Royal Foods & Spices

Our place is in Kuttady Po, Vandamedu. If you know this area, you know it’s all about the spices. We spend our time working with the local stuff that comes in from the nearby fields. Royal Foods & Spices isn't some big factory; it's more like a busy warehouse where things get sorted and packed. The air always smells like cardamom and pepper, which gets into your clothes by the end of the shift. We spend a lot of time checking the quality of what comes through the door. Some bags are better than others, and we have to be careful about what we put aside. There’s a lot of weighing and sealing going on. We have a few old scales that have been with us since the start. The floor is usually covered with bits of husk and dust from the dried goods. We don’t have much in the way of a front showroom. Mostly, it’s just piles of sacks and people working. It’s a lot of physical labor, moving things around and making sure the storage stays dry. When the harvest season hits, it gets really hectic and we’re here late into the evening. We talk to the farmers when they drop off their loads. They tell us about the rain and the crops. It's a simple way of working, but it keeps us busy every single day.