By Naina Yadav

Copyright startuppedia

“In the first month of 2025, Nikhil Kamath (Zerodha founder) expressed his belief that the makhana superfood in Bihar is set to be a billion-dollar industry.Advertisment But back in 2021, Syed Faraz had already recognized this potential. “I saw the makhana as an extremely underrated superfood and decided to popularize it through an established business that deals in the value-addition space. For instance, flavoured makhanas and makhana cookies,” Syed Faraz, co-founder of Shhe Foods, tells Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview. Founded in 2021, Shhe Foods is a Bihar-based food startup that offers a variety of value-added makhanas in the B2B white-labelling space. Currently in 2025, it is recording an average monthly revenue of Rs 1.5 crore. THE BACKGROUND Hailing from Bihar, Syed Faraz comes from an engineering background. He spent a decade of his life in numerous software engineering roles in Bangalore. At 28 years of age in 2021, he decided to come back to Bihar. “I wanted to do something of my own. Being from Bihar, makhana was all around me. I identified its potential in the Indian and global healthy snacks market. I decided to dive into and explore the value-addition space,” Syed tells Startup Pedia. His friend, Shishir Shubham, who is also from Bihar and has an engineering background, joined him as a co-founder. The entrepreneur duo established Shhe Foods in November 2021. Syed Faraz, Founder of SHHE Foods Read More: Meet India”s 1st Sports Social Media App “Dugout” Built By A Hyderabad-based IIT-IIM Alumnus; Gets 2 Lakh+ Downloads In Just A Year THE JOURNEY AND CHALLENGES When Syed and Shishir started Shhe Foods, they realized that they only had a small amount of Rs 3 lakh with them, and some ideas to go with. No brand value. No market value. Nothing fancy. “So instead of directly entering the D2C market and spending heavily in carving out our own space, we decided to take the route of B2B white-labelling. It is the process of supplying products to a brand that will then use their name and branding to sell it in the retail market,” startup founder Syed Faraz says. The initial journey of the food startup included: Intense research around product development that was conducted by Syed and Shishir. They set up meetings with ICAR scientists and visited the National Makhana Research Center in Bihar. “We wanted to perfect the value-addition idea that we had. Collaborating with people helped but ultimately we decided to do everything ourselves. That way, the research costs came down and the process became more sustainable,” Syed Faraz mentions. Spending close to 13 hours every day for months in order to solve the problem statement of flavoured makhanas. “Primarily, these issues were the smell of the oil, the smell of the makhana, and the low shelf life. We wanted to solve for all of these,” entrepreneur Shishir Shubham says. Building a prototype machine to manufacture the flavoured makhanas. Syed Faraz and Shishir had studied robotics in college and had a fair idea about the mechanisms that go behind building and operating a food processing machine. SHHE Foods Different Makhana Flavor Applying for the PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) government scheme and securing a loan of Rs 10 lakh by the end of 2022. Raising an investment round of Rs 15 lakh from an angel investor at a valuation of Rs 3 crore. “We also asked our families and friends to pitch in, which they happily did,” Faraz tells Startup Pedia. Shhe Foods received its first order in 2022 itself. The client wanted 30 cartons of flavoured makhanas (1 carton equals 14 kilograms). The deal was quickly finalized at Rs 4 lakh. “We fulfilled 90% of this order via our prototype machine. Unfortunately, it broke down towards the end. So we went to another factory and used their professional machines to complete the remaining part of our order. It was made ready, packaged, and sent within one day,” Faraz smiles. Eventually, word-of-mouth spread and Shhe Foods started receiving bulk orders from food brands and companies across India. In 2023, Faraz and Shishir purchased a plot of government land spanning 10,000 square feet to establish their own manufacturing