rail, and still kept the factory going.

00:11:28 – 00:11:59 Mani Krishnan

But to give you an idea, let us say, what are the various challenges that I’ve encountered in the last 20 years? Number one, we have had an export ban from India on raw material. So we had to make alternative sources, etc. Then we had, for example, let us say we got the cargo at one point of time during COVID There was a problem in the Suez Canal. There was a bottleneck and long-term delay from 35 days to 120 days and things like that.

00:11:59 – 00:12:26 Mani Krishnan

Third, we said we will route through Colombo, and Colombo then had their social upheaval, so they couldn’t take cargo. Then we decided we will get cargo through China, and the China tariffs and other things hit. And then what happened was ships which used to come to China, there was not enough load for them to come, so they had to wait for a full load and then come into America.

00:12:27 – 00:12:54 Mani Krishnan

Then of course, now you add the tariffs. The tariffs started at 10%, then it went up to 25%, then it went to 50%. And now we are, we are struggling with the fact, even though the US Supreme Court has ruled tariffs are illegal, the fact that you’re carrying inventory at a higher cost. And the cost again is very difficult for us to calculate because of the fact that what is the price at which you want to sell?

00:12:55 – 00:13:29 Mani Krishnan

And today the duty is back to 10%. And again, that 10% is valid till July 24th. Then you have a bilateral agreement treaty and discussions going on. So that could go up to 18%. You have cost of fuel, you can cost of this thing. I understand the logic of bringing manufacturing to America. I can side with that. But somehow the process, the uncertainty that is caused has been very difficult to handle. Fortunately, we have come to a mindset where we say what cannot be cured has to be endured.

00:13:32 – 00:14:12 Nitin Bajaj

And what you shared in less than a minute is there’s so much happening, but none of that has stopped you from feeding us, from bringing healthy food to us, there has been no compromise. There has been this focus, this relentless focus on just, as you said, enduring and making it happen. I love the tenacity. I love that spirit of entrepreneurship and not giving up. And that is why I love everything you do, Mani. And you do it with a smile. And there is so much humor involved.

00:14:12 – 00:14:28 Nitin Bajaj

That despite all of the pain and the stress, you turn it around and you bring your energy and make it so fun. I— it’s just amazing to see you, to watch you and learn from you.

00:14:29 – 00:14:31 Mani Krishnan

Thank you. Thank you, Nandan. I appreciate it.

00:14:31 – 00:14:42 Nitin Bajaj

Now, on the flip side of all of these challenges, there is an opportunity. Many, but I would love to hear the one that you’re most excited about.

00:14:43 – 00:14:46 Mani Krishnan

So we are going to get to into the ready-to-eat segment.

00:14:47 – 00:14:47 Nitin Bajaj

Okay.

00:14:47 – 00:15:10 Mani Krishnan

Hopefully we should have some announcement by June or July. That is an important segment for us. So once it is launched, I should be able to share. The opportunity is definitely there for us to set up affiliate locations across North America, both in the US and in Canada. Because our portfolio is better, plus all these other items, etc. So there is a huge opportunity.

00:15:11 – 00:15:46 Mani Krishnan

The food processing and the food availability in terms of Indian food is, what shall I say, is a frontier which is waiting to be conquered. A big difference for us in the ’80s and the ’90s, the food segment is something which is going to be breathtaking. And a couple of statistics: India is the largest producer of India just reached the largest producer of rice about one month back, bigger than China. The varieties of rice, etc., India is number one. And of course, milk, we are number one. Today I saw statistics in terms of eggs and other things. We are number one, not number two.

00:15:47 – 00:16:14 Mani Krishnan

And the cuisine that is available for us, considering we have 25 to 30 states, so each one have their own delicacies and the number of restaurants that has mushroomed. Is just mind-boggling. Our hope and other things is to fill the coffers as far as somebody at home is to have buy ingredients from us where they are able to try all the ingredients that is possible for the cuisines that they are interested.

