The Indus Valley

The Indus Valley

Added on April 13, 2026

Jagadeesh Kumar (IIM Raipur, ex-TCS, Linde India, Healthkart) and Madhumitha Udaykumar (ex-Deloitte consultant) were preparing a meal in their Bengaluru home when a plastic container melted inside the oven. The incident sent them down a research spiral about what Indian cookware is actually made of. The answer was alarming: most non-stick pans use PFAS-based coatings, most affordable cookware is aluminium with unknown finishes & the genuinely safer options: cast iron, stainless steel, clay, brass, bronze were either hard to find or badly executed. They started The Indus Valley in 2016 to change that.

The product range is built around materials that have been used in Indian kitchens for centuries: cast iron (their signature, pre-seasoned, ready to use), tri-ply stainless steel (fully clad 304-grade, induction-compatible), sheet iron and traditional metals like brass, bronze and copper for serving. 250+ SKUs covering kadais, tawas, pressure cookers, dosas, idli makers, woks and more. ISO 9001 certified, every batch tested for chemical safety. Co-designed with third-party manufacturers but quality-controlled rigorously in-house.

Revenue ₹72 crore in FY24, ₹117 crore in FY25: 61% growth, losses narrowing sharply. Top three bestseller on Amazon across major cookware categories. 60% of revenue through their own D2C website. Backed by DSG Consumer Partners and others, who describe 4x growth since investment with 5x capital efficiency.

The honest caveat worth naming: cast iron has a learning curve. It needs to be seasoned, dried properly and stored correctly. If you're used to the convenience of Teflon, the first month will require adjustment. MasterChow's sauces and The Indus Valley's cast iron kadai are, incidentally, a natural pairing.

Best for: households that cook daily and are increasingly uncomfortable with what PFAS-coated non-stick actually puts into their food and who want cookware that gets better with age rather than worse.

— D2C Bazaar

About this brand— in their own words

Innovate, Create, and Grow: The Indus Valley Invites You to Join Our Mission. Welcome to The Indus Valley - India's No 1 healthy cookware brand where we revolutionize the very essence of cooking by merging health, safety, and innovation into your kitchen.

As a Chennai-based direct-to-consumer venture, we are India's pioneering health cookware brand, backed by substantial venture capital. Trusted by over 10 lakh customers and driven by a team of over 100 passionate individuals, we stand as a beacon of commitment to wellness and vitality. The Indus Valley is a 100 Cr brand, with a foundation resting on the belief that everyone deserves access to premium-quality, health-focused cookware. Our brand is rooted in values such as integrity, humanity, reliability, agility, and unmatched quality.