India Sweet House did not begin as a sweets company. The Bengaluru-based brand traces its roots to an organic farming venture started by co-founders Shwetha Rajashekar and Vishwanath Murthy around 2015-16. The couple was running a 20-acre farm with around 100 cows and initially built a business around milk, paneer and ghee under the Karma Farms label.
The model, however, ran into trouble during the Covid-19 pandemic. Demand for fresh milk became harder to manage, while the logistics of collecting and returning glass bottles made the direct-to-consumer business particularly difficult.
That problem eventually led the founders to rethink the business.
Instead of continuing to sell milk as a standalone product, they began using it to make traditional Indian sweets. What started as a way to absorb excess milk gradually became the foundation for India Sweet House (ISH), which was established in 2020.
The company initially took an online-first route, selling through platforms such as BigBasket, Metro Cash and Carry and SPAR India, before opening its first physical store in Bengaluru's Malleswaram in 2021.