True to the "Deep" name, which symbolizes "enlightenment" in India, the brand was created to help all Americans learn more about India by elevating and expanding access to modern, high-quality Indian food and culinary experiences.

One of the fastest-growing food brands in the U.S., Deep Indian Kitchen manufactures flavorful, ready-in-minutes meals, breads and appetizers are currently available in the frozen section of more than 21,000 stores nationwide, as well as at its fast-casual Deep Indian Kitchen restaurant in Union, New Jersey.

Kiernan Laughlin is the General Manager of Deep Indian Kitchen, which he co-created, launched and has led across functions since its inception in 2018. He brings nearly two decades of commercial and general management experience in the CPG industry across small and large companies, including prior roles at Gorton’s Seafood and Unilever.

Deep Indian Kitchen is wholly owned and custom-manufactured by its parent company, Deep Foods Inc., a three-generation Indian-American family company that has been among the largest manufacturers of Indian food for the Indian-American community since 1977. Laughlin serves as EVP.

Deep Indian Kitchen recently celebrated its fifth anniversary but its roots date back to the late 70s. Tell me about how it was founded and why the company pursued frozen food?

Deep Indian Kitchen is owned by Deep Foods, which was founded in 1977 by Bhagwati Amin, shortly after she and her family immigrated to New Jersey from Gujarat, India. Starting out in her home garage, Bhagwati prepared traditional Indian snacks for local Indian grocery stores and as the Indian-American community and Indian grocery channel grew, Deep Foods grew alongside it. Today, Deep Foods is the largest manufacturer of Indian food in North America and we proudly serve the Indian-American community by selling over 1,200 branded Indian food products in the Indian grocery store channel in America. We remain family-owned and operated by three generations of the Amin family.

In 2018, we decided we wanted to serve the Indian community further by focusing on sharing Deep’s food with all Americans and using it to elevate their perceptions of Indian culture. For decades, we’d had a business in the natural and conventional grocery channels under the brand name Tandoor Chef, but it was small, declining and unprofitable. As part of a turnaround of that business, we rebranded Tandoor Chef to Deep Indian Kitchen and launched it in 2019, as a modern way to serve Millennials and Gen Zs seeking global flavor experiences. Deep Indian Kitchen has grown about eight times since its inception and is now sold profitably in over 21,000 stores nationwide. The brand continues to successfully introduce new consumers to Indian food by making it easy for them to try it authentically — with premium, restaurant-quality frozen meals, appetizers, handhelds and snacks ready in minutes.

How does Deep Indian Kitchen manufacture and distribute its meals, breads and more?

This is going to sound cliché, but it’s true: nobody else makes Indian food the way Deep makes Indian food. The reason I can say that confidently is that our manufacturing processes and equipment are extensively customized and have been tailored to making authentic Indian food from scratch at scale.

Authentic is arguably the most overused word in our industry but what makes Indian food special and “authentic” is its ingredients, layers of flavor and unique tastes and textures.  Standard machines and stock ingredients are efficient, but they often result in an Americanized or watered-down flavor experience, not authentic Indian. So that’s not what we use. It takes us 10 hours and a lot of proprietary custom engineering to perfect our Chicken Tikka Masala and we do it with the highest quality, freshest ingredients possible!

We make our Deep Indian Kitchen entrees at Deep Foods’ SQF-certified facility in New Jersey. Additionally, Deep Foods operates a dairy facility in New York and two facilities in India. If we haven’t been able to customize equipment in America to achieve authentic taste, shape and texture, we hand make products such as our samosas and naan in India.  Regardless of location, our products are always made from scratch.

We’re proud that our Deep Indian Kitchen products are available in over 21,000 stores in every state across the country, and we’re thankful for our retailer, distributor and 3PL partners who help us make high quality Indian cuisine accessible to shoppers nationwide.

With menu items like naan pizza, how does Deep Indian Kitchen approach product development? How do you see global flavors influencing the broader frozen category?

In our first four years as a brand, we were very focused on building a foundation with our core frozen meals and appetizer products. Now we are increasing our innovation but we have to remain disciplined and focused to ensure our new products are successful.

Our product development starts with identifying unmet, incremental consumer needs based on various sources, including syndicated data, industry reports and direct feedback from customers at our Deep Indian Kitchen restaurant. In fact, the success of our Kati Rolls at our restaurant led us to develop our frozen Kati Street Wraps, which we launched in 2024, as a brand extension into frozen handhelds. They have performed well beyond our expectations and won several awards!

Global flavors are driving frozen food category growth, but not all are created equally. The growth is being driven by the premium authentic global flavor segment which is incrementally shifting restaurant occasions to the home and attracting new millennial and high-income shoppers. These shoppers are looking for bold, vibrant flavor varieties, but they lack the time and expertise to make complex cuisines like Indian. We’re uniquely positioned to meet this demand because we combine our traditional cooking methods with convenient formats that enable consumers to enjoy authentic experiences at home.

Every purchase of Deep Indian Kitchen products benefits the Deepkiran Foundation, a company-founded charitable organization. Tell us more about this nonprofit and its mission?

We don’t do it for the sake of publicity, so perhaps we don’t talk about it enough. However, it truly mirrors the ethos of our brand and company. While “Deep” is a common English word, in India it has several meanings. Literally, it translates to “light” and “lamp” but it also symbolizes “enlightenment,” and that’s what our brand’s purpose and mission are all about.

The Deepkiran Foundation is our charitable organization and Deepkiran translates to “Ray of Light.” The foundation exists to provide access to education for underprivileged children in rural India, helping to empower communities and create brighter futures.

Unlike in America, many children in rural India are born into poverty with significant barriers to achieving enlightenment through education. For example, their families lack cars, school buses don’t exist and they can’t afford to buy school supplies. Sadly, as a result, many of these children never get an education and remain impoverished.

That’s why our foundation supports over 35,000 children a year across villages, ensuring they have resources such as transportation, school supplies and food to enable their education. Every purchase of Deep Indian Kitchen products benefits this cause and makes a tangible impact on children’s lives.

Last year, you launched your first handheld product and a new matar paneer recipe. What’s on the horizon for Deep Indian Kitchen in 2025?

Exciting things are coming at Deep Indian Kitchen! We’re preparing to grow our portfolio, bringing more bold and authentic flavors and formats to the frozen aisle. As we lead the charge in the global flavor trends, we’re eager to provide consumers and our customers with exactly what they’ve been looking for — modern, flavorful Indian products that seamlessly blend tradition with convenience and trends. Make sure to keep an eye out for what’s coming in the months ahead!

Deep Indian Kitchen has been on an impressive growth trajectory, with a 51% CAGR in the past five years. We’re thrilled to be at an exciting stage in our journey, and we’ve talked a lot about the brands, products and innovation, but our people and culture are the foundation of our growth. We continue to scale efficiently by adding more and more sophisticated capabilities led by our people and I should mention that we’re hiring! We’re excited for what’s to come and the talent that will help take us there!