Cashing in their Chips

Built on the principles of grandma's kitchen, snacking brand Sweet Karam Coffee is riding the D2C wave with clean ingredients and storytelling

- BY PANKTI MEHTA KADAKIA

In 2024, an unlikely fan of World Cup-winning cricket captain MS Dhoni went viral—an 82-year-old grandma who goes by the name of Janaki Paati'. Paati, Tamil for grandmother, is the beatific, sari-clad, self-proclaimed Chennai Super Kings superfan, who climbed four floors of the Chepauk stadium to see her favourite cricketer in the flesh, as she whistled and cheered him on. She is also the face of Chennai-based South Indian snacking brand Sweet Karam Coffee (SKC), founded by her grandchildren, based on her recipes and principles of cooking.

One rainy evening in 2015, the group of cousins was craving home-style murukku, but didn't find a suitable alternative in the shops—just processed versions made with palm oil and preservatives. That kicked off the idea for Sweet Karam Coffee—led by their grandmother's clean and authentic recipes, from banana chips and murukku to pickle and Mysore Pak.

Today, SKC serves pin codes across India, with a robust product range that includes sweets, chips and snacks, filter coffee, papads, pickles, masalas and more. Their DNA is simple: The products have to be South Indian and prepared just like Janaki Paati would make them at home.