“We Elevated, Not Westernized”: Founder Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh on Building IKAI

When you walk inside IKAI, the vibes make you realise that it is not just another sweet shop; it is a celebration of Indian mithai reimagined. Born with the idea that a plate can have both luxury and tradition together, IKAI brings premium ingredients, modern artistry, and heritage recipes together, creating a new experience that feels very familiar. It is known as India’s first luxury Sweet and Savory Studio. Being the choice of two of the biggest business conglomerates, Adani and Ambani, IKAI knows the beauty of being humble. We thought of understanding this brand a bit more closely, and for that, we met Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh, the founder of IKAI.

Excerpts From Our Conversation With Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh

unstumbled: How did your academic foundation shape your approach to building a business in the food and beverage industry? How did it help in thinking of scaling traditional Indian concepts? 

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: I come from a non-F&B background with a Doctorate in Management and a background in design from CEPT and IIM Ahmedabad, and that gave me a completely fresh lens. While researching, I identified a massive gap in the traditional Indian mithai and namkeen industry. The gap showed how Indian sweets lacked focus on premium ingredients and luxury presentation.

In Western markets, traditional treats like macarons, chocolates, or dates have been elevated into global luxury brands. But what we saw is that India didn’t have a true luxury food brand for its traditional sweets. Hence, we built IKAI. We built it on two pillars: ingredient-led innovation and elevated branding.

Our research background helped us execute this. We eliminated white refined sugar, switched to 100% olive oil with temperature-controlled induction frying for savories, and developed travel-friendly, design-patented packaging. Instead of Westernizing or needlessly fusing our traditional recipes, we elevated them. This elevation will surely help Indians to proudly present their native sweets as a luxury experience.

unstumbled: What was the moment that made you realize that you need to step in and change people’s perception of traditional Indian sweets?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: Food Memories was my first venture, where I traveled to nearly 70 cities and met over 200 iconic vendor families. I saw fifth- and sixth-generation sweet makers with fantastic legacy products who simply refused to change or innovate. The reason behind this was that they are living by the mindset of “jo chal raha hai, waise hi chalne do” (let things run as they are).

That experience revealed a massive market gap. Traditional mithai is a INR 5-lakh-crore industry and 90% unorganized, yet almost no one was focusing on cleaner ingredients, premium packaging, or modern experiences. Realizing that the industry surely needs someone to elevate traditional sweets is what built the foundation for IKAI.

unstumbled: Why the name IKAI? What does it mean or stand for?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: I wanted to avoid generic names like Meethas, especially since we also do savories. We wanted a short, proud Indian name. In Hindi, IKAI means ‘unit one’ or numero uno. It reflects our ambition to be number one in everything we do. Plus, it’s catchy and rhymes nicely with mithai! So we zeroed in on IKAI.

unstumbled: What were the essential design elements you insisted on when crafting the space?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: Every detail was chosen to reflect authentic Indian heritage. We built the ‘IKAI Minar’ out of red sandstone for our evening ritual of lighting diyas and displaying flowers. We also incorporated genuine copper throughout the store and in our logo,  because copper is deeply rooted in Indian culture and represents an authentic, Indianized luxury.

Additionally, we feature state-specific elements to honor local culture wherever we expand. For our Mumbai flagship, we suspended real Maharashtrian ikhat fabric upside down from the ceiling.

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unstumbled: From a health and quality perspective, how difficult was it to reformulate traditional recipes without compromising on nostalgia and taste?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: It was very tough. Artificial sweeteners like stevia leave a sour aftertaste that ruins traditional mithai. Instead, we relied strictly on natural replacers like date palm jaggery, coconut sugar, and monk fruit sugar. Monk fruit is our star. Because it’s zero-calorie, sweet, and has the lowest glycemic index (GI) spike.

After COVID, health-conscious consumers are reading labels and prioritizing quality over quantity. They would rather buy 700 grams of premium, clean-label sweets than a kilo of a “sugar bomb” from a traditional halwai.

unstumbled: How do you balance preserving traditional recipes with modern, design-forward presentation?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: Balancing the two is the core of our brand. We refuse to westernize or rely on any kind of cheap chocolate fusion, which is easy but uninspired. Instead, we double down on authentic Indian heritage. We keep the iconic shapes, sizes, and textures of traditional staples like kaju katli, pedas, and bhujia completely intact.

Our definition of luxury is simple: respect the traditional recipe, use the highest-quality ingredients, innovate with thoughtful packaging, and create an inviting retail experience. Our goal isn’t to alter that legacy, but to elevate its presentation and proudly put authentic Indian sweets on the global map.

unstumbled: Beyond sweets, you introduced “Chaat & Craft” and savory chakna tasting sections. What led you to its introduction?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: It wasn’t just a random addition; it came from solving two major problems in the chaat category: hygiene and delivery quality.

