The chilli craze in India isn’t just a passing food fad. It’s officially a full-blown flavour takeover. From your evening pack of chips to that late-night momo binge or even a scoop of ice cream—brands are spicing things up like never before.
Driven by a younger audience that’s chasing bolder bites, brands across categories are bringing the heat. Think Korean hot sauce in burgers, chilli-sprinkled ice creams, pepper-loaded noodles and masala-heavy snacks. Companies like Nestle, McDonald’s, PepsiCo and Tata Consumer are reworking their product lines to keep up with what many in the industry are calling India’s ‘chilli moment’.
“Spice is now a lifestyle choice. People aren’t just eating it—they’re searching for new ways to enjoy it,” says Saakshi Verma Menon, CMO of PepsiCo India Foods. Lay’s and Kurkure, two of its biggest brands, have quietly rolled out spicier, region-specific flavours that pack a much harder punch than before.
Meanwhile, Natural’s has gone bold with a spicy guava ice cream, and Tata Consumer has pushed its Ching’s Secret line with loud-and-proud ‘spice bombs’. McDonald’s has added a Korean range with extra zing to its Indian menu and is calling it their way of “flavouring things up for local tastes”.
Nestle, perhaps unsurprisingly, is all in. Under its Maggi Spice Plan, the company has added garlic, manchurian, cheese and pepper twists to its classic instant noodles, while also claiming to track spice origins—black pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, red chilli—for greater authenticity. “Everyone wants more heat. From tier-one cities to rural towns, the craving is real,” says Suresh Narayanan, Nestle India’s outgoing MD.
Over at Wow! Momo, spicy variants are not just popular—they’re dominating. Spicy momos, Korean meatballs and saucy wings now make up close to 30% of total sales, according to cofounder Sagar Daryani. “We used to treat spice like a flavour option. Now, it’s the main event,” he says.
ZOFF Foods, a spice and ready-to-cook company, says Indian buyers are no longer settling for just ‘masala’. They want layers—tangy, smoky, peppery, regional-specific—and all in easy-to-cook formats.
KFC, Burger King, HUL and ITC have also turned up the heat in their kitchens, knowing full well that plain won’t sell in today’s spice-charged market. With rising competition from nimble regional brands and a consumer base that’s more daring with its food, going bland isn’t an option anymore.
Simply put, if your product isn’t spicy enough for Instagram, it’s not making it to the plate.
