Reshma Mahadkar and Jessica Henry have been friends for the past 10 years. In 2020, Mahadkar took that friendship to a new level: a partnership that created Sakhar, a southern jam company with an Indian twist.
Sakhar is a local business with a mission to support South Carolina agriculture. The jams are created with high-end liqueur, artisanal teas and ethically sourced ingredients.
Mahadkar began making jams during Covid-19. She had been working in education at the time, and had gotten pretty depressed as a result of the pandemic, she said.
When her therapist suggested she pick up a hobby, Mahadkar said that since she had never made jam before, she might as well try it out.
“I was going out to pick fruit, coming back and making jam and then dumping booze in it,” Mahadkar said. “I started posting it on Instagram, and people just lost their minds.”
When she pitched the idea to Henry, Mahadkar said she knew she had a goldmine.
“I was like 'I’ve been making this silly, bougie jam, and people love it,'” Mahadkar said. “'I think this could be a really good business. Do you want to do this?'”
Both Henry and Mahadkar are single mothers — Henry has three children and Mahadkar has two. Mahadkar’s children help out in the business by putting sticker labels on the back of jars and making shipping boxes for the jars.
“I hope that the children take part in that as it grows,” Mahadkar said. “So I can teach them, you know, how to earn a living and not just through a degree, but through everyday practices.”
Customers can find Sakhar jams at Rosewood market, in local coffee shops, such as Drip Coffee and Godspeed and local restaurant Ratio. Akera Sellers, the owner of Drip, said it had previously used Sakhar’s jams in some of the menu items. With a new menu coming out in October, Sellers said he plans to use Sakhar jams once more.
"We have people that come and grab them. They’re familiar with the brand. They know it’s local," Sellers said.
Mahadkar said that what makes Sakhar stand out from other Consumer Packaged Goods, or CPG, brands is the connections it is able to make with the community. CPG is an industry term for a product that customers regularly consume and repurchase.
For example, Mahadkar attends meetings for the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to find out what farmers Sakhar could source from.
“My goal has always been to give the community something to connect with on a more meaningful level,” Mahadkar said. “And we’re already starting to see that, like, giving Columbia a source of pride when it comes to a brand.”
A sign advertising the flavors, options and listed price for Sahkar Spritied Artisanal Jam is displayed on the counter of Drip Coffee located at 729 Saluda Avenue in the Five Points area of Columbia, S.C. Established in 2020, Sahkar supports South Carolina agriculture by using locally sourced ingredients to make its products.
Godspeed, a local coffee shop, also uses Sakhar jams in its Jam Jar drink. The drink is a play off of southern jam jar cocktails, co owner Roger Caughmam said.
“They’re just super, super sweet people, very passionate about what they do,” Caughman said. “We thought what better than to use (Sakhar), you know. Keep it local. Using somebody that we know that is putting wealth into their products.”
It was challenging to get her foot through the door when it came to selling to different vendors, Mahadkar said. Sakhar sells flavors customers would consider ‘out of the ball park.’
“There was a huge learning curve in how to kind of slim down the flavors, what people are going to like, versus staying original and keeping their interest,” Mahadkar said.
Mahadkar said most CPG brands have three or four flavors, but Sakhar’s website currently offers 12 jam flavors. They vary by the season with unique flavors such as spiced honey plum and drunken berries.
“It’s really challenging because everyone just wants what they want," Mahadkar said.
However, Mahadkar has found that this method of creating seasonal flavors works well for them as customers anticipate different flavors year-round.
Sakhar Jams has created a strong community within its customers and local South Carolina shops. Mahakdar said that her goal is for Sakhar jams to be on shelves nationwide.