Heray Spice
Spice wholesaler · Lakeview ·
Premium Afghan saffron, single origin spices, fair farmer wages
Information
3717 N Ravenswood Ave Suite 115E, Chicago, IL 60613 Get directions
Premium Afghan saffron, single origin spices, fair farmer wages
3717 N Ravenswood Ave Suite 115E, Chicago, IL 60613 Get directions
"Founded in Chicago in 2017 by Mohammad Salehi (a 2021 Eater New Guard member), this company focuses on making saffron more accessible to Americans while creating a more stable economic structure for farmer families in Afghanistan: it employs 28 families growing saffron as part of a cooperative, provides workshops on production and harvesting techniques and supplies tools and resources to maintain quality. As Ruchi Kumar explains, “what sets [the company] apart, making it lucrative for farmers, is the payout: significantly more than market rates. The company also sends a percentage of its profits to support two local schools in Herat Province, a way to give back to the children of the farming community.”" - Francky Knapp
"A saffron farmers co-op based in Afghanistan that focuses on laboratory testing and quality control, measuring key compounds (crocin, safranal, picrocrocin) to determine color, aroma, and flavor before grading and packaging. The co-op frames saffron as integral to regional culinary traditions while also describing the economic pressures local farmers face, including large-scale reimports and reexports that depress prices and harm producers' livelihoods." - Sylvio Martins
"Founded by Mohammad Salehi, an Afghan-born former U.S. Army interpreter who settled in Chicago, this startup sources hand-harvested saffron from a cooperative of 28 families in Herat Province and emphasizes traditional, sanitation-conscious processing with microbiology lab testing for imports to the U.S. The product is noted for long, thick threads with a deep orange-yellow color and intense aroma and flavor—qualities chefs praise for producing deeply colored stocks, creams, and rich sauces—and the company initially targeted upscale restaurants while also selling directly to home cooks online. The cooperative model pays farmers an estimated 30–50% above local market rates, provides training and resources to maintain quality, and channels a portion of profits to support two local schools, helping farmers resist pressure to return to opium cultivation. Although the pandemic forced a temporary reduction in capacity, the founder plans to expand into other Afghan spices and teas while maintaining ethical sourcing and the stated goals of helping chefs, helping farmers, and helping children." - Ruchi Kumar
"Founded in Chicago in 2017 by a Herat-born entrepreneur, this small saffron business sells premium Afghan saffron to more than 120 professional chefs and an increasing number of home cooks while positioning each purchase as a social investment. The founder travels regularly to Herat to recruit and train farmers, pays them significantly above prevailing rates, and invests 10% of net income into educational nonprofits to create long-term opportunities for children in his hometown. Emphasizing purity and traditional, naturally heated/dried processing to meet Western standards, the company educates U.S. chefs about fake saffron and delivers many orders personally from a small team; during COVID it shifted from primarily wholesale to direct online retail. Motivated to provide a profitable alternative to opium cultivation, the operation highlights saffron’s long-term multiplied yields versus annual poppy crops and aims to change how Afghanistan is perceived while creating tangible income for farming communities." - Elazar Sontag
"A spice business dedicated to bringing high-quality Afghani saffron to U.S. cooks while ensuring fair payment to Afghan farmers and supporting education charities in Herat. Originally focused on wholesale clients, it has expanded to sell directly to home cooks, combats counterfeit saffron in the market, and earmarks part of its proceeds for community development back home." - Hillary Dixler Canavan
Fawzia H.
Evan A.
Diana G.
Nahzatullah J.
Chelsea M.
Marc M.
Anne T.
Sabir K.
