/socialsamosa/media/agency_attachments/PrjL49L3c0mVA7YcMDHB.png)
/socialsamosa/media/media_files/2025/10/07/desktop-leaderboard-1-2025-10-07-15-55-17.png)
/socialsamosa/media/member_avatars/2024/10/28/2024-10-28t132826548z-whatsapp-image-2024-10-28-at-185743.jpeg )
Follow Us/socialsamosa/media/media_files/2025/11/04/sweet-karam-coffee-2025-11-04-19-14-10.png)
Imagine you’re back in your grandmother’s kitchen, waiting excitedly while she rolls out the dough, the sound of her humming, mixing with the sizzling sound of the oil on the kadhai getting hot. Perched on the stool by the countertop, you might have asked eagerly, ‘Dadi, when will the food be ready?’.
This feeling, the memory of grandma’s cooking, the taste of something made just for you, the nostalgia of tradition meeting love, it stays with you. It fills a corner of your mind and makes you crave not just the snack, but the story behind it.
Into that memory walks the brand Sweet Karam Coffee. Founded in Chennai, the brand is rooted in the homemade recipes of snacks, sweets and filter-coffee rituals that Nalini Parthiban and her husband Anand Bharadwaj’s grandmother Janaki grew up on. The brand takes these timeless recipes and wraps them in modern packaging, makes them D2C, and brings them to a generation of snack-lovers who crave authenticity and convenience.
And while that story feels beautifully personal, it also plays out against a much bigger canvas. The Indian snacks market is massive. The value of the packaged snacks industry in India hit around ₹46,571 crore in 2024 and is projected to reach about ₹1,01,811 crore by 2033, growing at a CAGR of approximately 8.6%.
Today, we look at the social media strategy of Sweet Karam Coffee, how the brand translates that nostalgic kitchen story into engaging posts and how it connects with its consumer base, riding the wave of a booming snacks industry.
Regionally driven storytelling
Sweet Karam Coffee’s roots are in South Indian cuisine, and naturally, on all their channels, the essence of the region is visible. On Instagram, through their Dakshin Tales page, the brand brings visual stories about South India, sometimes through animation, other times through culinary explainers of specific regional delicacies, and even by sharing insights on what a traditional South Indian kitchen consists of, along with historical and cultural nuggets about the region.
This regional-heavy storytelling isn’t just limited to a dedicated page. It also flows deeply into their influencer collaborations. Almost all of their creator collabs are with South Indian creators, who share the region’s rich history, cuisine and traditions, making the brand’s regional positioning feel authentic and rooted.
Jaanki Patti, the brand face
The founders were inspired by their grandmother’s recipes to start this brand. And today, she has organically become the face of the brand. From appearing on the packaging to being the warm voice in their ads, Janaki Paati (Tamil for grandmother) is visible everywhere, becoming the internet’s grandmother and directly contributing to the brand’s authenticity and emotional connect.
Her communication is not that of a typical brand ambassador. She speaks like a real grandmother would. In reels, she is often seen giving advice to ‘her grandchildren’ (the audience), wishing them during festivals, and even casually announcing sales.
Her popularity has grown so much that the brand even organised a meet-and-greet with her to build a deeper, more personal connection with the audience.
With more than 10K followers on her own Instagram page, Paati has moved beyond being a brand face, becoming synonymous with the brand itself.
The brand also uses animated short stories with Paati as the central character, to highlight the brand’s offerings, products and services in a fun, snackable storytelling format.
Where Paati shines the most
On the brand’s YouTube page, Paati shines the most. With 4.58K subscribers, their YouTube Shorts are filled with Paati-centric content. Similar to Instagram, here she gives small life tips, shares discount updates, and passes on small bits of advice, always in her signature comforting tone.
Apart from that, YouTube is also a platform for showcasing the vibrancy of South Indian delicacies and how these tie back to the brand’s products. From Banganapalli to Avakkai and more, the brand uses YouTube Shorts to familiarise a wider audience with South Indian flavours, extending the cultural storytelling beyond just the South Indian diaspora.
With over 280K followers on Instagram, Sweet Karam Coffee has built a strong presence by leaning into something very simple, its roots.
By making culture the core of its identity, keeping Paati as the emotional anchor, and using social platforms to celebrate South Indian flavours and stories, the brand has created a digital language that feels familiar.