Welcome toSecond Life, a podcast spotlighting successful women who’ve made major career changes—and fearlessly mastered the pivot. Hosted by Hillary Kerr, co-founder and chief content officer at Who What Wear, each episode gives you a direct line to women who are game changers in their fields. Subscribe to Second Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts to stay tuned.
In 2017, Sana Javeri Kadri launched a brand like no other: direct-trade spice company Diaspora Co. Known for its range of delectable spice flavors and aromatics, the brand’s mission goes beyond highlighting indigenous spices. Javeri Kadri has dedicated her company to working toward a radically equitable, sustainable, and modern spice supply chain. After booking a one-way trip to India, Javeri Kadri made it her mission to restore the meaning of “made in India” by creating spices through a fresh, new standard while nurturing the industry’s most important aspect: the relationship with the Indian farmers and laborers. “Part one of the way we build supply chains is—and this reflects my very first trip home to India where I wasn’t getting responses via email and I had to just show up in person—my big lesson was always show up in person,” reveals Javeri Kadri. “You learn more, business is done in person, and that’s how you build long-term relationships.”
Javeri Kadri found farmers who had the same commitment to growing with intent, ultimately proving that an old, broken system can indeed change. Launching with just one spice, Pragati turmeric, Javeri Kadri surprised herself by selling out of the product in just three hours. Today, Diaspora has become a nationally acclaimed brand found in both home and professional kitchens, continually evolving and adding to its flavor repertoire. Javeri Kadri now works with 150 farm partners and 1000 farmworkers, whom she pays an average of six times more than the commodity price and aims to provide health insurance for every farmworker by the end of this year.
Born and raised in Mumbai, Javeri Kadri has always been at the intersection of food and culture, working in many different facets of the industry. From farmworker, waitress, and line cook to marketing consultant and photographer, Javeri Kadri immersed herself in the food world knowing she could make a difference. Tune in to the latest Second Life episode to hear how Javeri Kadri was able to understand the role she was meant to play in changing a seemingly unchangeable system and what the first few years of being an entrepreneur looked like for her. And keep scrolling to shop some of Diaspora Co.’s best-selling spices.
