Move Over Matcha: Malaysian Entrepreneur Bets On Pandan Making It Big In India
KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 (Bernama) -- While Japan’s matcha-flavoured tea has become hugely popular in cafés and bakeries across India, Malaysian entrepreneur Shivaani Suppiah is betting that another green food ingredient - pandan - might make it big in the South Asian nation.
The 32-year-old Teluk Intan-born lady has high hopes of pandan penetrating the vast Indian market, based on positive feedback from people in India who have tasted her variety of foods containing the ingredient.
Going by the scientific name of Pandanus amaryllifolius, pandan is a staple of traditional cooking commonly used in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia, which comes with a signature aroma revered as the “Vanilla of the East”.
Her zeal to break into the Indian market begins from her base near Pondicherry in southern India.
Pondicherry, a former French colony on India's southeastern coast, is known for its unique blend of Tamil and French influences as well as its vibrant tourism sector.
Shivaani said she chose Pondicherry to be her startup base for her brand due to its active community of travellers, entrepreneurs and locals and their penchant to try new foods and favours.
She is on a mission to introduce the aromatic Southeast Asian plant through her brand ‘It’s Pandan Only’, to Indian consumers through the variety of their cuisine, ranging from dosas to appam and even Indian curry.
Shivaani explains that the brand focuses on experimenting with creating dishes using pandan, in the hope of making the flavour more familiar in India, where pandan leaves are primarily known for use in biryanis and traditional medicinal practices.
“My long term goal is to make pandan more accessible and a familiar flavour in India, much like how matcha became hugely popular. But it took the Chinese tea about seven to 19 years to make its mark as a popular food and beverage item in India,” she told Bernama in an interview.
Nevertheless, she contends that matcha has its limitations. “You can only use it in desserts”, whereas pandan is more versatile and can be used in a wide variety of foods. With my brand ‘It’s Pandan Only,’ I wish to expand the versatility of pandan beyond traditional Malaysian dishes.
“I am still introducing Malaysian foods to India, and I'm also experimenting with pandan in India, like with Indian food.”
Some of the dishes she started experimenting with infusing pandan are idli, dosa, chapati, poori, puttu, appam, kesari, as well as Malaysian dishes such as nasi lemak and agar-agar, where she will distribute samples to restaurants and cafes around Pondicherry.
One of the key products under the brand is a vegetarian kaya spread called "Pandan Coconut Spread", which has sold approximately 20 kilogrammes across India over the past five months.
Kaya is a creamy spread made from coconut milk, eggs, sugar and aromatic pandan leaves.
"Currently, the kaya is brought in from Malaysia from a bakery called Vicked Good, but the plan is to begin local production near Pondicherry later this year. The product is priced at 290 Indian rupees (RM14.60) for 100g and 520 Indian rupees (RM26.20) for 200g," she said.
The idea to penetrate the Indian market was born of Shivaani's relocation to southern India in December 2023. There she found herself craving Malaysian food, prompting her to grow pandan for her own cooking.
Encouraged by her cousin Ravi’s suggestion, she started making pandan commercially, gradually moving from cooking for events and potlucks to building a modest business around the ingredient. Today, she cultivates around 50 pandan plants, including about 20 mature plants ready for harvest.
It was in June last year that Shivaani decided to fully commit to growing the brand, drawing on her decade-long experience in digital marketing, including working with food and wellness brands in Malaysia.
Encouraging response for pandan kaya
Elaborating on her decision to choose Pondicherry, she noted that “many different people are coming here, not just Indians, foreigners from other parts of the world. It's a good location for me to do my production, to test out with cafes.
“I've given samples to the French, Germans and Americans. I'll be like saying, ‘Hey, do you want to try this kaya?’ And everyone has given me very good feedback, including travellers from different parts of southern and northern India,” she said.
The venture was launched with an initial modest investment of about RM4,600, largely spent on sourcing pandan-based products from Malaysia, branding and basic equipment. Shivaani said the business remains entirely self-funded through her personal savings, freelance digital marketing income and product sales.
Even the rising cost of living has not deterred Shivaani, as the brand operates on a lean financial model that prioritises small, controlled inventory purchases. The brand, she added, is growing “intentionally slow, organic and highly deliberate” to maintain financial sustainability amid fluctuating costs.
With that, Shivaani hopes to extend the brand to other parts of India in the near future. “Pondicherry will be my base for the next few years. But I cannot only focus on this area to grow. I have to go out, I want to try going to Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai,” she said.
Shivaani also uses social media, particularly Instagram, through her page "It's Pandan Only", to share cooking experiments and ideas on the many ways pandan can be used, not only in India but around the world.
For Shivaani, pandan has the potential to become a widely used ingredient due to its versatility, affordability and ease of cultivation.
“I also want to position pandan as a natural and sustainable food alternative. I would love to see bigger manufacturers using pandan in thein their products like ice cream, breads, cakes and desserts, like how it is used in Malaysia,” she added.
Her efforts might be in India, but Shivaani says Malaysia remains close to her heart.
“I’m a proud Malaysian, and Malaysia will always be home. Coming here was a personal decision to explore something new and reconnect with my roots.
"I also believe Malaysian culture, especially our amazing food, deserves to be shared more. Through pandan, I hope to build a small bridge between countries,” she added.
-- BERNAMA
