Ice Dream

Some come back from Spain with souvenirs; Raghav Bansal returned with a business plan.

- By Pankti Mehta Kadakia

Raghav Bansal (28) Kanav Agarwal (26)

Co-founders, Frostar

While pursuing an MBA at the IE Business School in Madrid, Bansal noticed that frozen foods were integrated into daily life. Even vegetables at grocery stores, bought fresh, would have been frozen before they got there—words that were considered a juxtaposition to each other in India.

“People in India believe that frozen food is not fresh—that’s not always true,” Bansal, 28, says. “The truth is that in India, the quality, hygiene, depth or touch of frozen foods haven’t been up to global standards. The idea is to offer preservative-free, farm-fresh vegetables frozen at their peak, so that they reach your table in their best form, minimising wastage.”

Bansal teamed up with cousins Kanav Agarwal, 26, and Vishesh Bansal, 32, to create Frostar in September 2023: What the trio describes as a farmer-first frozen foods company that aims to transform India’s supply chain. The more they looked into the problem, the more triggers they found to pursue their plan.