00:16:15 – 00:16:42 Mani Krishnan

That is where the opportunity— to give you an example, statistically, let us say the batter sells for $6 or $7 separate. You know, depending upon the area that you’re in. And you can make 16 idlis or 16 dosas, okay, which translates to 40 cents or 45 cents per idli and dosa, depending upon the bay area. Could be lower in Los Angeles, it could be higher. 40, 45 cents.

00:16:42 – 00:17:28 Mani Krishnan

And with condiments and other things, etc., with gunpowder and condiments, etc., you can practically have an idli at $1 at home. This was a concept that was started by Madam J. Jayalalithaa, the ex-Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, where she has Amma’s Kitchen. $1 in idli. And if you buy a batter of 16 or 32 ounces of idli, a family of 4 can comfortably have a good meal. That plus rice, etc., you can have a meal at about less than $10. And today’s inflation, all this cost, etc., Can you imagine a family of 4, $10 a meal or $20 for 2 meals into 30, $600. They can fill the kitchen.

00:17:29 – 00:17:29 Nitin Bajaj

True.

00:17:30 – 00:17:47 Mani Krishnan

And that is what is value as far as idli and dosa is concerned. And again, another terminology I would like to use, etc. These are the days where people talk about AI. Everybody talks about AI, but I have an AI terminology also. It is called affordability.

00:17:48 – 00:17:54 Nitin Bajaj

I love that. And it is a huge opportunity. I agree with you.

00:17:54 – 00:17:54 Mani Krishnan

Yeah.

00:17:55 – 00:18:22 Nitin Bajaj

Now, as we look forward, I like to pause and reflect. And Mani, I would love for you to share two moments from your life. One where things did not work out as you had expected. There was maybe failure. Disappointments, lessons, and another instance where things exceeded your expectations and became a success beyond your imagination?

00:18:23 – 00:19:06 Mani Krishnan

So the failure, Nitin, there were two occasions I had to fall down or fell, as I would like to call it. One is in ’84-’87 when we were part of the electronics business. We were into contract manufacturing, etc. And one of the companies, local companies, which we did contract manufacturing, went belly up. And they owed us about $500,000. And at that point of time, we basically couldn’t meet salaries and other things. So we had to, for a period of time, wind up that company. And I lived on credit cards for a couple of years. No money coming in, no salary. I still did not go to unemployment. Or did not borrow from anybody.

00:19:07 – 00:19:33 Mani Krishnan

2003 was another segment where, you know, again, after the electronic business ability, not able to collect about $2 million. Again, same situation, 2 years of credit card, etc. On both these occasions, the family and the children supported me enormously without having any expectations and ask. So those are the 2 low moments. What it taught me, failure is not fatal.

00:19:34 – 00:20:09 Mani Krishnan

The second time what exceeded my expectations was about 4 or 5 years ago, or about 6 years ago, if I would say Costco came to us. Costco came to us and said they are interested in our batter because they saw all the batter in all the Indian stores, etc. They wanted it 25% cheaper than the Indian stores. I said I can’t do it. Okay. Because Indian stores has been the backbone for my success from day one. And I have a clear motto today, I won’t build my castles on somebody else’s grave.

00:20:10 – 00:20:32 Mani Krishnan

And having done that, Costco came back to us and they said, we want to try your batter, pricing, we were able to negotiate what we wanted to give. And today, Costco plays an important segment in terms of that those are the battery space, etc. And for me, that is the one which exceeded my expectations, you know, after so many years.

00:20:33 – 00:21:04 Nitin Bajaj

That’s amazing. And again, congrats to you. Congrats to the tenacity you bring to it and for holding your morals, your values, and principles and not letting go. Costco is a huge customer, and to be able to say no to them, to keep the relationships that you’ve had for so many years, it speaks volumes of the kind of values you have in place. So again, so much to learn from you. Thank you.