unit. “This cost us at least Rs 30 lakh,” Faraz mentions. With this, Shhe Foods made its website and started hiring young adults who wanted to join a budding food startup. “For ideation and brand-building, we needed educated people. We hired them accordingly. For factory workers, we locally hired them from nearby villages,” entrepreneur Shishir tells Startup Pedia. Syed Faraz with His SHHE Foods Team Read More: Indore Founders Launch “Superpower Patches” That You Can Slap On To Instantly Sleep, Exercise, Work, & Focus Better SHHE FOODS: TAKING THE BIHAR MAKHANA TO THE WORLD Today, Shhe Foods operates as a Bihar-based food startup that offers a variety of value-added makhanas in the B2B white-labelling space. It offers healthy makhanas in flavours like cream and onion, tangy cheese, peri-peri, pudina, mix, and salt and pepper. Additionally, the food startup offers healthy makhana cookies and pre-mixes that can be mixed in milk and consumed. “The best part is that we’ve hardly ever spent on marketing Shhe Foods. The thing with makhanas is that the industry has a great network of word-of-mouth recommendations. People come to us via referrals all the time. The demand is real,” Syed Faraz explains to Startup Pedia. Shhe Foods has partnered with 300+ farmers in Bihar to grow and supply a sustainable volume of makhanas. It is because of this robust sourcing, the founders say, that they have been able to offer fixed makhana rates throughout the year. The unit economics of Shhe Foods, according to Faraz, is as follows: If a flavoured makhana jar is being sold at an average price of Rs 115 in the B2B space, then: Rs 75 goes into obtaining the raw material and processing it Rs 25 goes into packaging costs The remaining Rs 15 accounts for profit margin. In 2022, Shhe Foods catered to 4 food brands and white-labelled quality makhanas for them. In 2023, the client number jumped to 12. In the following year, the clientele increased to 30. Currently, Shhe Foods caters to more than 41 Indian and international food companies, brands, and startups. SHHE Foods Product Read More: Delhi Startup Founded By 2 Childhood Friends Lets You Exercise On Water – Becomes First-Ever Floating Fitness Brand In India OWN BRAND CHAIN Now that Shhe Foods has gained experience in the B2B realm and understood the intricacies of consumer preferences, taste, and quality expectations, the startup has recently launched its own brands such as Makhanza, Nutrimix, and Maket. The brands” products like flavoured makhanas and makhana-millet cookies have already made it to 80+ stores across Lucknow, Varanasi, and Ahmedabad. GROWTH AND REVENUE Since inception, Shhe Foods has seen a steady growth in its annual revenue. In 2022, the Bihar-based food startup clocked an annual revenue of Rs 8 lakh. It spiked to Rs 54 lakh in 2023, and Rs 2.5 crore in 2024. Lately, the founders have started sharing their startup journey on the Shhe Foods” Instagram handle and have acquired more than 3,000 followers. With Shhe Foods presence in 11 states of India and countries like USA, Australia, Dubai, and New Zealand, entrepreneurs Syed Faraz and Shishir Shubham plan to close 2025 with Rs 20 crore in annual revenue. Currently, they’re achieving an average monthly revenue of Rs 1.5 crore. In the near future, they want to launch affordable healthy snacking products under their own brand names. These would include kurkure-style makhanas and ready-to-drink beverages retailing at an MRP of Rs 20. Syed Faraz and Shishir with another team member FAQ Q. When was Shhe Foods founded? A. Shhe Foods was founded in 2021. Q. Who is the founder of Shhe Foods? A. Hailing from Bihar, Shishir Shubham and Syed Faraz are the founders of Shhe Foods. Q. What does Shhe Foods do? A. Shhe Foods is a Bihar-based food startup that offers a variety of value-added makhanas in the B2B white-labelling space. It has now launched its own brands like Makhanza and Maket. Q. What is the revenue of Shhe Foods? A. Shhe Foods clocked an annual revenue of Rs 2.5 crore in 2024. Currently in 2025, it is recording an average monthly revenue of Rs 1.5 crore. Read More: Meet Raipur Brothers Who Launched A Pure Masala Brand With Zip-lock Packs & Shook Up Players Like Everest & Catch – Clocked Rs 92 Cr Revenue”