Street food tastes great, but street thelas often lack hygiene and comfortable spaces, while five-star hotels ruin the authentic vibe by over-refining it. We wanted uncompromised hygiene without losing the authentic street essence, even serving pani puri live while you stand. Second, chaat usually gets soggy when ordered online. We solved this with specialized, multi-compartment packaging so delivery stays fresh and crispy.

unstumbled: Why did you choose Mumbai, and specifically Bandra, for your next flagship shop?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: Choosing Bandra was a deliberate strategic test. Bandra has a high concentration of health-conscious consumers who read labels and understand premium ingredients like monk fruit sugar. It attracts people from all walks of life, allowing us to validate our brand across diverse communities rather than a niche subset.
Since IKAI is an ingredient-led, design-focused brand, getting Bandra’s stamp of approval on our taste, branding, and aesthetics gives us the ultimate validation and confidence to expand anywhere in India.

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unstumbled: When you are catering to billionaire families who have access to the absolute best culinary talent globally, what does it take to impress them?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: Honestly, they approached us! The Adani and Ambani families actually spotted us at the Mumbai airport and reached out organically.

Out of dozens of established brands pitching to cater major events like the Adani wedding and Ambani pre-wedding, they chose IKAI because of our quality ingredients, elevated packaging, and brand vision. Beyond product quality, these families genuinely wanted to support young Indian founders and promote startup culture.  They trusted us with massive responsibility, and we delivered.

unstumbled: How did bagging that order feel? What challenges did you face while delivering it?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: It felt like an absolute miracle, and proved to be an incredible learning curve for a 1.5-year-old startup!

Our biggest challenge was scale, speed, and consistency. In under 15 days, we had to produce 70,000 custom-made boxes containing 10 lakh individual, handmade, hand-cut pieces of 8 distinct dry-fruit sweets. We took up 5 packaging factories, brought in 100 master halwais from across India to our Ahmedabad facility, and dispatched 5,000 to 8,000 completed boxes every single day.

Maintaining strict taste and quality consistency across 10 lakh handmade pieces on such a tight deadline was tough. Our core team barely slept 20 hours over those two weeks.

unstumbled: Which is the core value of House of IKAI?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: IKAI’s core value centers on authenticity, transparency, and ingredient-first integrity

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unstumbled: How do you keep IKAI rooted in traditions, warmth, and hospitality while maintaining its high-end status?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: True luxury brands don’t try too hard; they stay simple, rooted, and proud of their heritage. We follow that exact philosophy by being an ingredient-first, design-led brand.

While we respect traditional staples like classic namkeens and sweets, we also cater to modern health-conscious consumers through a ‘Modern Wellness’ line featuring non-fried, multi-millet options. We also have subtle upgrades like adding almond fudge to classic Mohanthal. But at our core, we aren’t trying to be overly flashy or going for heavy fusion just to call ourselves luxury.

True luxury comes from uncompromised quality, timeless presentation, and honoring tradition for us.

unstumbled: As a modern culinary icon, what do you think about the current global shift toward conscious indulgence and cleaner eating?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: It perfectly aligns with why we launched IKAI as an ‘Edible Luxury’ brand.

If people are willing to spend INR 2 lakh on a designer bag or INR 1 lakh on luxury shoes, why shouldn’t they spend a little extra to eat clean, high-quality food? Indian mithais and namkeens are at the heart of every Indian celebration, yet we rarely pay attention to what goes into them.

Our goal is to educate consumers and upgrade traditional sweets into a conscious, high-quality luxury experience. Because what you put inside your body matters just as much as what you wear.

unstumbled: Now that the Bandra flagship is live, what are IKAI’s future expansion plans?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: Over the next 12 months, our main focus is expanding deeper into Mumbai and launching a bigger outlet in Ahmedabad.

unstumbled: Do you plan to explore the digital e-commerce space for IKAI? Or will it remain strictly an exclusive, experiential studio?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: While IKAI remains a physical-first brand because food is best experienced in person, we are actively looking into expanding into digital channels, quick-commerce platforms like Zomato and Blinkit, and even global e-commerce.

unstumbled: For the next generation of culinary entrepreneurs trying to reinvent traditional Indian food concepts or a new concept, what is the most important piece of advice you can share?

Dr. Harmitsingh Sikh: Study Indian food culture deeply because it is incredibly rich and full of untapped potential. Don’t wait for Western validation to realize the value of native ingredients like makhana, moringa, multi-millets, or haldi doodh (which the West rebranded as “Golden Latte”).  There is immense opportunity in taking our traditional, time-tested food heritage and building global brands directly out of India.

About IKAI

IKAI is India’s first luxury Sweet and Savory Studio. It offers luxury Indian sweets, comforting street food flavors, and elevated traditional Indian chat.

Address:  IKAI Shop No. 1, Seven Star Building, Rd Number 24, opposite Starbucks, off Linking Road, Khar West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400052

Timing: 11:11 AM to 11:11 PM

Cost For Two: INR 1,000