00:21:04 – 00:21:15 Nitin Bajaj

Mani, on to my favorite part of the show. I would love for you to share your one-line life lessons, and I know you have a few, so I would love to hear those.

00:21:16 – 00:21:53 Mani Krishnan

Number 1, don’t give up. That is number 1. Number 2, you have to keep going and believe that tomorrow is going to be a better day. Make sure your family is able to support you and bring them along as far as this process is concerned. Number 4, if any of you have any passion for doing something on your own, I would say do it today. Don’t look for this perfect moment when your entrepreneur journey can start. Okay.

00:21:53 – 00:22:27 Mani Krishnan

And above all, have faith in your ability, which, which makes a big difference because all of us have inner strengths which cannot be measured by anybody else. That is my motto. And I can tell you, irrespective of which God you believe in, Have your moments of silence, have your moments of meditation, have your moments of prayer. And when things look very bleak, you will find out when one door shuts, another door will open. That’s what it is.

00:22:27 – 00:23:09 Mani Krishnan

And today, from my age point of view, all of you might be wondering how old I am. I’m not as young as I look, but let me tell you one thing. I started this journey at the age of 51. And I kept on going and I’m today 73. And the opportunities and other things that I see at the age of 73 is much bigger than what I have seen at the age of 51. So here is the choice. I can keep on going or call it a day and go in front of the TV, watch all the OTT platforms. But I still believe in terms of keeping my mind sharp, I continue to think innovatively, keep doing good.

00:23:09 – 00:23:41 Mani Krishnan

That is the most important thing in the journey. If you are able to do something good for the— for your friends, compatriots, or various organizations which are doing human service in their own way, if you believe in them, do support them. It could be in cash, it could be in— it could be in bags, it could be in gift certificates, it could be multiple things. Today, over a period of 20 years, we have had the opportunity to support about 50 nonprofits due to the various causes.

00:23:41 – 00:24:17 Mani Krishnan

I’m not saying this to— on a boastful manner. I’m just saying people who have enough money, if they want to see purpose in life, look at the projects that brings joy to us. Contribute in your own way, whether it is $10, $1,000 or $100 or $10,000, please do that. And you can allocate that money. And I think it will make a big difference for people who need it. And from our point of view, we are able to give at a time when others may not be so lucky. I think that is the difference you can make in your life.

00:24:18 – 00:24:47 Nitin Bajaj

Love that, Mani. And again, every time we spend time together, it’s— it just makes me happy. There’s so much to learn. From you, through you, and to see you in action. As you said, you know, you could have just started when people are starting to think about retiring is when you started something completely new that you had never done before. And look at the impact you’ve created. And I see the energy. I see you every time we meet.

00:24:47 – 00:25:17 Nitin Bajaj

You have new ideas you want to bring to life. You’re looking to make an announcement in a few weeks. Something new that you haven’t done before. It’s just fascinating. So thank you for being you. Thank you for making the time for sharing your journey, your story, but for most importantly, doing what you do. And I really enjoy our time together, and I’m really proud that I’ve gotten to know you and to see and learn from you firsthand.

00:25:18 – 00:25:47 Mani Krishnan

Thank you very much, Nitin. I look forward to seeing this broadcast in your channel and hope more people know about dosa and idli. Yes. And as a process, if they know about Shastha, I’m very happy, but I’ll be more happy if they know about dosa and idli. Please tell your American friends to go and try a dosa or idli at any of the restaurants nearby so that they know there is life after burgers and pizzas.

00:25:48 – 00:26:09 Mani Krishnan

And also, if you are able to buy a batter, teach them how to make it, etc., that will be a bigger difference because this product with all its natural ingredients, probiotic, fermented, etc., is just a superfood waiting for this world to come and have a shot at it.

00:26:10 – 00:26:12 Nitin Bajaj

I agree 100%. Thank you, Mani.